Hell Of The North

Hell Of The North, the name is inextricably linked to an April Sunday in France. Use the phrase in the presence of a cycling fan and a certain look appears in the eyes. Visions of mud, dust, cobblestones and epic rides come to mind. One suspects there is a race in nearly every cycling community that models itself after the Paris-Roubaix spring classic.

 Utah lacks the infamous cobbles of northern France. In their place race organizer Marek Shon found a five mile circuit on rural roads that included one and three quarter miles of potholed gravel road. A mine field is how one bystander described it. April weather in Utah can be anything from warm and sunny to cold, wet and sloppy. Saturday proved to be warm, dry and overcast with a strong south wind. Dry weather meant the gravel section of the course was loose and dusty. Transitions from pavement to gravel and back to pavement lead to numerous crashes. Corner four had one line that rode cleanly. Miss the line and one was either on the ground or forced to ride out the corner in the grass on the back side. Pre-riding the fourth corner proved to be very solid race preparation. A strong head wind negated any advantage to be gained on the south bound lag of the course.

 The women's pro/1/2/3 field numbered seven, representing three teams Primal Utah, Ski Utah Cycling team, and Elete Nutrition. Sarah Kaufmann (Elete Nutrition) was initially drawn to the race because of the dirt section, which she found to be “super fun”. Kaufmann inspected the critical fourth corner and rode the first lap on the front going into that turn. “When I found myself off the front on lap two, I decided to go for it.” That decision paid off 6 laps later as Kaufmann soloed over the line, in a building rain, four minutes ahead of Laura Howat (Ski Utah) and Kelsey Withrow (Primal Utah).

 The men's pro/1/2 field started with twenty one riders. Utah Cycling Association Series Leader Dave Harward rode out to an early lead. A chase of six riders followed at 30 seconds. A series of punctures dropped Harward to last place at one point. He was able to ride back to finish eighth overall. A group powered by Ski Utah's Mike Booth, Ryan Barrett, Canyon Bicycles Mike Sohm, Bryce Young, and Peter Archambault of Rocky Mountain Cycling Club proceeded build a lead of 2 minutes over the remainder of the field. Attrition thinned the leaders to three with Archambault taking the three up sprint over Sohm, who was closely followed by Young.