CABLE, Wis. (September 18, 1999) Concerns over muddy trails and rainy
weather were set aside when race day dawned clear and sunny for the 17th
running of the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival. Persistent rainy conditions
throughout the summer did leave intermittent puddles and muddy sections
along the 40 mile course of the off-road marathon, but nothing like the mud
baths of the early 90s people remember so vividly.
It was a year of new faces in the winner’s circle for both the men’s
and women’s Chequamegon 40. Scott Quiring, 24, of West Olive, Minn. rode to
victory in 2:16:57 outdistancing race favorite, Dewey Dickey of Plymouth,
Minn (2:17:04). Dickey, 30, placed third last year and has several other
top Chequamegon 40 finishes. Quiring and Dickey rode wheel to wheel for
much of the race, setting the stage for a possible sprint finish. The
hilly country in the last two miles of the course, however, provided the
opportunity for Quiring to pull away and finish a comfortable seven seconds
ahead of Dickey.
The battle for third place was equally intense. Early in the race
Dickey set an aggressive pace forcing the top riders to keep up with him.
Only Quiring was able to follow, but a small chase group developed including
two former Chequamegon 40 champions Gene Oberpriller, Minneapolis, Minn.
(1993) and Jeff Hall of Burnsville, Minn. (1995). Steve Tilford of Topeka,
Kan. set an equally blistering pace for their group that also included Dale
Sedgwick of Lutsen, Minn. Tilford pulled his group much of the way toward
the finish line where they all ultimately finished within one minute of each
other. Tilford’s third place time was 2:19:33. Marty Jemison’s 1998 course
record of 2:10:33 was not threatened due to this year’s generally slower
conditions.
Once again a repeat victory by the women’s champion was not to be. In
her victory Kyia Malenkovich of St. Cloud, Minn. turned in a stellar
performance finishing in 2:38:29 almost two minutes ahead of defending
champion Brett Schulze of Minnetonka, Minn. (2:40:20). Malenkovich, 23,
maintained at least a one minute gap on Schulze throughout the race. Despite
the fact that she has only been racing for three years, the youthful
Malenkovich has rocketed to the top of local and regional mountain bike
racing scene. She went from novice to expert in just one season and has
subsequently turned professional. This is only her second appearance at the
Chequamegon after finishing sixth last year. She was uninhibitedly pleased
with her race stating “After I looked around and saw I was the only woman
out there I was psyched!” “People kept telling me that I was a minute ahead
and that was just great” she added. Another new face to the Chequamegon
area, Gretchen Reeves of Eagle, Colo., finished third at 2:40:54. Reeves is
also a professional mountain bike racer and rides for Team Catera.
Other Chequamegon 40 results include the Top Tandem team of Mike
Anderson and Lonny Mahoney of Maple Grove, Minn. who finished in 2:41:57.
The Top Mixed Tandem team of Kevin and Tania Ishaug of Bloomington, Minn.
finished in 3:09:18.
The finish of the 16 mile Short and Fat was not without its share of
drama also. Scott Chapin of Hayward had had a comfortable lead but his chain
jumped from his gears a short distance from the finish. Although he was
able to quickly put it back in place, he was passed by Linden Klein of
Madison who won with a time of :54:05.25. Chapin, who was the 1996 Short and
Fat Champion, finished second in 54:09.99. Finishing third in 54:20.58 was
Guatemalan national champion in the under 23 age class, Alejandro Siguere.
Siguere was impressed with the level of competition in the Short and Fat and
thoroughly enjoyed his visit to the Chequamegon area.
It was Cindy-Cindy-Sydney in the Women’s Short and Fat as Cindy Storm
of Savage, Minn. notched an incredible tenth victory over the past 12 years
in 1:03:56. Cindy Bijold, 1997 Chequamegon 40 Champion, also of Savage,
Minn., finished second in 1:03:39 and was followed by Sydney Ringheim of
Hayward, Wis. at 1:04:02. It was an exciting finish as the top three women
in the Short and Fat finished within six seconds of each other.
Two thousand-five hundred cyclists participated in the 17th annual
Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival. The Chequamegon has become the most popular
event of its kind in the country and judging from the expression on the
participant’s faces it is little wonder why.