SIMONSTER takes Maryland State XC Semi-Pro State Championship

Mike Simonson wins Semi-Pro class at AMBC Greenbriar State Park Maryland as well as State Championship. Great Job again Simonster ! That's 2 AMBC wins this year and 4 for 4 in the WINS catergory. John Meyers and Joberon Brewchampski raced at Cannonsburg ski near Grand Rapids MI this past Sunday as well. John Hung tough with the local Alger teammates and finished a strong 3rd followed in shortly later by Joe Bruszchanski in 6th.



the Simonster says:

I guess I never realized there were mountains in Maryland, but I was soon to find out as we traveled through Pennsylvania and approached the race location on Sunday morning at Greenbriar State Park. The course was nothing>like the typical course in Michigan. The laps were 5.5 miles long and contained 760 ft of climbing. It doesn't sound brutal, but when you make it 4 laps and add in all the steep rocky technical downhills, it turns into one tough course.

The race promoter decided to split the pros and semi-pros, so the 8 pros started one minute ahead of the 10 semi-pros in my class. I was kind of bummed because I wanted to see how well I would do against Treks Chris Eatough. I shot off the start line and took the whole shot right into the first climb. I was able to get a gap and separate myself from the entire semi-pro field. It wasn't long before I started reeling in some of the pros who started 1 minute ahead of me. After the first lap, I had a good gap on my field, and was sitting 6th in the pro field. At this point, I had maintained the 1 minute gap to the pro leader Chris Eatough. During the second and third laps, I was able to reel in another two riders from the pro field. At this point I was beginning to tire and I could feel myself beginning to slow down. The last lap was very tough as I struggled up the long steep 500 ft climb right in the middle of the course, but I managed to finish strong down the last muddy technical downhill and take the semi-pro win and 4th in the pro class.

The Quiring 29er performed awesome and steam rolled right over the rock gardens strewn throughout the steep down hills. Most of the other guys had full suspension bikes, but still couldn't take the rocky down hills as fast as the 29er. It was also nice to have a light efficient hardtail to help me on the long steep climbs. Plus the extra climbing traction of the larger wheel diameter made it easier for the rear tire to hook up in the loose spots.