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Meet the Racers - Solo Field (continued)

110 John Pearch – Olympia, WA – When I first started ultra racing in the early 90s there was a wide variety of athletes in the sport. I often thought the ultra runners, if they had a mind to, would be highly competitive in long distance cycling. On the whole I found myself surprised that the ultra marathon runners were not all that competitive. Until 2003 when a man named Mike Trevino burst on the scene with a dominating win at the UMCA 24 Hour Championships in Iowa. Mike went on to a second place sub 9 day RAAM crossing in ’04 becoming one of the handful of solo racers that have actually passed Jure Robic after Day One. All of which brings us to RAO racer #110John Pearch. Pearch has an impressive ultra running resume. He’s fast, has great endurance and is hgihly competitive. RAO will be his first bicycle race. Judging from the amount of preparation John has done and time he’s spent training on the RAO route I believe he’s going to turn in a performance more akin to Trevino. Pearch’s stated goals are an official finish – I’m expecting him to be much more competitive once the race gets underway.

114 Daniel Olsen – Seattle, WA – Daniel has a great website which I urge you to visit. Olsen is competitive and is coming to win. I know very little about this racer other than he’d make me nervous if I was racing against him.

115 Scott Youngren – Mount Vernon, WA – I remember just a few short years ago when Scott Youngren was racing his rookie RAO. He’d put in an amazing few days at RAO Training Camp – riding well enough to have Richie Kondzielaski tip him as the favorite to win in ’05. Logistics took their toll on Scott and forced him to eventually drop from the race. Youngren came back in ’07 to avenge his DNF. He did with a strong finish. It was a tough race for Scott as he had to overcome some serious difficulties to get to Timberline. Scott had a great Training Camp this year. He knows what’s coming, is prepared for it and should have a good race this year.

161 Bill Nicolai – Vancouver, WA – Racing with Team Headhunter, Bill has finished RAO on 4 and 2 person relay teams. He’s the current 50+ two person record holder. Now at age 60 Bill wants to become the second 60 year old to finish RAO solo. Nicolai is one of the best in his age group in triathlons and we look for him to duplicate that in ultra racing. He’s dedicated himself to a solo finish this year planning his entire training schedule around this race. He has the mind and experience to achieve his goal. He also has the crew to make it happen with ultra legend Steve Born as his crew chief. Does he have the speed to make an official finish? I am confident he does. Bill looked great as he passed me on our last lap of the Lewis and Clark Ultra last May. I was really impressed with the way he was riding and think he can bring that to RAO.

116 Tom Letsinger – Eugene, OR – Check out GVH Bikes online to see the beautiful works of art Tom assembles for riders around the world. Letsinger’s background is in mountain bike racing. We initially met him at Ring of Fire and were impressed with his ability to stay on the bike. He ran into some physical problems during RAO last year and dropped from the race just past Prineville. He came back to Ring of Fire and rode a brilliant race moving into second place (upright) during the night loops. He did what a person needs to do to be competitive in an ultra race – Tom maintained a steady pace and limited his time off the bike. He had a great Training Camp and absolutely flew up Timberline Road on Day Four. Watch out for this guy if you’re planning on RAAM qualification. He’s going to have a top finish.

118 Dru Dixon – West Plains, MO – I know very little about Dru other than the fact that he lives in a state which I think has some of the most difficult cycling terrain I’ve ever ridden. Missouri has some brutally steep climbs which, though they are nowhere near as long as our Oregon climbs, should serve as fine preparation for RAO.

162 James Barhitte – Vancouver, WA – We were hoping to meet James at the Lewis and Clark Ultra. Unfortunately he was not there. I don’t know James’ race background.

120 Georg Payer – Wolfsberg, Austria – I am so happy we finally have an Austrian in our field!! Georg arrived today and is taking some time to recover from jet lag and get in a few extra miles prior to the start. I had the pleasure of speaking with Payer today. The terrain where he lives sounds quite comparable to the Cascades. I was beaten plenty of times by Wolfgang Fasching – maybe I’ll be able to stay ahead of this Austrian by driving my car.

122 Jess Clifton – Sacramento, CA – Another racer with whom I am not familiar. Jess, if you read this and want to send me a resume please do!

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