The third annual Park City Point 2 Point (PCP2P) was run and won on Saturday, September 3 in Park City, Utah under clear and sunny skies. While the sun was out temperatures dipped near freezing as racers geared up for the 7am start time before taking off on the 78-mile mountain bike endurance race. This is the first year the PCP2P has been included in the National Ultra Endurance (NUE) Series and is the only race stop in 2011 with a distance under 100 miles. The top seven racers in both Male and Female divisions took home a cash payout.
Two time PCP2P defender Alex Grant, riding for Cannondale, brought home a three-peat in the Open Male division, breaking his race time last year by six minutes and finishing the course in 6 hours, 48 minutes. Cannondale teammate Tinker Juarez came in second at 7 hours, 1 minute, and Josh Tostado was a mere one minute behind Juarez, at 7 hours, 2 minutes. Bryson Perry (7hr, 8min), Cary Smith (7hr, 18 min), Stig Somme (7hr, 20min) and Brandon Firth (7hr, 23min) earned the remaining top seven slots in the Open Male’s division, respectively.
Amanda Carey took first place in the Open Female division, finishing in 8 hours, 17 minutes. Erica Tingey came in second at 8 hours, 31 minutes, and Sonya Looney took third at 8 hours, 36 minutes. Rebecca Rusch (8hr, 37min), Jennifer Smith (8hr, 46min), Evelyn Dong (8hr, 55min) and Kelly Boniface (8hr, 59min) rounded out the top seven females in the Open Female’s division, respectively.
“This year’s race couldn’t have gone better,” said Jay Burke, race director and co-founder of PCP2P. “It started out cold, but things heated up quickly, in the air and the race!” He went on to say that the race proved to be the best year so far and is already looking forward to next year’s event. “The race just continues to grow in popularity, it amazes me, I love to watch the open classes, but the age group racers that work so hard to get to the finish are what really motivates us – it is just inspiring!”
The PCP2P has been touted as one of the hardest single-day mountain bike endurance races in North America, with its merciless climbs and tight, technical trail conditions. Featuring more than 90% singletrack, the PCP2P course travelled 78 miles and climbed 14,000ft through the Wasatch Mountains without crossing the same trail twice. The course cut through the area’s three ski resorts, including Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain Resort, and finished in the Forum at Canyons Resort with free live music.
Registration for the 2010 PCP2P will take place on February 15, 2012 and – with this year’s edition selling out in a matter of minutes – is expected to again sell out fast.
For more information visit www.thepcpp.com.