Swanson again dominates Cable Criterium
Doug Swanson, 29, (#35) of Plymouth, Minn., won the Cable Criterium but was beat at the line in an earlier qualifying race (shown here) by Tristan Schouten, 25, (#31) of Sheboygan, Wis. Chris Fisher, 29, (#18) of Inver Grove Heights, Minn., finished fifth overall. Photos by Joel Patenaude.
Doug Swanson (Trek/VW) won Sunday’s Cable Criterium at the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival for a record fifth time in his trademark style – attacking hard, establishing a lead and soloing in for victory.
Swanson, who holds the record time in the Chequamegon 40 but struggled in the longer race on Saturday, was glad to be back on form. “I was happy I could pull it off today,” Swanson said. “Yesterday, I felt good for about ten minutes at a time.”
Jesrin Gaier (Specialized) made a late run at Swanson, edging out Swanson’s teammate Tristan Schouten for second. “I was feeling good the last two laps,” said Gaier, who got caught up in traffic on the technical course. “I think if I could have gotten (Swanson’s) wheel, I could have stayed with him.” But that never happened, as Gaier could only reel in Schouten on the last lap of the miss-and-out race.
Earlier in the day, Schouten nipped Swanson in a sprint finish in a qualifying race. Schouten is the only rider to beat Swanson in the Cable Criterium since 2001.
Jenna Zander, 23, (#142) of Mankato, Minn., edged out Kyia Malenkovich, 31, (#137) of St. Cloud, Minn., for the win at the Cable Criterium.
In the women’s race, Jenna Zander (Bear Naked/Cannondale) completed her sweep of the weekend in her first ever Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival. She held off Kyia Malenkovich (Headmethod/Cannondale) by half a second. Malenkovich has won the Cable Criterium four times in her career. SyRae Welkie of Boulder, Colo. placed third.
Swanson had good things to say about the new course, which featured two tight corners and two sharp uphills. “This was the best Sunday Fun Day course we’ve had so far. I just couldn’t quite see the 25,” Swanson said. The course was laid out to look like the number 25, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the race.
Michael Gerke, who has done all of the 25 Chequamegon Fat Tire Festivals, nearly won the 2007 Rough Stuff Rendezvous, an orienteering race in the woods around Telemark Resort. Gerke, who has won the event for four years, was edged out by John Manders. In the women’s Rough Stuff, Melissa Dupke won the event by over 20 minutes.
For full results, go to itiming.com.
– Mark Parman