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Danielson, Jeanson tame weather-whipped Mount Washington

by VeloNews.com

• August 16, 2003
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By Chris Milliman

Danielson powers his featherweight bike up Mount Washington

Photo: Chris Milliman

Looks can be deceiving, especially when it comes to one of the most volatile weather locations in the U.S. With 70-degree temperatures and light winds at the bottom of the Mount Washington Auto Road, it looked like the 600-plus racers would have a relatively pleasant trip up the 7.6-mile ascent. But the final 2.5 miles found riders battered by 50-mph winds and blinded by near-whiteout fog. The weather took the steam out of Tom Danielson’s assault on his year-old course record, though the Saturn rider did win the race for the second year in a row.

Danielson dropped the field in the first 500 meters and never looked back, scaling the 4727 feet of elevation gain in 51:05. Geneviéve Jeanson (Rona-Esker) tried to stick with Danielson, but couldn’t match for the 25-year-old’s speed. Danielson hit the halfway mark in 23 minutes, a pace more than fast enough to break his 49:24 course record, but once above treeline and into the wind, his pace slowed. Still, Danielson was pleased with the ride, especially considering the conditions.

Jeanson tried to stick with Danielson, but couldn’t match his speed

Photo: Chris Milliman

“I almost got blown off my bike a few times,” said Danielson, who rode a LeMond Tete de Corse pared down to 14 pounds with a 30-tooth chainring, a 11-23 cogset and no rear brake. “It was a straight head wind the whole way up. But I felt so much stronger than last year, I really felt I could have gone 46 minutes if the conditions had been as good as last year.”

Cat 2 Phillip Wong (Essex County Velo) finished second, some four minutes behind Danielson, but more than a minute under his personal best. Jeanson finished third overall, and won the women’s race by almost six minutes. But her time would have been faster had she not been blown off her bike inside the final kilometer.

“I had to run for a little while until it was flat enough to get back on my bike and ride. The wind was just unbelievable,” said the 21-year-old Canadian champion.

Drew Miller (Trek-VW All Stars), one of the riders tabbed to give Danielson a run, never figured in the race and finished fifth. Miller, second in the recent Mount Evans Hillclimb in Colorado, didn’t arrive in New Hampshire until 2 a.m. the morning of the race and showed up at the start with no warm-up.

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Results

Men

5. Elizabeth Shorts, 11:12:28