Just one week after competing in the multi-stage Trans-Sylvania Epic, KT Tape Athlete and 24-Hour World Mountain Bike Champ Rebecca Rusch competed in the Ashland Mountain Challenge last weekend. She took 4th in the Super D 12-mile race down Mt. Ashland — one of the longest Super D races in the country. Kelli Emmett took first in the women’s field, followed by Lizzy English, Lea Julson and Reba.

Check out what Bicycling.com had to say about the Ashland Mountain Challenge,

The Mt. Ashland course has long been a favorite of racers, drawing competitors from as far away as British Columbia, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. The route follows fast fireroads and swooping singletrack down Mt. Ashland and finishes in the city of Ashland, in southern Oregon. In total it drops 4,000 vertical feet over its length, but the rolling terrain, including one stiff climb early on, add 600 feet of climbing along the way. It definitely rewards those with big lungs over riders with pure descending skills, though it requires a healthy dose of both.

Local Nathan Riddle turned his homefield advantage into a fifth-place finish. Photo by Adrian Marcoux. The trails were in near-perfect shape on race day, still moist from the late-season snow which had covered the top of the course only days earlier. Finishing times were slightly longer than last year only because a deviation at the end of the course added about a minute of rolling terrain to race this year.

Next year, the course might be even better. Organizers hope to replace a long stretch of fireroad in the middle of the course with several miles of tight, rolling singletrack. For more information, and complete results, visit obra.org.

Filed under: Aches Pains Injuries, Achilles Tendon pain, Uncategorized | June 21, 2010
Tags :ashland mountain challenge , KT Tape , mountain bike race , Rebecca Rusch , super d