April 1, 2005 - Hamblen Wins MTB races

Hamblen Wins Cane Creek Cup No/So Carolina MTB Series # 1, March 26-27

Sandhills Short Track, 40 minute timed event
Fiordifrutta's Jon Hamblen showed up for the Sandhills Short Track mountain bike race with a Cannondale cyclocross bike for the small and tight course which he figured would suit his light and nimble bike... that and he doesn't own a mountain bike. Hamblen took on the race in cyclocross style, opening the throttle from the gun and trying to create a gap on his rivals. Jon was followed closely by two riders for most of the first lap in the forty minute timed event but put even more gas into the carburetor near the end of the lap and got himself free. For the rest of the race Hamblen rode smoothly and consistently, hitting his marks and putting the Cannondale cyclocross bike well ahead of his rivals’ machines. Jon won the race in an incredible 40 minutes!

Uwharrie Cross Country
Borrowing a mountain bike from a friend of a friend the morning of the race, Fiordifrutta's Hamblen headed to the start line on a dismal 55 degree cloudy day in the beautiful Uwharrie National Forest. From the gun Jon and two other riders attacked hard on the opening fire road section and created a gap on the rest of the pack before hitting the single track. For the first half lap Jon followed the two riders and acquainted himself with the new fangled suspension fork and extra fat tires the bike was equipped with, while also coming to terms with the many roots and sharp pointy rocks. Once he was comfortable enough, our boy Hamblen jumped away on a smooth fire road climb and rode through the start/finish line to complete the first of three 8 mile laps on his own. Jon hammered away for the remaining two laps and finished first in the 1 hour and 50 minute race with an astounding 24 mile distance!