Cohutta 100 - MTB Race News

On April 28, 2018 Roost Racing, LLC held the Cohutta 100 (NUE Epic Series), Big Frog 65 (NUE Marathon Series), and Old Copper 20 in Ducktown, TN. This was stop number two on the 2018 National Ultra Endurance Series (NUE) race schedule. These races were held at the Ocoee Whitewater center, a venue that hosted the kayak/canoe slalom competitions at the 1996 Olympic games. Nestled within the Cherokee National Forest racers traversed through sections of Brush Creek, the Tanasi Trail Systems and miles of fire roads.

The Cohutta 100 had over 12,000 feet of climbing and included a huge gravel loop that was cut out last minute the previous year. Rain the previous day had some racers worried, but the trails were in prime condition. It was a little chilly at the start but the sun peaked out and warmed up to mid 60’s for most of the race. Couldn’t have asked for better racing weather!

Men’s Open

Dylan Johnson makes it a Three-Peat at NUE Cohutta 100

1st- Dylan Johnson (Leska MTB Racing) 2nd-Christian Tanguy (RBS Cycling Team) 3rd- Brian Schworm (Think Green-Bicycle Face p/b SWORD) 4th-John Wiygul (High Point-Rock/Creek-Trek Chatt) 5th-Alex Hashem (Stokesville/Shenandoah mountain touring)

Defending NUE Epic Champion Dylan Johnson (Leska MTB Racing) wins the Men’s Open with a time of 6:43:38.

“My goal for this year was to be as conservative as possible. I knew that I had the edge in the single track over the main players and the course finishes up with 10 miles of single track. If I could stay in the lead group until then I knew that my odds would be good. We finished the first single track with a decent sized group but it wasn’t long at all before Christian Tanguy pulled away. I quickly bridged the gap and the two of us rode together for the majority of the day. Tanguy was fine to do most of the pulling which was fine with me. When we got to the final single track I got to the front and pushed the pace enough to get a gap between me and Tanguy to take the win.”

Christian Tanguy (RBS Cycling Team) comes in second just three minutes back at 6:46:34.

Third place was Brian Schworm (Think Green-Bicycle Face p/b SWORD) coming in at 6:54:40.

“I arrived at the Ocoee Whitewater Center on Friday to beautiful weather. It can sometimes be a bit unpredictable down there with many past races taking place in downpours but this year things looked great. It had rained the previous day but my teammates and I found most of the course to be in primo condition during our preride with the exception of the Old Copper Trail which is always at least a little bit wet. Anyway, we had a great preride, checked in at registration, and parted with our drop bags for the next day’s festivities.

On race morning it was quite chilly but things heated up quickly once the race was underway. We rolled up the opening climb at a modest pace with a mad scramble to the beginning of the singletrack. I found myself in third position which was perfect for this beginning trail section. Once we raced for approximately 90 minutes we popped out at the first aid station and started the 68 mile “Death March” gravel loop. There were approximately 8 or 9 riders together as we started our journey around this loop including Christian Tanguay, Dylan Johnson, John Wiygul, Alex Hashem, Lee Hauber, single-speeder John Haddock, my teammate Nathaniel Cornelius, and myself.

During a “moment of inattention” the paced quickened and I found myself off the back of the group and scrambling to catch back up. I caught the main group but Christian and Dylan were gone. My teammate Nathaniel helped to pace me for a while but then I was on my own to chase them down. With all my might I chased but made no progress whatsoever. After a bit of discouragement and a “bad patch”, John and Alex joined me and we worked together through most of the remaining gravel loop section and we were hearing time gaps of nearly 20 minutes to the leading duo.

Once we joined the Big Froggers on their 65 mile journey I hammered the last couple of gravel climbs and the following singletrack to the finish. I was able to decrease the gap to the leaders somewhat but it was too little too late. I finished third with John and Alex not far behind finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.

Moving forward I am now looking ahead to Marathon Nationals in Arkansas this weekend and then a nice break until the Mohican 100 for another NUE battle. Thanks to my team Think Green – Bicycle Face and my sponsors SWORD, Native Eyewear, Specialized Bicycles, ESI Grips, Schwalbe Tires, and TruckerCo for making this all possible; and a special thanks to my wife Jennifer Schworm for her continued support and sacrifice in my pursuit of endurance MTB racing.”

Women’s Open

Cantwell gets her first Cohutta 100 win!

1st- Lauren Cantwell (Moonstompers/Stokesville Lodge) 2nd-Britt Mason (The Bike Lane) 3rd-Heidi Coulter (Paradise Garage Racing)

Lauren Cantwell (Moonstompers/Stokesville Lodge) wins the Cohutta 100 women’s open with a time of 8:04:58.

“First time at Cohutta for me was a great one. First 18 miles of singletrack was a blast! Smooth, flowy, and the dawn mist made for a beautiful way to start the ride. The Death March became a grind towards the end but the views off of the high mountains into the valley were spectacular. I hadn’t examined the route very closely before and was surprised in the best way possible when I found myself on recognized terrain from a bikepacking trip I did last fall with a couple friends. Especially because race day was about 45 degrees warmer and no snow! Finishing the race on more miles of singletrack was an awesome end to the race!”

Second place was Britt Mason (The Bike Lane) 8:46:41.

Taking the third podium spot was Heidi Coulter (Paradise Garage Racing) 9:33:45.

“It was a beautiful day riding through the enchanted Cherokee National Forest. After getting DFL at True Grit in Utah, it felt great to finish strong and step up on the podium. Not too shabby for a grandma!”

Singlespeed

Haddock repeats Cohutta singlespeed

1st-John Haddock (J.A. King) 2nd-Kenny Kocarek (Kobby Side Down) 3rd-Joseph Stroz (Stroz Physical Therapy & Sports Rehab)

Winning the singlespeed division by an astounding 35 minutes was John Haddock (J.A. King) coming in at 7:22:02.

Kenny Kocarek (Kobby Side Down) took the second step with a time of 7:57:31.

“At the start line I was so grateful for cooler temps compared to the heat wave of last year. The countdown to the start came and the neutral car rolled out and as I stood to sprint out of the gate and spin my singlespeed like a hamster through the parking lot then I nearly ran into the row in front of me! The start seemed very relaxed even some conversations were going on up the initial road ascent. I stuck with fellow Ohio SS’r Peyton Randolph and we creeped up toward the middle of the main group and then the first roller hit and we we’re stuck spinning and tucking and as the lead group revved their quads up they put us in our place at the back.

We entered the singletrack slightly behind the main group to a relatively open trail in now we know was 2nd and 3rd in SS. We kept a good pace until Peyton endoed and flew off the trail like an 1980s metal tipped lawn dart. I saw him bounce up and say he was ok and kept rolling onto the “river” trail and hooked up with another Ohio rider Michael Gottfried. His huge legs parted all the water puddles for me and pulled me all the way to aid one where it seemed like we were a little behind the main group. I was looking forward to having a partner for the massive gravel roads ahead however on the first descent I see Michael pull off the road and starts putting his chain back on his bike (geared bike problems) with all the road I figured his gears would catch up soon enough and I continued on. Little did I know since this was the first time on this course that I would be climbing for the next 20 miles!! It was fun until about mile 45. I started to fall behind on nutrition and slowing up the pace of my grind luckily the drop bag station 3 came up and I reloaded and got my groove back. From there on I was solo until merging into the big frog course and had carrots to chase. I got to the last aid station and they informed me I was top fifteen. Adrenaline kicked in on the singletrack and I enjoyed the ride till thunder chicken and since I did not see anyone pursuing and throttled down because I knew I was in a good spot and did not want a flat tire to ruin it! At the gravel I was at 750 something and decided sub 8 would be good regardless what position I was in so I pushed it for a finish time of 7:57 and found out 2nd place which is a huge improvement on my 13th place the prior year!

Huge Thanks to Knobbysidedown for putting up with me and all our sponsors Schwalbe Tires, HandUp gloves, Infinit Nutrition, Dumonde Tech Lubricants, Portman Mechanical and Swiftwick socks”

Third place was Joseph Stroz (Stroz Physical Therapy & Sports Rehab) 8:08:09.

Master’s 50+

1st-Brad Cobb (Motor Mile Racing) 2nd-Roger Masse (Stokesville/Shenandoah Mountain Touring) 3rd-Russell Spaulding (TFM Racing) 4th- Tom Stritzinger 5th-Alan Miner (Rescue Racing-Banks Bikes Canada)

Winning the Master’s 50+ Cohutta was Brad Cobb (Motor Mile Racing) 7:20:21.

“Just entering the masters category was a bitter sweet transition as I loved racing the different categories and two distances of Roost Racing Ocoee event. I showed up for the packet pickup and was greeted by the legend Roger Masse, and immediately knew I was in for a lot of work to try to stand on the top step. At the line up Saturday morning, I was so impressed with the awesome field and really glad to see the perfect 100 mile weather (as my very first mountain bike I ever raced was the inaugural race when New Leaf Adventures has it….and it rained the whole time). At the gun, here was a pretty chill start to the single track and I went in the woods in 14th place. I was pretty sure Roger was in front of me, but I also knew that if I went too hard early on, I would never be able to climb back out of the campground on the way home so I settled into my comfortable speed and kept peddling. Even with all the rain, the course was hero dirt, and I started picking a racer every few miles. I blew through the first aid stating with a smile and a thank you to Charles, and made a left for the next 66 miles of fire road. I had ridden this part of the course a couple of weeks before, so I really knew I needed to pace well, eat and drink occasionally and not try to latch onto anyone that came up on me. Unfortunately, I had to race this whole loop by myself, and as a guy who likes to chat, it was pretty damn boring and totally uneventful. My Trek Procaliber was incredible on this course and Scott’s Bikes got it totally dialed in. As we hit the long road near Jack’s River Campground, I started to pick up some of the Big Frog racers which made the race more enjoyable. With many pleasantries, “good jobs”, and smiles, I continued to push hard and try not to get caught and catch the next guy in front of me. I was pretty sure I was rolling in behind Roger, but there was not much more I could do to catch him, and I didn’t want to blow up. Entering the awesome single track was the best part of the day. First, you know you are close to home, and the way Justin rolls the course, it feels like a lot more down than up. While still passing some Big Frog racers, I had a huge smile on my face, leg’s that only felt half dead, and a stomach that only rejected food once, so for a hundred miler, it was pretty damn good. Rolling in at 7:20 felt pretty good, and when Ryan came over and told me that Roger had not come in yet, it felt really good. I was honored to be able to edge him out, and felt petty good about sixth overall also. In a hundred miler, you never really know how far ahead or behind you are, but when I saw that I was 15 minutes behind the guy in front of me, and only 2 minutes ahead of John Haddock (who was right behind me, you realize how close (and not so close these things can be.Great race, and onto the next.”

Following a second place finish at Cohutta in 2017, Roger Masse (Stokesville/Shenandoah Mountain Touring) finished second again in 2018 in 7:51:48.

The third spot went to Russell Spaulding (TFM Racing) 8:05:04.

“What a beautiful day! Not your typical “Cohutta” weather of past years. This race flew by for me, and I enjoyed it a bit too much! I spent a good amount of the race riding with two talented riders. Lauren Cantwell (1st women’s open), and Joseph Stroz (3rd single speed). Congratulations to Bradd Cobb (1st masters), and Roger Massee (2nd masters). Brad really laid down a blistering pace during this race. I really appreciate Justin and Amy Mace of Roost Racing for putting on a great race. I know that last year’s foretry service approval process was really frustrating for them, and well beyond their control. I am so glad they didn’t give up and stuck with it! Also a special thanks to Josh at “Tried & True” for keeping my 2014 Superfly patched up this year. I’m pretty sure the bike has more miles on it than my old orange truck. Nex up, we”ll be heading to Ohio where it’s FLAT. Well….except for Loudonville!”

Photo credit: Gretta Spaulding

For full results click here

The next NUE race is Mohican MTB 100 on June 2, 2018 in Loudonville, Ohio. Hope to see you there!

Written by: Jen Toops

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Cohutta 100: NUE #2