Riders compete in the second race of the 2015 Ascent Cycling Series Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at Bear Creek Terrace. The Pro and Cat 1 races were canceled after a heavy rain storm. Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette (Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette)
The mountain bike riders at Bear Creek Terrace on Wednesday stood near each other but in no particular order, like the mud splattered on them.
“Who’s the dirtiest rider out there?” Sand Creek Sports president Andy Bohlmann asked through his microphone. “I’ll give you a prize.”
“You’ve got blood,” Bohlmann called out to one woman, Andrea Ulrich, before rewarding her with a bike chain.
At this point, Bohlmann had already ended early the second of five sets of races in the Ascent Cycling Series due to lightning and heavy rain. The prize was a start for making up the lost competition to Ulrich, who completed just one lap before Bohlmann called it.
Each of the five days of the series, which spreads out over June and July, is made up of three races. Wednesday, the first one went until completion and all results from it will be tallied. Points awarded for the second race will be based off of cyclists’ finishes in their first lap. The third race will not be made up.
Jon Krantz, who completed two laps in the second race before the event ended, said Wednesday’s conditions were the worst he’d seen at Bear Creek in his five years.
Not only did rain make the course slick, but large amounts of rain in recent weeks helped the weeds grow. Passages were narrow and allowed for little passing. Splattering mud didn’t help either.
“Not being able to see made it pretty hard,” Krantz said.
The course already figured to be denser than usual. Already the shortest course in the series, Bohlmann shortened it more – notably by removing stairs that were filled with mud.
Bohlmann said he always reserves a course for two days just in case a race needed to be finished on the second day. He said he wouldn’t do that this time, though.
“If we got out there tomorrow, we’re just going to make a mess of these trails,” Bohlmann said, “and that’s the last thing we want.”
Bohlmann’s decision is the only thing that kept Ulrich from continuing to race. Even after her fall, she had no intention of stopping.
She didn’t even gather how the fall transpired.
“It was so messy,” she said. “I’m not sure what happened.”
Riders compete in the second race of the 2015 Ascent Cycling Series Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at Bear Creek Terrace. The Pro and Cat 1 races were canceled after a heavy rain storm. Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette (Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette)A cyclist rides under threatening storm clouds during the second race of the 2015 Ascent Cycling Series Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at Bear Creek Terrace. The Pro and Cat 1 races were canceled after a heavy rain storm. Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette (Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette)Cat 2, 50+ Men’s rider Andrew Walker splashes through mud during the second race of the 2015 Ascent Cycling Series Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at Bear Creek Terrace. Walker won his category. The Pro and Cat 1 races were canceled after a heavy rain storm. Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette (Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette)A cyclist rides along a ridge at Bear Creek Terrace in heavy rain during the second race of the 2015 Ascent Cycling Series Wednesday, June 17, 2015. The Pro and Cat 1 races were canceled after a heavy rain storm. Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette (Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette)Riders compete in the second race of the 2015 Ascent Cycling Series Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at Bear Creek Terrace. The Pro and Cat 1 races were canceled after a heavy rain storm. Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette (Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette)Riders compete in the second race of the 2015 Ascent Cycling Series Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at Bear Creek Terrace. The Pro and Cat 1 races were canceled after a heavy rain storm. Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette (Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette)Riders compete in the second race of the 2015 Ascent Cycling Series Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at Bear Creek Terrace. The Pro and Cat 1 races were canceled after a heavy rain storm. Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette (Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette)Riders compete in the second race of the 2015 Ascent Cycling Series Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at Bear Creek Terrace. The Pro and Cat 1 races were canceled after a heavy rain storm. Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette (Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette)Riders compete in the second race of the 2015 Ascent Cycling Series Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at Bear Creek Terrace. The Pro and Cat 1 races were canceled after a heavy rain storm. Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette (Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette)Riders compete in the second race of the 2015 Ascent Cycling Series Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at Bear Creek Terrace. The Pro and Cat 1 races were canceled after a heavy rain storm. Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette (Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette)Riders compete in the second race of the 2015 Ascent Cycling Series Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at Bear Creek Terrace. The Pro and Cat 1 races were canceled after a heavy rain storm. Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette (Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette)Riders compete in the second race of the 2015 Ascent Cycling Series Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at Bear Creek Terrace. The Pro and Cat 1 races were canceled after a heavy rain storm. Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette (Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette)Riders compete in the second race of the 2015 Ascent Cycling Series Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at Bear Creek Terrace. The Pro and Cat 1 races were canceled after a heavy rain storm. Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette (Michael Ciaglo, The Gazette)
