Park City Point to Point

The making of a Classic

Team Monavie-Cannondale was recently in Peru where we found one of the worlds hidden epic mountain bike races. This weekend we were right in our own backyard, Park City, Utah  participating in the 1st annual and sure to be epic PCPP endurance mountain bike race.

What makes an epic event?  Organization, unique terrain, and  people?

The Organization: Every event is the product of someones dream.  La Ruta has Roman Urbina, BC Bike Race has Dean Payne, and the Leadville Trail 100 has Ken Chlouber. The PCPP is no different and is the product of Jay Burke’s dream of showcasing Park City’s amazing trail system in an Endurance Mountain Bike Race. 

The key to organizing a soon to be “classic” is the attention to detail. The PCPP had it covered and should be proud of the event they put together. From well stocked feed zones, drop bag service, shuttles to the start, immediate post race meal, rock’n band,  quick results and podium, professional timing, well marked course (more on that later), cool goodie bag, tons of raffles, post race bling, prize money, value, helpful volunteers, mild temperatures, and perfect amount of rain. They nailed it! I am not sure how they pulled off the last two!

post race bling!

Unique Terrain: Peru and Costa Rica have the wild jungles, BC Bike Race has North Shore stunts, The Leadville 100 has high elevation, and now PCPP has the more singletrack than was ever thought possible. At 75 miles it may not be the longest event on the schedule, but with 99%  pure rocky mountain singletrack it is possibly one of the the toughest and surely the most fun! Team Monavie-Cannondale’s Alex Grant was quoted after the race saying, “This is the only race I know that has more singletrack  than the BC  Bike Race.”

Not only is it a crazy ton of  trail, but it is well put together, shows off the area’s diversity, and traverses 3 ski areas, including Deer Valley, Park City, and The Canyons. At 75 miles and nearly 15000 feet of elevation gain no one will complain that it is not challenging enough, yet most will be able to complete it in September daylight. It includes many of the local classics including Round Valley, Lost Prospector, Deer Crest, Silver Lake, Bow Hunter, Flagstaff, Tour de Suds, TG1 & 2, John’s, Steps, Shadow Lake, Spiro,  and Mid Mountain to name a few.

Spiro by Utrider

With over 300 miles of trails in the Park City area putting a course together would not be that difficult, on the other hand MARKING it  would be a monumental task  and could ultimately make or break the event. The PCPP team did a great job and used feedback from local riders to fine tune the flagging in some tricky areas. They also had a lead rider out in front of the race to make sure nothing had been tampered with and a cell phone hotline just in case you did get off course. I can’t imagine it was ever used!

Shadow Lake by Utrider

The People: That’s what it’s all about right! The competition, camaraderie, and relationships.  Jay established a precdent when he teamed up Shannon Boffeli of MTBracenews.com to promote this event. Shannon is well know as one of the nicest guys on the scene and is constantly giving back to the sport of mountain biking. The rest of the volunteers and staff followed the great example and were all smiles throughout the long day.

 This is a race for the true mountain biker. Whether you are at the front battling for the win or just trying to finish, your motor and skill will be tested.  As riders finished and dove into a post race meal you could not find a disappointed racer, everyone was exhausted but happy. For most it may have been the toughest event ever, and for all will now be an annual goal.

Just one of the characters. This is Brad of Carborocket.com and he needs a Lefty!

For a 1st year event the field of 170 racers was  very competitive and included most of Utah’s top talent, riders from throughout the Western states,  and a ton of cyclists looking to get there fill of one-track. Team Monavie-Cannondale’s Bart Gillespie and Alex Grant got to the front of the field early in Round Valley and  established a sizeable lead by the 50 mile mark. Alex then used his world class climbing legs to solo in for the win and establish the bench mark time of 7 hours and 4 minutes. Bart used a couple cans of Emv at the last feed zone to help him to the finish in a reasonably close 2nd. Team Monavie-Cannondale youngster Brandon Cross also had a stellar ride coming in 1oth overall.

Emv at feed zone 3

Team Monavie-Cannondale is already looking forward to the 2nd Annual PCPP…