Stage Three Results
ELECTRA BIKE RELAY
LOCATION: The dried-up Alkali Lake bed outside of Goldfield and Tonopah in the southwest region of Nevada.
WINNING TEAM: ACCOUNTANTS
Tim Menoher, Erlanger, KY
Linda Lindsay, Petaluma, CA
RECAP: Day three of the Nevada Passage adventure competition traveled to one of the most relaxing and serene wide-open spaces on the planet for a most unusual challenge.
Teams were tasked with completing 12, 1.3-mile laps on a one million-year-old, bright white, hard-packed, sun-cracked and crusty dried up Alkali Lake on 3-speed Electra Cruiser Bikes with 3-inch fatty tires.
First the female members of each team rode three laps, then handed the same bike off to their male partners for three laps (and they did this twice).
This stage put the XTERRA-experienced and cycling proficient participants in their comfort zone and allowed them to show off their athletic skill and physical strength. The day was magnificent, with an amazingly clear blue ski, a welcome brisk breeze, and 360-degree panoramic views that went on forever.
In the first lap Lisa Bommer from the wild cards, Caroline Colonna from the physicians, and Linda Lindsay from the accountants distanced themselves from the field with a 4:36 lap. The trio stayed close through the next two passes but Colonna was the first to transition and passed along her cruiser to Peter Hanson in 12:24.
When the boys went out it was Hanson and Tim Menoher (accountants), followed by Phil Glenn (wild card), Brian Metzler (Journalists), John Madden (engineers), Frank Febbraro and Dave Ruby (programmers and physical therapists), Steve Cole, GL Brown (pilots and realtors) and Adam Chase (attorneys).
Menoher, the 2005 USAT Duathlon National Champion, simply crushed the bike and after his first lap he’d dropped Peter, Phil and everyone else. He gave the bike back to Lindsay for her second run with a one-minute, 20-second lead on Bommer, Colonna and Lauren Kemp from the engineers.
Lindsay maintained the lead through her next three laps and passed the cruiser back to Menoher with a 1:25 cushion, which he turned into a two-minute margin of victory.
The best races were for 2nd and 4th places. Glenn reeled in Peter Hanson just 100 feet before the finish arch for second, making up 41 seconds through three laps and Madden pulled out 4th place by finishing just three seconds ahead of Febbraro.
It was the second win in three days for the accountants putting them firmly in the lead for the overall. The calculating duo can clinch the Nevada Passage crown tomorrow if they finish in fourth place or better. The team with the best shot at catching them is the wild cards – Glenn and Bommer. They could hoist the Silver Cup with a win tomorrow coupled with a 5th place or worse showing from the accountants(among other scenarios).
Three wild burros, the only spectators from today’s stage outside of the staff and TV crew, looked curiously at the Nevada Passage bus as it headed out on a 250-mile journey to Reno, Nevada – base camp for Stage 4 – a back country ski quest at Mt. Rose.
More tomorrow, from the Nevada Passage…
STANDINGS THROUGH THREE STAGES
| Team | Stage 1 |
Stage 2 |
Stage 3 |
Total |
| ACCOUNTANTS Sponsored by Runner's World |
20 |
15 |
20 |
55 |
| WILD CARDS Sponsored by GU |
13 |
17 |
17 |
47 |
| PHYSICIANS Sponsored by Pacifico |
17 |
5 |
15 |
37 |
| ENGINEERS Sponsored by Precor |
15 |
7 |
13 |
35 |
| JOURNALISTS Sponsored by Zorrel |
11 |
9 |
9 |
29 |
| PILOTS Sponsored by XTERRA Gear |
7 |
13 |
5 |
25 |
| REALTORS Sponsored by Live More |
1 |
20 |
3 |
24 |
| PROGRAMMERS Sponsored by Gatorade |
9 |
3 |
11 |
23 |
| ATTORNEYS Sponsored by Paul Mitchell |
3 |
11 |
1 |
15 |
| PHYS THERAPISTS Sponsored by Travelocity |
5 |
1 |
7 |
13 |
