Parsons wins rain-soaked Big Mountain triathlon
As soon as national mountain-biking
champion and world-class randonee racer Ben Parsons got out of the
water, the inaugural Pole, Pedal, Paddle triathlon on Saturday was
all but over.
Parsons overcame a two-minute deficit
in the kayak portion of the race by blazing up Big Mountain Road on
a bike in less than 40 minutes and climbing to the top of Big
Mountain on skis in 46 minutes to post a best overall time among
all competitors.
The triathlon drew 25 hardy racers on a
day plagued by typical Montana spring weather. A steady downpour of
cold rain soaked competitors in the kayak and biking legs, while
the climb up Big Mountain was mostly in a mix of rain, wet snow and
thick fog.
The race started at Riverside Park
where competitors paddled up the Whitefish River to the ice at the
outlet of the lake and back for a 2.5-mile round-trip paddle.
Racers then transitioned into biking garb and pedaled 8.25 miles
and about 1,500 vertical feet up Big Mountain Road to the Base
Lodge, where they started the ski ascent.
After climbing 2,200 vertical feet up
the Toni Matt run on Big Mountain, racers skied back down to the
Base Lodge via the Big Face, Heep Steep and Corkscrew slopes.
Whitefish’s Rich Graves opened a big
lead on the river and carried his momentum on the bike until the
final switch back on Big Mountain Road. Graves, Parsons and Jason
Schmidt were all bunched together on the final corner when Parsons
made his break-away move. Graves, however, managed to maintain his
positioning in the skiing leg to claim second place overall.
Bear Barinowski, also of Whitefish,
threw down a solid overall performance, including the
second-fastest boat and ski times, to make the podium in third
place. Barinowski took it up a notch by completing the entire
course in Hawaiian board shorts.
Among the women, Cody McCarthy edged
Erika Johnson by about five minutes to claim the top spot. Savannah
Matyas wasn’t far behind to take third.
Individual Men
Ben Parsons 1:51:04
Rich Graves 2:10:09
Bear Barinowski 2:18:00
Keith Meehan 2:19:23
Paul Conrad 2:32:15
Jeff Beck 2:36:48
Andy Burbine 2:39:07
Matthew Smeltzer 2:39:54
Jesson Vogt 2:54:15
Jonathan Ferree 2:55:27
Rich Laidlaw 2:57:37
Darin Zick 3:21:37
Dave Chenault 3:38:25
Ryan Friel 3:58:11
Individual Women
Cody McCarthy 2:54:58
Erika Johnson 2:59:36
Savannah Matyas 3:00:00
Team Men
Patrick Dryden, Jason Schmidt, J.
Hampton 2:01:11
Mark Sandry, Eric Klvtke, Jim Brenden
2:15:50
Nicholas Broskovich, Tim Brezsnyak,
John Cadman 2:22:33
Chris Deister, Zachariah Deister, Erik
Schliebe 2:40:04
Team Women
Remi Rasmussen, Kimberly Buls, Marcella
Sandry 2:50:24
Christina Fidler, Brianne Javorsky,
Sara Wilkinson 3:31:18
Mixed Team
Dawn Lev, Cathy Galbraith, Jon Mulfeld
2:12:55
Eric Sieden, Judith Moore, Brigid Fray
2:37:56