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Arkansas High Country Race 2022
Arkansas, USA
A race that was designed to "showcase the natural features and the beautiful human environments of these highlands" - Chuck Campbell, race creator.
07:00, 8 October, 2022
Total Racers
.
Distance — Elevation
1,600km — 24,385m
Terrain
Gravel
Winner
Ernie Lechuga
Key Events
Day 3 - ANOTHER FKT And Some Wheelie Bad Issues
Day 2 - FKTs are falling!
Day 1 - sun, birthdays and heaps of fun!
Ouachita Triple Crown Winner!
Leaderboard
Total Racers: 46
Scratched: 0% ( 0 )
Finished: 100% ( 46 )
Arkansas High Country
- 1stErnie Lechuga (M) (Winner)
- 2ndKuya Takami (M) (Finished)
- 3rdDaniel Connell (M) (Finished)
- 4thEzra Ward-Packard (M) (Finished)
- 5thHannah Simon (F) (Finished)
- 6thBen Oney (M) (Finished)
- 7thJoseph Harp (M) (Finished)
- 8thJason Kulma (M) (Finished)
- 9thSky Tettero-Crosby (M) (Finished)
- 10thDylan Parrish (M) (Finished)
Arkansas High Country CCW
- 1stBrett Stepanik (M, SS) (Winner)
- 2ndRandy Windle (M) (Finished)
Arkansas High Country South Loop
- 1stJan Heine (M) (Winner)
- 2ndJoe Miller (M) (Finished)
- 3rdJim Phillips (M) (Finished)
- 4thJacob Waterman (M) (Finished)
- 5thRyan Bruce (M) (Finished)
- 6thMaggie Livelsberger (F, SS) (Finished)
- 7thTimur Tusiray (M) (Finished)
- 8thStephanie Hall (F) (Finished)
- 9thZach Smith (M) (Finished)
- 10thDavid Richey (M) (Finished)
Ouachita Triple Crown
- 1stJeff Kerkove (M) (Winner)
- 2ndChristopher Farney (M) (Finished)
- 3rdRobert Orr (M) (Finished)
- 4thLindsay Shepard (F, SS) (Finished)
- 5thRick Freeman (M) (Finished)
- 6thErik Deitz (M) (Finished)
- 7thChris Koty (M) (Finished)
- 8thTravis Finan (M) (Finished)
- 9thBrian Forsee (M) (Finished)
Ouachita Triple Crown CCW
- 1stAlex Kowalski (M, SS) (Winner)
- 2ndZachary McCool (M) (Finished)
- 3rdLarry Wagner (M, SS) (Finished)
- 4thAriana Khu (F) (Finished)
- 5thScott Drevicky (M) (Finished)
Events Feed
Updates on from the trail: We have the full route podium!
Race photos by Kai Caddy
Full Route Finishers Update
In the wake of Ernie Lechuga's finish we've had 4 more finishers on the Full Route and the CCW team are moving quickly.
Ezra Ward-Packard has been the most recent finisher, coming in just after Daniel in 142 hrs 45 mins. Ezra finished just now after an insatiable ride from start to finish. Pressing on after a strong resupply with 93 miles to go he rolled in in good form.
The CCW Loop
With 2/3 riders on the CCW riding single speed it really has become the battle of the single speed. Brett Stepanik is leading the bunch and has posted this incredible picture of his SS rig. Next up is Randy Windle who is riding geared. And finally Jacob Loos who is having some pretty bad knee trouble. He has bought some flat pedals, a knee compression sleeve and is riding as close as he can to doctors orders. Good luck Jacob!
WE HAVE A WINNER!
Photo by Kai Caddy
Ernie Lechuga has won the Arkansas High Country Race in 4 days, 14 hours and 13 minutes which is a new FKT! Ernie finished at 21:14 last night local time. Congraturlations to Ernie, a well deserved win especially after a difficult race last year.
With Kuya Takami blasting along behind we'll soon see the riders rolling over the finish line.
Full Loop is Closing In
Photos of the race by Kai Caddy
There has been a huge amount of pouring rain this morning and riders are having to take shelter as it covers most of the race.
Race Update
In the Full Loop, Ernie Lechuga continues to dominate with an almost 150 mile lead over Kuya Takami. However, once again, Ernie is facing mechanical problems with a wobbly cassette that seem to have been solved with a hammer (we hope!). Hannah Simon is 5th overall and leading the women's field.
In the South Loop we have our second woman across the line, Stephanie Hall, in a blistering 3 Days and 42 Minutes. Kayla Hall should be the next to finish, she's been struggling with sickness and blisters but hopefully will be able to bring it home later today.
In the Ouchita Triple crown we had a fantastic trio of riders come across the finish line at the same time for a triple lantern rouge. Chris Koty, Brian Forsee and Travis Finan finished in 2 Days 15 Hours 27 Minutes. We hear the official name is the Slogger Crew!
Social Media Trawl
Chad Wooderson has provided us with one of the best ever make-shift camp mats and overall has been sharing a tonne of his race via his stories, well worth a look.
Aaron Arnzen has posted a great race update on what happened during his 2022 Arkansas High Country race and it is well worth a read!
Day 3 - ANOTHER FKT And Some Wheelie Bad Issues
Photos by Kai Caddy
South Loop Women's FKT Smashed!
Maggie Livelsberger not only took the Women's win and the women's FKT but she was also the FIRST SINGLESPEED BACK! Congratulations to Maggie for an absolutely outstanding race finishing in 2 Days 22 Hours 24 Minutes. The second woman in, Stephanie Hall, managed to follow behind just two hours after Maggie.
It's Going Wheelie Well on the Full Route
Hannah Simon is still leading the women's race. With over 530 miles covered she isn't on for the FKT but is reasonably far ahead of the next woman, Jen Wohlner.
The Ouachita Triple Crown
The Ouachita Triple Crown is over, with 8 finishers in this gruelling loop. The 185 mile loop is a difficult distance, many riders may be able to press on without sleep but a miss-timed ride may lead to extreme fatigue. Congratulations to all the riders on this route!
Day 2 - FKTs are falling!
At the time of writing after nearly 57 hours of racing, Ernie Lechuga (cap no. 53) has established a lead of 34 miles over second place Kuya Takami (cap no. 36). These two are way out in front pushing the pace, with nearly another 100 miles separating second and third place, Daniel Connell (cap no. 64). Hannah Simon (cap no. 80) can see Daniel in her sights, and is putting on an incredible race as she keeps a podium spot in firm sight whilst approaching the mid-way point of the race.
Ernie is hungry for a win to make it a Lechuga double following Scotti's victory last year. Having covered 55% of the route, it's still all to play for and Ernie will have to keep pushing the pace to keep Kuya out of sight.
FKTs have been falling left right and centre after an epic past 24 hours of racing on the Arkansas Country High Race. Alex Kowalski (cap no. 50) clinched first place on the Ouachita Triple Crown CCW route, setting a new singlespeed record of 31 hours and 4 minutes!
The podium is rounded out for the Ouachita Triple Crown route, with Jeff Kerkove taking the top spot in a blistering time of 23 hours 10 minutes. Lindsay Shepard has finished as first woman, with a time of 38 hours and 27 minutes. Ariana Khu has finished in second place for the women (and 8th overall), with time of 46 hours and 44 minutes.
Jan Heine is one of the industry visionaries on researching and testing 'What Makes a Bike Fast?'. This year he decided to make the journey down to Hot Springs to race the South Loop route, putting his equipment choices to the test during some serious pedal to the medal. In the process he won the overall 487-mile South Loop race, setting a new FKT of 46 hours and 59 minutes! Kudos Jan! The South Loop podium has been rounded out by Joe Miller and Jim Phillips, finishing in a time of 55 hrs 10 minutes and 56 hrs 5 minutes respectively.
That's all for now. Heading into Day 3 the remaining field are strung across the various routes on offer. Check back in tomorrow to see how the dots of Arkansas are getting on.
Day 1 - sun, birthdays and heaps of fun!
A little over 24 hours in and there’s a slim leader in the AHCR. Ernie Lechuga returned to the race following his scratch last year due to heat stroke, however, all was not lost as he watched his wife, Scotti, take the overall win and set a new women’s course record in 5 days, 10 hours and 49 minutes. Ernie will be hungry for a result here following last year’s DNF and his scratch at the Silk Road Mountain Race this summer. While the AHCR route remains unchanged, the new start location makes any comparison of his pace to previous year’s futile. We’ll know more once he closes in on the finish line in a few day’s time.
A little under two hours behind him is Kuya Takami (pictured above), a Texan who’s moved from road racing to bikepacking, and a slightly longer gap to those further back. But at only a quarter of the distance ridden, there’s still all to race for.
Hannah Simon is one of four women in the AHCR and currently sits in fifth position. She celebrated her birthday by lining at up the race this year, and we can’t think of a better present to give yourself! Her pamlares includes the Westfjords Way, although we can only hope it doesn't get so cold.
One thing that's often remarked on about US races for us in Europe is how exciting the gas station resupplies look, have a look at Kai Caddy's photos of the various riders and their hauls!
Ouachita Triple Crown Winner!
It didn’t take him long to take his shoes off! Jeff Kerkove is currently the only finisher of the Ouachita Triple Crown route and set a blistering FKT of 23 hours 5 min. This 183 mile route was designed to link up three IMBA Epic trails in the area and was new for this edition. Looks like a keeper to us!
There are a handful of races we know that follow IMBA Epic trails, including the Colorado Trail and Vic Divide 550 ticks off Australia’s only IMBA Epic trail.
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