Race winner praises Mount Davis Challenge: ‘It’s a tough course
Michael Reidenbach took first place in the men’s CAT 1/2 of the Mount Davis Challenge bicycle race Sunday, with a total time of 2:50:44.67 and a pace time of 21.1 miles per hour, according to race results. The 33-year-old Reidenbach was part of the three-man Washington, D.C.-based Total Civil Construction Elite Cycling Team that raced…
Michael Reidenbach took first place in the men’s CAT 1/2 of the Mount Davis Challenge bicycle race Sunday, with a total time of 2:50:44.67 and a pace time of 21.1 miles per hour, according to race results.
The 33-year-old Reidenbach was part of the three-man Washington, D.C.-based Total Civil Construction Elite Cycling Team that raced Sunday.
“It’s a tough course – not one of the longest – but all up or down pretty much, so no rest,” he said. “It’s always a tough course, the toughest of the year.”
Reidenbach is an engineer at Emmitsburg, Md.-based HydroMax Inc., a maker of commercial and industrial water purification systems. Racing with him on the team Sunday were Andrew Frommer and August Chamot.
“It was a team effort,” Reidenbach said, adding that Sunday’s race was the third consecutive win for team Total Civil Construction at the Mount Davis Challenge.
Paige Anderson took first place in the women’s CAT 1/2/3 with a total time of 2:13:44.36 and a pace time of 18.8 miles per hour. The 33-year-old Anderson’s team was listed as Pittsburgh Babe.
Reidenbach and Anderson were among a record 198 riders to register for the 40 to 56-mile bicycle road race that starts in Confluence and climbs over Mount Davis, the highest point in Pennsylvania. Of those who registered Sunday, 187 people actually raced – also a record.
The oldest male rider in the race was 73; the oldest female was 64. The race also featured two junior men, each age 17.
One female rider went down along the race and was examined by paramedics. She was not hurt, according to a race organizer.
The Mount Davis Challenge, which is sanctioned and conducted under the rules of USA Cycling, features steep and prolonged climbs, fast descents and some rough road surfaces along with dazzling open views of the Laurel Highlands. The race is open to amateurs and elite domestic racers in various age and ability classes.
Every year, volunteers in reflective vests are stationed at various spots along the route to direct traffic and keep riders safe.