Mike Anderson 5th Place

5th place. Not as good as last year, but a good result still. Them fisher boys brought some "A" game this year, pretty fun to race with them guys. Carl Decker wins the style award, for the best 2 wheel drifts through the turns and just being a badass, guys gots some skills on a bike.
heres a race report:

The start was just like any other paved road mountain bike start, kind of scary and pretty fast. Decided to pull so i didn't get taken out in the chaos. It was a pretty long train of guys until about Smith Lake Rd about 5 miles in or so. But then the gaps started to form, had to be kind of attentive and stay at the front. Can't really remember who was pulling through that first section of single track, might of been Sam Shultz or JHK, but right after that JHK grabbed the reigns and it was fast as *beep* for about 20 minutes. 6 of us were gone and the race was set. JHK, Shultz, Tristan, Matter, Decker and myself. A few miles before Williamsburg road JHK put in big attack, I got on his wheel immediately and hung on for dear life, it all came back together at some fresh single track section. Seemed like everyone took some pulls for a little while, right when we got on the VASA JHK had another go, but it was the same deal, this race was coming down to the last hill. There was some more attacks in between there and the end but no one could get away, not really much point in trying. Right when we got to the last wood chip climb the final surge came, not a good time for some chain suck, and thats just what i got. I got off and ran and tried to get my bike back working. I had my chain back on at the top but those guys were long gone in front of me. I got around Tristan but ran out of time to catch Decker. I think I might have been able get Decker, but those other guys were gone.

I'm pretty happy with my race, its always cool to get to race with the big dogs, and really cool to hang in there the whole race. Would have been nice not to get that chain suck, i hate front derailuers... I'll be back for blood next year, and maybe with a single chain ring too. The crowds at the end were awesome, really cool finishing like that. Thanks to everyone who was cheering along the course, all the people is what makes this race so cool.

Karey Collins (MPI-Mainstreet) - 18th place

My race was not what I had hope for but I finished all in one piece. The crash was next to me and not sure why they went down but I was able to miss it. Kyia Anderson was hurt bad and didn’t finish. Alison Dunlap lead the group out right from the start, the pace didn’t pick up till we hit the trail, from what I saw it was everyone just trying to keep up with her.

Kelly Paterson 14th Place

What perfect weather. Waking up to 50 degrees for an Iceman bike race just doesn't seem right for some reason. It was about 62 and sunny for the start of the Pro/Elite race in the afternoon. The large field of 70 men took off and started to hammer down the paved road. The women moved forward and were preparing to start when we saw a huge pile up in the middle of the road about 200-300 meters from the start. It was just far enough away where I couldn't see colors or identify people.

I heard a tire blow but wasn't sure if it was the cause or the effect. The pile up was so big it took almost a minute and a half for the bodies and bikes to get moving again. There didn't seem to be any serious casualties other than one man carrying a bike off the side of the road. Robert Herriman got caught behind the pile up, took a chain ring in the ribs and banged up his knuckles and ankle. He was in the very back and clawed his way passed 40 guys by the finish. The women's start was pretty mellow after what we all just witnessed (ED: Kelly was at the front and missed the first pileup!). I stayed in the front until we got into the woods and then the pros put on a little speed. The field split in two and just kept splitting up from there. I wasn't really racing anyone else, just the clock, so I let women just ride away from me without even trying to hang on to them. I realized later when the wind picked up that I would have been better off with them, but by then it was too late. Ride and learn.

Ride and learn.

Graham Howard - 9th Place

I lined up with team mates Derek Graham and Ben Whitehead this past Saturday against a larger than normal field at the Iceman. I wasn’t real sure what to hope for in terms of a result. I just planned on riding as hard as I could and hoped to not kill myself. The tire explosion and crash that took place not 500m into the day happened behind me, thankfully. Ben told us afterward that it had occurred right next to him and looked like two guys just smeared each other and brought down about ten others. Once we got off-road the field lined out and I started picking up spots. I tagged onto the front group after a couple of miles, which Derek was also in, but I lost contact after a few treacherous sand dune crossings and blown corners. Luckily Jake Rytlewski, my asphalt comrade, had suffered a similar fate and was chasing fast. It was all I could do to hold his wheel as he slowly but surely brought the front group into sight. We caught Derek who had been yo-yoing on and off of the front group all day, with about four miles remaining. I lost them on one of the last steep hills with three miles to go and rode in on my own for 9th. I was happy with my ride and had a lot of fun. Now if they could only pave those sandy sections and straighten out the single track I think I’d really be in the running.

Iceman Report - Derek Graham

Derek Graham (Bissell) - 8th Place

My start went pretty smooth and I was able to stay at the front on the road and through the school grounds, avoiding the crashes. The front group was pretty big for the first few miles, about 15 - 20 riders. After the first single track section it was whittled down to a dozen or so and eventually seven. The pace was fast and around 19 to go Brian Matter took a really hard pull on the front then JHK pulled through and upped the pace even more, which took us into the hill entering the "Steve's Secret" section. I lost contact on the climb then lost a little more time on the next hill. I was about 20 seconds behind and could see the group on the hills and long straight sections. I started to recover and was pulling back the leaders. I eventually caught them just after the Williamsburg Road crossing, but as soon as I tagged onto the back JHK saw me and put in a hard attack. I was already going all out to catch the leaders and couldn't match their acceleration. I rode alone until about 5 miles to go when Jake Rytlewski and Graham Howard caught me. (Graham said Jake was flying on the dirt roads!) We stayed together for a few miles until Graham was dropped on one of the steep climbs. The leaders were out of reach so Jake and I just kept a steady pace, taking turns on the front in the double track. Going into the final kilometer I passed Jake just before the fenced off section in the campground and opened up good a gap. Then I went into the second to last turn too fast, my front tire washed out and I went down. Jake passed me as I was getting up and I rolled across the line in eighth place.


The course this year was as fast as I've ever seen it. The weather was unbelievable and the crowds were huge. I was amazed how many spectators were at the Wiliamsburg Road crossing. It was incredibly loud! It was a great race.