Check out the post-race interview where he describes how it went down:
http://www.cyclingdirt.org/speaker/3490-Sam-Koerber/video/711744-Sam-Koerber-Landed-on-His-Teeth-Stage-2
Here's the stage writeup:
A neutral roll-out to the start line gave little
indication of the aggression to come as riders enjoyed the comfortable temps
and beautiful, bright sunshine at the start of the Answer Products Coopers Gap
stage of this year’s Trans-Sylvania Epic. The mass start at the bottom of the
Stillhouse climb left nothing to the imagination as Sam Koerber (ProGold)
announced he was here to contend for the overall victory with an early attempt
to open a gap on the contenders.
A strong group, consisting of
Brian Matter (RACC/Trek/ProGold), Aaron Snyder (TSEpic.com/NoTubes), Drew
Edsall (Kenda/Felt), Phil Grove (Hammer Nutrition), Michael Wissel
(B2C2/Boloco), Koerber and Lindine, came together on the run into the rock
strewn, single-track, benchcut climb on No-Name Trail where the group
splintered apart.
Koerber continued his aggression
and showed his prowess on the technical ridgetop of Chicken Peter Trail,
arriving in the first checkpoint with a one-minute lead on Matter, Lindine, and
Edsall, while Snyder trailed by another minute.
The long single-track climb of
Peep and the day’s first SRAM/Bear Creek Enduro Segment on PigPile Trail—an
opportunity for fast descenders to take home a leader’s jersey all their
own—allowed Lindine and Matter to rejoin Koerber at the front. This reunion may
have been aided by a bobble on the part of Koerber, one that resulted in not
only lost time, but the loss of a nice chunk of his front tooth. In the rocking
and rolling sweet smooth lines of the Sassy Spur and Sassy-xx trails, the trio
increased their lead to more than five minutes over the Edsall and Snyder pair.
Koerber, battered from his
earlier encounter with Pennsylvania’s rocks, but by no means beaten, used his
technical skills honed from thousands of hours in the trails of Pisgah to push
through the battle. Matter was the first to leave the fight as a flat tire took
him away from the lead group and at the stage victory. Lindine was not
dislodged on this second SRAM/Bear Creek enduro run and took control of the
race.
Koerber faced his demise on the
stiff gravel climb of Crowfield Road rising from Penn Roosevelt State Park as
Lindine steadily opened a gap on his closest pursuer and continued building his
lead through a final, fern-enshrouded double-track to the finish line. On his
defeat, Koerber noted, “It’s going to be a battle; I’m not one to give up. I’m
going to make it hurt every day. I’m going to make [Justin Lindine] work for
it.” Matter crossed third having ceded several minutes from his flat to the two
riders in front. TSEpic Team’s Snyder rolled through in fourth, pulling ever so
gradually farther away from Edsall over the final ten miles of the day.
1 | 3:08:12 | Justin Lindine | Redline / NBX | |
2 | 3:10:52 | Sam Koerber | Progold | |
3 | 3:16:36 | Brian Matter | RACC / TREK / PROGOLD | |
4 | 3:21:47 | Aaron Snyder | TSEpic Team | |
5 | 3:23:16 | Drew Edsall | Kenda / Felt |
No comments:
Post a Comment