Stamstad

New to the Gorge Games this year is the GrannyGear-sanctioned 24 hour mountain bike race. The notoriety of this event didn't go unnoticed by endurance mountain biking's premier competitors as a total of 24 solo men and five solo women entered the competition to compete alongside multi-rider teams.

Undoubtedly the most recognizable of entrants was John Stamstad, founding father of 24 hour solo mountain bike racing. Stamstad didn't disappoint his contingent of fans as he rode once again to victory by lapping the entire field before taking the finish after over 24 hours of grueling competition. Not only did the Chevy Trucks/Airborne sponsored Stamstad win, he won in convincing fashion, an incredible accomplishment considering his last victory (at the 24 Hours of Snowshoe) was scarcely more than a month ago.

"It was a hard race," the Seattle resident said at the finish line and then added with a chuckle, "they all are. I've never done a 24 hour race that was easy. It's just part of the program." He then matter-of-factly pointed out the blisters on his hands and explained the foot soreness that accompanies pedaling nonstop for over an entire day.

While in retrospect the event appeared to go entirely Stamstad's way, the race didn't start exactly as he would have scripted. A hard charge right out of the gate by competitor Pat Norwil put a bit of pressure on Stamstad and forced him to start out a bit faster than he would normally choose to.

"Pat took it out super-fast and I had to go out faster than I wanted to just to minimize the damage from the lead he was getting. I knew that he wouldn't be able to hold that pace for too long but, at the same time, if you give someone too big of a lead then you can be done."

Norwil managed to put together a half-hour distance on Stamstad by the 8 hour mark but the eventual winner came back with a vengeance at nightfall. At 1am, Stamstad was in the lead and before dawn he was an entire lap ahead of the field.

"I feel stronger than ever and am recovering faster than I ever have. Everything is working well right now and I really look forward to each and every event..."

While there is no such thing as an easy 24 hour race, Stamstad felt that conditions at the Hood River, OR, course were conducive to a strong ride and finish.

"Despite the fact that there was 1700 feet of climbing, which is a lot, lap-after-lap-after-lap, there were some places that you could coast and recover a bit," Stamstad explained. "The downhill singletrack was really twisty and you have to be mentally on it to make the turns fast but it wasn't super-jarring and you could at least rest your legs. It was also hardpack, as opposed to a muddy course, where you're just grinding along and you can't get any momentum. After dawn the top riders lap times picked up a bit and you wouldn't have seen that if the conditions had gotten really adverse...then the times slow way down."

Stamstad attributes his successive wins at the Gorge Games 24 Hour and the 24 Hours of Snowshoe to a productive off-season training regimen and the experience and knowledge that accrues from years of top level competition.

"I feel stronger than ever and am recovering faster than I ever have. Everything is working well right now and I really look forward to each and every event," a pleased Stamstad said amongst the media and a collection of fans under the finish banner.

That's good news for multi-endurance record holder Stamstad and his sponsors; bad news for the competition.

—John Stamstad