By Michelle Stopper and Wes Schempf

The Summer Sizzler presented by No Cents Racing lived up to its name last weekend. Weather conditions were hot and humid for the beginner and elite races. The skies opened up and poured for the sport races, which were shortened due to the heavy rain and lightning.

Representing visitPA.com for the fourth stop in the cross country series was team director Ray Adams, Rob Lichtenwalner, Mike Hebe, and Wes Schempf in the elite men and Nancy Adams in the elite women.

The course was a 5.6-mile loop of tight, twisting single track with short, steep hills, sandy corners, roots, and bridges. Being first into the single track was important in this race, as the opportunities for passing were extremely limited.

Current series leader Wes Schempf won the sprint to the single track and quickly established a lead with Scott Racing's Aaron Snyder, Kyle Hammaker, and SoBe/Cannondale's Bryon Kremer several seconds behind. Rob, Ray, and Mike lead the rest of the elite field.

This group of four whittled down to Wes and Bryon by the end of the first lap. Wes continued to push the pace over laps two and three until a twisted front derailleur almost derailed his podium chances. A quick trailside fix kept his chances alive but required him to make a big effort to catch up with Bryon by the beginning of fourth and final lap.

Knowing that it could come down to a sprint finish, Wes made sure to get in front of Bryon before the finish. As expected, Bryon stayed glued to Wes's wheel until the final sprint, where Wes was able to maintain his advantage through the finish line for the hard-earned victory. Rob and Mike came through in 5th and 6th, and Ray finished in 11th.

In the women's race, Nancy Adams proved that steady effort pays off, passing all but two of her competitors on the final lap. She crossed the line in 3rd place, representing the visitPA.com women's contingency. (Michelle Stopper raced the Mohican 100 in Ohio.)

On the endurance side of the sport, Michelle Stopper and Mike Kuhn headed west to the second of the National Ultra Endurance Series: The Mohican 100. It was a tough field for the men. Jeff Schalk, Chris Eatough, Chris Beck, Brandon Draugelis, and Harlan Price were at the start, along with Betsy Shogren, Rebecca Rusch, Cheryl Sorenson, and Carey Lowery for the women.

Muddy conditions and a strong field provided a glimpse at the season's potential for upsets with a sprint start into 35 miles of single track, followed by interspersed sections of single track, challenging rollers, and sections of railroad-grade doubletrack.

Cheryl and Michelle went out hard, hit the trail, and found flow as Betsy and Rebecca worked their way forward, passing and maintaining position until the end. From the second aid station, Cheryl, Michelle, and Trish Stevenson yo-yoed positions and regrouped at further aid stations.

The race came down to the last few miles for both sets of women battling positions. A wrong turn for Betsy and Michelle almost cost them their places. Fortunately, adrenaline kicked in and Betsy sprinted for the win, a minute ahead of Rebecca. Michelle was in the same boat, and a comeback on the last road climb placed her in 3rd, with Cheryl in 4th and Trish in 5th.

The men's race found Jeff Schalk at the front, followed closely by Eatough. Sam Koerber, Evan Plews, and Harlan Price rounded out the top five places, all 30 minutes back from Jeff's winning time of 7:09. Mike Kuhn battled his way through heat to finish a respectable mid-pack in a stacked field.

On the single speed side, Dejay Birtch secured a first-place spot for Niner, while Matt Ferrari, another native of Pa., took 3rd place for Mt. Nittany Wheelworks.

See the team next week at the M.A.S.S. Tour de Tykes weekend of racing on June 7-8.

Thanks to our sponsors who make this all possible:

• visitPA.com
• Cannondale Bicycles
• SRAM Components
• Northwave footwear
• Rudy Project helmets and glasses
• Suunto
• Ergon
• Deuter Hydration Packs
• Cadence Coaching
• Psycho Lube

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