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Phillip Gaimon wins Mount Washington climb
While Mother Nature teased participants with tiny showers up to about an hour before the start, this year’s Mt. Washington Hillclimb went off without a hitch.
At start time the temp at the base of the New Hampshire peak was a mild 61, while the summit was a sunny 46 with literally no wind.
The 600-rider field — containing none of the more well known riders of the past few years such as Tyler Hamilton, Tom Danielson or Ned Overend — left the field wide open for up-and-coming riders.
In keeping with tradition the age of the field encompassed a wide range, this year including youngest-ever rider 9 year old Jonah Thompson from Albquerque, New Mexico, and 75-year-old Steve Swenson, a local from North Conway, New Hampshire.
When the canon went off at 8:40 the elite group took off, led by Phillip Gaimon from Tucker, Georgia. Gaimon, 22, was the second place finisher in July’s Newton’s Revenge race over the same course.
Close behind were Nico Toutenhoofd, 40, and Steve Gatzos, 32. By the second mile Gaimon had clearly established his lead, with Toutenhoofd and Gatzos riding together about 40 seconds behind. While Gaimon looked as if he was struggling just a bit at 5.6 miles, he held firmly onto his lead, increasing it to 1 minute and 43 seconds by the finish. Just shy of the 5 mile mark, Toutenhoofd pulled ahead of Gatzos. At the end he had extended his lead over Gatzos to 53 seconds.
In the elite woman’s division, Brazilian rider Flavia Lepene (31) took the lead from the start, followed by Magali Tisseyre (25) and Kristie Reynolds (42). This order stayed the same for the entire race with Lepene finishing at 1:08.52, Tisseyre at 1:10.07 and Reynolds at 1:17.12. None of the top three women had ridden Mt. Washington before.
Top three:
Men:
1. Philip Gaimon, Tucker, Georgia, 22, 54:57
2. Nico Toutenhoofd, Boulder, Colorado, 40, 56:40
3. Steve Gatzos, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, 32, 57:33
Women:
1. Flavia Lepene, Blacksburg, Virginia, 1:08:52
2. Magali Tisseyre, Montreal, Quebec, 1:10:07
3. Kristie Reynolds, Exeter, New Hampshire, 1:17:12
Recent Mount Washington Winners:
(The 2007 race was not held due to bad weather.)
2006
1st man: Tyler Hamilton, 52:21
1st woman: Aimee Vasse, 1:08:31
2005
Tyler Hamilton, 51:11
Aimee Vasse, 1:12:38
2004
Justin England, 58:50
Aimee Vasse, 1:10:44
2003
Tom Danielson, 51:05
Genevieve Jeanson, 59:58
2002
Tom Danielson, 49:24 (course record)
Genevieve Jeanson, 54:02 (course record)
2001
Tim Johnson, 53.13
Karen Bockel, 1:09:20
2000
Tim Johnson, 55:46
Jeannie Longo, 58:14
