Annual Porky Gulch Classic
Ryan Littlefield Wins Multi-Discipline 2 Day Porky Gulch Classic Overall

Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire

A beautiful weekend was the setting for exciting bike racing at the Porky Gulch Classic, hosted by Great Glen Trails. Returning to the race after finishing in fourth place in 2008, Ryan Littlefield of Scarborough, ME was the overall winner claiming the title of New England’s Best All Around Cyclist. Danielle Ruane of Webster, NH was named champion for the women.

The Porky Gulch Classic is a true test of cycling ability with three distinct stages held over two days. The race includes a prologue climb up the famed Mount Washington, a criterium followed by a cyclocross race.

Cyclists are awarded points based on their finish in each stage, and the rider with the most points is declared the winner. This year cyclists competed in eight categories: Elite Men, Elite Women, Intermediate Men, Intermediate Junior Men, Intermediate Women, Beginner Men, Beginner Women and Beginner Junior Women.

Stage 1 - The Toughest Two
The first stage, The Toughest Two, a two-mile hillclimb up the Mt. Washington Auto Road, was almost shortened to the Toughest One and a Quarter due to icing on the Auto Road. Luckily, temperatures rose just enough before start time to allow racers to test themselves on the full two-mile distance.

Thom Coupe of Plymouth, NH racing in the Elite Category led all racers in 12:15 for the victory by more than two minutes. Littlefield and Frank Marowitz from Manchester, NH tied for second place in the Elite Category in 14:58. The top two intermediate racers, Colm McMahon of Brookline, MA and Larry Reed actually bested the second and third place elites with times of 14:53 and 14:57, respectively. The top women’s time also came from the Intermediate Category as Tamela Lynch of Littleton, NH completed the climb in 17:33.

Stage 2 Story Land Criterium
Ice was still on the minds of the racers as the event moved to Story Land on Saturday afternoon. Despite bright sunshine, a few icy patches lingered in the shade as the racers navigated the second stage of the race, the Story Land Criterium - a twisty, turny, non-traditional criterium through the popular amusement park. Once again, Coupe led the way completing 13 laps in 43:39. Littlefield took second with 13 laps in 44:29 with Craig Harrison of Bartlett, NH rounding out the top three just 6 seconds behind Littlefield. Racing with the Elite Men, Ruane, the only Elite Woman, completed 12 laps in 44:12.

Stage 3 Rockpile Rampage Cyclocross
Warmer temperatures, abundant sunshine and a surprise greeted racers on Sunday morning at the Rockpile Rampage at Great Glen Trails. Despite winning the first two stages, Coupe was unable to race on Sunday leaving the Elite Men’s field wide open.

Even with the unpredictable nature of cyclocross, a bike racing discipline that combines elements of mountain biking, road cycling and cross country running, Littlefield quickly slammed the door. After riding the first lap with the pack, Littlefield broke away to win easily with 8 laps in 43:26. Kirk Fongemie of Portland, Maine was nearly a minute back in 44:23 with Marowitz just behind him in 44:52.

Once again, Ruane raced with the men completing 7 laps in 45:08. Fourteen year-old, Sean Doherty of Center Conway, NH, the only racer in the Intermediate Junior Male Category, raced with the Intermediate Men and actually won that race. It was a fitting result for the youngster who was also racing in top of the Intermediate Men’s field in the Story Land Criterium until a broken chain cost him a number of places.

Littlefield’s victory in the Rockpile Rampage propelled him to the overall Porky Gulch Classic victory with 170 points. Despite a blown tire in the Story Land Criterium, which cost him a number of places and precious points, Marowitz finished second with a total of 150 points. Fongemie’s second place in the final stage allowed him to leapfrog a number of other riders to take third with 143 points. Racing alone, Ruane compiled 180 points in her win.

Complete stage results, race videos and photos  visit www.porkygulchclassic.com

Overall Results
Elite Men
Place Bib Name Prologue Crit Cross Total
1 164 Ryan Littlefield 55 55 60 170
2 165 Frank Marowitz 55 44 51 150
3 161 Kirk Fongemie 47 41 55 143
4 168 Craig Harrison 41 51 47 139
5 166 Jason Pettengill 44 47 44 135
6 160 Thom Coupe 60 60 0 120
7 170 Brian Mccall 35 38 41 114
8 162 Chris Gendron 32 32 38 102
9 163 James Jones 26 35 35 96
10 171 Steven Fessenden 23 29 32 84
11 169 Sam Anderson 38 26 0 64
12 167 James White 29 0 0 29

Elite Women
1 10 Danielle Ruane 60 60 60 180

Intermediate Men
1 140 Colm Mcmahon 60 60 51 171
2 137 Tom Fritschka 41 41 60 142
3 142 Jonathan Sauerbrey 47 38 55 140
4 134 Odd-Aage Bersvendsen 44 47 44 135
5 150 Larry Reed 55 35 41 131
6 151 Justin Henderson 51 51 26 128
7 143 Robert Vines 32 32 47 111
8 141 Joseph Reagan 35 44 29 108
9 136 Hasan Duymaziar 0 55 35 90
10 148 Abe Wrobleski 29 26 23 78
11 153 Mark Flaherty 38 20 20 78
12 135 Marc D'amour 20 17 32 69
13 152 Michael Daubenspeck 14 5 38 57
14 132 Glenn Adams 26 14 11 51
15 144 Tom White 23 23 0 46
16 145 Sven Cole 14 29 0 43
17 139 John Helsdon 8 8 14 30
18 147 Chris Ames 17 11 0 28
19 138 Steve Godbey 0 0 17 17

Imtermediate Junior Men
1 34 Sean Doherty 60 60 60 180

Intermediate Women
1 156 Paula Brunetto 55 60 60 175
2 157 Tamela Lynch 60 51 55 166
3 158 Meg Skidmore 51 55 51 157

Beginner Men
1 101 Aaron Bitters 60 60 60 180
2 107 Alan Moss 55 38 47 140
3 112 Dave Hart 51 47 41 139
4 111 Nicholas Wheeler 41 55 32 128
5 115 Micheal Graves 29 44 51 124
6 104 Karl Geib 47 32 38 117
7 106 Eric Marowitz 44 51 17 112
8 109 William Turner 32 26 44 102
9 102 Eric Cobb 20 41 35 96
10 105 William Kurtz 26 35 26 87
11 108 Dean Poplawski 17 14 55 86
12 110 George Volker 26 29 29 84
13 118 Mike Duffy 35 23 23 81
14 116 Andy Demotses 38 20 14 72
15 103 Rob Gauthier 14 17 20 51
16 113 Chuck Bowie 11 11 0 22

Beginner Women
1 114 Michelle Bowie 60 60 60 180

Beginner Junior Women
1 117 Lizzy Duffy 60 60 60 180
 

About Glen Trails Outdoor Center  - Located at the base of Mt. Washington, Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center is a year-round destination for outdoor and fitness enthusiasts. Winter offerings include cross country skiing, snowshoeing, tubing and the one-of-a-kind SnowCoach. Mountain biking, paddling, Nordic walking and trail running are popular in summer. For more information, visit www.GreatGlenTrails.com or call 603-466-2333.

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