Written by: Will Baker

The 20th ICEMAN took off Saturday under some of the best conditions possible. Temps were 50′s in the morning and 60′s by the afternoon Pro start. This was great weather for racing, spectating, and beer drinking.

In years past the race has been delayed due to blizzards, raced in sleet, rain, and 15″ of snow, giving this years race the nickname “Niceman”.

4,000 racers took part in the events Saturday and it seemed everyone had a great time. Part of the allure is not knowing what the conditions are going to be and facing the fact it’s the last race of the season for most people. With mountain bikers, as soon as the season is over the beers are flowing. Thankfully there were 4 beer tents from Michigan Breweries to solve the problem!

To the racing. The experts took off at 9am following a very cool Coast Guard fly-over. The start was about 2 miles of road before hitting the trail which was a full drag-race right off the line. Experts, Sports, and Beginners all started in waves up until noon with the fastest finishers coming in just under 1:40. The fastest single speed was 1:38!

The race course was made up of two-track, some tight singletrack, and powerline trails, finishing at Timber Ridge Resort. It’s a FAST course and tactics are a big part of winning. The Pro race had some serious contenders this year. National Champ JHK, Sam Schultz (Gary Fisher), Carl Decker (Giant), Brian Matter, Mike Anderson, Mike Simonson, Christian Tanguay… the list of potential winners is huge! It’s very cool to have all the big guns here in the Mid West going at it. The race broke into a lead group of 6 with JHK putting in a big move with 2 miles left to take the win by about 10 seconds.

The Ladies race had just as much firepower as the mens. Alison Dunlap (world champion, multi national champ), Kelli Emmet, Heather Irmiger, Jenna Rinehart, Danielle Musto, and Andrea Matter were all gunning for the money. Dunlap took it by 1 second over 5 time winner Kelli Emmet in a crazy race. I saw Dunlap during my warm-up and she was hauling, I pretended to be recovering between sprints when she went by but I was actually sprinting.

The kids race had some great action with the future stars tearing it up. I’m not sure who’s more competitive, the kids racing or the kids parents.

There was a great turnout from local Emmet County racers and they all threw down. Congrats to Steve, John, Uli, Lee, Bruce, and everyone else!

This is an event everyone should do. It closes out the season, everyone you know is already signed up, the beer is amazing and plentiful, and there are some serious bragging rights in order from beginner to pro. Full results are listed at www.iceman.com.

One more reason to sign up: Bells MTB team hosts a huge after party in downtown Traverse City Saturday night. Good times!!!

Click Here To Watch Pro Men’s Finish Video

-Twisted Stone