DART wins the Pacific Northwest Championship for the Third Consecutive Year
Cyril Jay-Rayon / 30.09.2005
Ellensburg, Washington (September 17, 2005) - DART fought a tough battle
and raced their way into the Pacific Northwest Championship seat for
their third year in a row. The series finale took place on the Eastern
slope of the Cascades and played host to 43 teams competing for the
title. This was the third and final race of the Pacific Northwest
Championship Series hosted by Trioba Adventure Racing Series
(www.trioba.com
mountain biking and trekking over 75 miles from the start to the finish
of the course. DART was comprised of Jen Segger, Matt Hart, Glenn Rogers
and Ryan VanGorder.
The race began with a water start on the majestic Columbia River. The
teams paddled north to the first check point and then south on the river
in route to the first transition that led them to their bikes. DART led
the paddle and was the first team out of the river. "We worked extremely
well together. We were able to max out our speed on the water and lead
the pack the entire paddle," stated Glenn. From the water, the teams
climbed 4500 feet over 10 miles out of the Columbia River Gorge and
embarked on a beautiful ride through the Eastern Cascades.
The highlight of the first 30 mile mountain bike ride came when a pack
of wild horses joined the team in their ride along a ridge in the
mountains. The horses and the dust storm they created behind them came
as a surprise to the team and provided some incentive for them to pick
up their pace and stay in front of the beautiful animals. "This was
right out of a movie," explained Matt Hart, who spotted the pack coming
their way.
After a quick transition, DART was off on their trekking stage with no
teams in sight. The second checkpoint in the section proved to be the
toughest to find in the race and sent many teams, including DART, for a
spin. DART came out of the bushwhack and overall trek with a ten minute
deficit to the team in front of them and was in chase mode. They
transitioned lightning fast and mounted their bikes for the last 20 mile
push into the town of Ellensburg for the finish line.
"The downhill was the best! We were able to let go of the brakes and
bomb the downhill into the flats," exclaimed Jen Segger, who lead the
team out of the mountains. Once the team hit the paved roads, they fell
into a pace line and worked their way back into contention. With the
lead team a stones throw away, DART took a different route, stuck to
their original plan into the finish line, and worked their way to town.
"In hindsight we should have employed a different tactic into the finish
line, but it was a lesson learned and we fought hard," added Ryan
VanGorder, the team's navigator. The team crossed the finish line under
two minutes after the winning team but still finished well enough to
retain their overall lead in the series and finish as the Pacific
Northwest Champions.
Next, DART will be competing in the final race of the Wicked Adventure
Sprint Series (www.wickedar.com
Manzanita, Oregon on October 1st and in the EcoMotion expedition race
(www.ecomotion.com.br
October 2nd to October 8th, a 2006 World Championship qualifier.
