Snow Crush 2017 – Recap, Results, Pictures!

Startline (photo by Griff Wigley)
Startline (photo by Griff Wigley)

Making the most of a sparse winter, CROCT staged a successful fatbike race in January, hosting 84 hardy racers in the second annual Snow Crush.

Held on Saturday, January 14, the Snow Crush was a true community event – run by CROCT, sponsored by F-Town Brewing, supported by Milltown bike shop in Faribault, and held at River Bend Nature Center in Faribault.

This year’s Snow Crush included three distances to suit racers of any ability. Reflecting the growing popularity of fatbike racing in Minnesota, this year’s field was a third larger than in 2015, when 65 racers turned out. Gorgeous 20-degree weather helped draw a crowd, and made the tracks for the 6, 12, and 16 miles races nearly perfect.

Leaders in the 16-mile race (photo by Jim Wellbrock)
Leaders in the 16-mile race (photo by Jim Wellbrock)

Charles Wolf (St Peter) won the 16-mile race advanced race in1:22:58, taking a narrow two-second win over Mitch Brekke (Albert Lea). Nick Zawadski (Minneapolis) finished third in 1:23:33. Chelsea Strate (Minneapolis) easily won the women’s 16-mile race in 1:35:10, ahead of Robin Williams at 1:42:40.

In the men’s 12-mile intermediate race, David Chlet took the win in 1:17:00, followed by Scott Perkinson at 1:19:55 and Tony Lema at 1:20:11. Kris Brazil (Faribault) won the women’s intermediate in 1:24:26, ahead of Megan Beer in 1:28:08.

In the 6-mile beginner race, Ann Paulson and Mike Rost (Faribault) won, 1:20:20 and 58:00, respectively. Anna Perkinson took second place in the women’s beginner category (1:23:50), while Ben Lema  took second (1:00:00) andAndrew Tubesing took third (1:03:00).

Full results are posted online, as are three galleries of photos:

Following the race, everyone retired to F-Town Brewing for an after-party and awards, and Faribault radio station Power 96 posted a nice write-up on the race as well.