The Superior Morgul Classic: Day 2, Morgul Bismark Road Race

Race report by Shawn Lortie

(May 29, 2011) Superior, Colo.-Day two of the Superior Morgul Classic served up a healthy dose of road racing on the famous Morgul Bismark road course. This course has been around since the Red Zinger days and has even been featured in the movie Breaking Away. It is a 13.5-mile loop gaining 750 feet of climbing per lap. The course tackles the infamous “Wall” and  “The Hump”, while taking the riders around a scenic rural loop under the watchful gaze of Boulder’s Flatirons.

Warm weather and calm winds greeted the racers for a second day and fans were out early, especially along the infamous “Wall” section of the course. With the finish situated at the top of this short steep climb, and MC extraordinaire LG at the mic, the riders were treated to a barrage of cheering and encouragement each time they came through. 

Once again it was the Primal/Map My Ride team, with Kasey Clark and teammate Gwen Inglis at the front of the Pro Women’s race. And once again, Catherine Johnson (Big Ring Cycles) came along for the ride. The three broke away early and stayed away for the entire race. “Today was consistently hard. There weren’t a lot of attacks. It was just steady all day. I got to sit in a lot because Gwen did a lot of the work in the break.” Said a jubilant Clark after the race.

By the end of the four laps, it was Clark who was able to get away at the base of the “Wall” to take the win, as Johnson, once again outnumbered by the two Primal riders for the entire day, came in for second, with Inglis taking third. Megan Hottman, the winner of Saturdays Crit, came in at fourth, leading the group of chasers. Clark also took home the overall Omnium for the weekend, along with the team Omnium for the Primal/ Map My ride Team.

In the Men’s Pro race, a group of three had escaped the pack by the end of lap one. Yannick Eckmann (Hot Tubes), Nathan Wilson (California Giant/Specialized), and Austin Allison (Horizon Organic/Panache) worked together to grow the gap. Eventually Wilson and Allison left Eckmann behind to be swallowed up by the pack a couple of minutes behind. 

Wilson and Allison continued their battle at the front. As the two came through the finish at the top of the “Wall”, with one to go, Allison looked to be suffering quite a bit more than Wilson. Towards the end of the last lap at “The Hump”, Wilson made his move. “I’d been battling cramps the last two laps,” said Allison, “I was expecting the attack when it came, but he just hit it and I didn’t react quick enough and I couldn’t close it.”

Wilson took the win, with Allison rolling in soon after. Josh Yeaton (Horizon Organic/Panache) had another great day finishing up third and taking the overall Omnium win for the weekend. The overall Team Omnium also went to the Horizon Organic/Panache Team.  Finishing close behind Yeaton were Craig Magee (unattached) in fourth, and Jon Tarkington (Natural Grocers) for fifth.

Overall it was a great weekend of road racing with the promoters putting on a great race with plenty of family activities at Saturdays Crit, and a really nice finish line set up at the top of the wall. Larry Grossman aka LG, did a fantastic job of keeping the spectators involved and fired up as racers tackled the “Wall”. The noise level remained high throughout the day, and it was obvious the racers appreciated it as they suffered up the climb and across the finish line.