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PARTICIPANTS IN ALL FIFTEEN RACES Six men have participated in every edition of the Iceman. After 15 years, circumstances have changed for each one of these individuals. They have all demonstrated personal tenacity and perseverance in order to see the Iceman starting line over the years. Bad knees, cut off thumbs, and a lack of training doesn't stop these guys. Eddie Andres —Was a hippie. Is an old hippie. Has a house on Vasa trail so his wife Nancy can hand him a beer just before the finish. Ed and Pat are the only two who have ridden in all 15 Icemans and skied in all 25 Vasa ski races! Don Fedrigon, Jr. — Was single. Is a multi-million producing real estate broker. Has a wife, Rene, 3 kids and a house on Elk Lake. Paul "Wally Dawg" — Glynn Was a confirmed bachelor. Is married to Edie. Has a hard time proving that he really is "Wally Dawg" at Iceman registration and his own personal 1956 Ford Fire truck. Pat Hall — Was a fork lift driver at a potato chip factory then a chef at the TC Elks Club. Is a successful insurance agent. Has a wife and beautiful daughter. Chad Schut — Was a student at TCHS. Is an engineer in Charlotte, Michigan. Has moved all around the Midwest chasing engineering jobs to feed his growing family. Lars Welton — Was a starving bohemian graphic artist. Is an office furniture installer. Has 2 graduating seniors at Central High School, way too many bicycles for one family, and the ability to suffer like a dog in order to hang with the Tuesday night rides. Date: November 8, 2003 Weather: 25 degrees, heavy snow in Kalkaska, while there was only a light dusting of snow at the finish line. Number of competitors: 2,486 (the race reached maximum capacity on July 19) Champions: Kelli Emmett and Tristan Schouten Race: Kelli Emmett managed to stay upright and to ride away from defending champion Alicia Mayer-Hamilton to finish with a comfortable margin of almost 5 minutes. Tristan Schouten played a waiting game until the final approach to Timber Ridge before he launched his attack and was able to hold off a hard charging group of three for the win. Developments: This was the year of the crash. Unexpected snow, which was extremely slick caused numerous traffic accidents on the way to the start in Kalkaska. A jack-knifed semi-trailer closed M-72 for an hour creating a traffic jam six miles long. A lot of riders simply got on their bikes and rode to the start. Others found back forest roads to by-pass the snarled traffic. The start of the race was delayed an hour as the timing crew and the majority of the athletes missed the original starting time. Once on the race course, most riders fell at least five or six time apiece due to the slippery conditions. Title Sponsor: Subaru Total Purse: $28,300 Date: November 2, 2002 Weather: 30 degrees, cloudy with a cold wind from the west. A light dusting of snow on the first 1/2 of the course. Number of competitors: 2,186 (the race reached maximum capacity on August 28) Champions: Alicia Hamilton-Mayer and Christopher Pietrzak Race: Alicia Hamilton-Meyer shook defending champion, Chrissy Redden, from her wheel and solo-ed to victory with a two minute margin. Pietrzak avenged his narrow loss to Steve Tilford in 2000. With an impressive running attack on "Wood Chip Hill" five miles from the finish line, Pietrzak was able to hold off a chase group of Carey Grumelot, Derek Prechtl, Steve Tilford, Jessie Jakomait, and Chris Fisher long enough for the win. Developments: Once again, the course needed to be altered west of Dockery Road due to continued logging. Thus, the course was lengthened along the Vasa Trail and included "Wood Chip Hill" which caught a number of riders by surprise.The children's race became the Sno-Cone, sponsored by Traverse Northern Michigan's Magazine. Title Sponsor: Subaru Total Purse: $25,300 Date: November 3, 2001 Weather: 45 degrees and sunny with calm winds Number of competitors: 2,156 (the race reached maximum capacity on September 23) Champions: Chrissy Redden and Steve Tilford Race: Chrissy Redden and Steve Tilford rode away from their respective fields to solo victories. Chrissy rode a new Gary Fisher 29er bike while " Tilley" put his stamp on the race winning for the 3rd time in four years. Developments: ChampionChip timing system is used for the first time. The "Water Bottle Hill" section of the course is re-routed due to logging in the area. Title Sponsor: Subaru Total Purse: $22,500 Date: November 8, 2000 Weather: 50 degrees and clear blue skies Number of competitors: 2,153 Champions: Kelli Emmett and Steve Tilford Race: Kelli Emmet, Kalamazoo, Michigan joined the growing list of female Iceman champions by riding away from the field and never looking back. Scott Quiring was unable to defend his crown due to post concussion syndrome. Steve Tilford earned his second title in three years (he was second last year) by out sprinting Chris Pietrzak of Bay City, Michigan. Developments: 23 different waves are used for the start. Jellystone Park is re-named Timber Ridge. Grand Traverse Resort and Spa re-joins the event as host. The 2,000 rider limit is reached three weeks before the race. Title Sponsor: Subaru Total Purse: $21,960
Date: November 6,1999 Weather: 35 degrees and clear blue skies Number of competitors: 2,000 Champions: Jodi Koch and Scott Quiring Race: Jodi Koch of Ann Arbor, Michigan joined the list of female Iceman champions in a controversial race due to the fact that the top five women racers were disqualified for missing a turn that resulted in shortening the race by 1.5 miles. Scott Quiring earned his third Iceman title by attacking 4 miles into the race and riding on his own to the finish line. Developments: 20 different waves are used for the start. The finish line is moved back to Jellystone Park for the first time in 8 years. The awards ceremony is held a East Junior High School's gymnasium. The 2,000 rider limit is reached one week before the race. Title Sponsor: Subaru Total Purse: $21,600
Date: Saturday November 7,1998 Weather: 40 degrees with scattered showers Number of competitors: 1,905 Champions: Cecilia Potts and Steve Tilford Race: One of the closest finishes yet, with both female and male champions sprinting to take the win. Cecilia wins an unprecedented fourth victory in a row! Steve Tilford makes his move with less than half a kilometer remaining to beat four other breakaway companions. Developments: 15 different waves are used for the start and the time interval between waves is increased from 3 minutes to 5. Finish line is moved to the Vasa trailhead. Spring Glacier Gazette becomes Moose Tracks and contains Iceman results, International Ice results, and information on the Loose Moose at Searchmont event. Fall Glacier Gazette, now 32 pages, contains Iceman information, Loose Moose at Searchmont results, and 1999 International Ice application. Title Sponsor: Subaru Total Purse: $20,000
Date: November 1, 1997 Weather: Rain and 40 degrees before the start. Rain abated and temperatures warmed up to 45 degrees during the race. Number of competitors: 1,589 Champions: Cecilia Potts and Tinker Juarez Race: Tinker Jaurez enjoyed the mild temps enroute to a convincing victory as he led the race from the six mile mark and never looked back. Tinker shattered Scott Quiring's 1994 course record by 18 minutes. Current Junior World Champion, Cecilia Potts, put over four minutes on previous champion Elise Harrington enroute to her third Iceman title in three years. Developments: Ice Cycle, a consumer show at Grand Traverse Resort, is introduced. Iceman clothing line of socks, jerseys, and fleece vests is well received. Glacier Gazette is published in spring and fall now. Title Sponsor: Subaru Total Purse: $20,000
Date: November 3, 1996 Weather: 4 inches of snow on the ground in Kalkaska. Temperatures are in the high 20's. Sunny and warm (45 degrees) at the finish line. Number of competitors: 1,477 Champions: Cecila Potts and Jonathon Shell Race: Defending champion Scott Quiring is "T-boned" at the start allowing others to take control of the race. Jon "The Chief" Shell's pre-race preparation pays off as he attacks John Meyers with less than 1 kilometer to go to become an Iceman champion. Shell had inspected the approach to the new finish line while Meyers had not. Shell was ready to pounce when Meyers wallowed in a large mud bog just before the line. Cecilia Potts cruised to her second victory by riding with the expert men whenever she had an opportunity. Developments: Finish line venue is moved to the corner of Bartlett and Bunker Hill roads. Course includes "The Maze" and a nasty little hill right at the finish line. George Mehr and Finish Line Sports take over electronic timing. Grand Traverse Resort becomes "Official Host". Steve Smiegel, Jr. warms up by cross-country skiing at start again! The Shimano Youth Series race, for youngsters 12 and under, is added to the Iceman and Slush Cup events. Title Sponsor: Leelanau Mist Natural Spring Water Total Purse: $8,000.00
Date: November 4, 1995 Weather: Wicked snow storm hits Michigan on Friday. Roads are covered with ice. Many competitors have car accidents on their way to Traverse City and to Kalkaska Saturday morning. Race day continued cold and snowy (six inches). There's so much snow on the course that passing is impossible. Number of competitors: 1,304 Champions: Cecilia Potts and Scott Quiring Race: Fifteen year old Cecilia Potts makes her mark on Iceman as she narrowly beats Nancy Black, riding in the 35-44 age group, by 30 seconds. Quiring proves he is truly an up and coming star with two victories and a second in three years. Developments: NORBA sound stage is placed at finish line. Electronic timing crew has problems. Results not available until Sunday morning. Iceman makes the cover of NORBA News and Michigan Cyclist magazines. 8 start waves are introduced. Steve Smiegel, Jr. warms up by cross-country skiing at the start. Title Sponsor: Leelanau Wine Cellars Total Purse: $7,000.00
Date: Saturday November 5, 1994 Weather: Very grey skies and in the mid 40's. Number of competitors: 1,196 Champions: Elise Harrington and Scott Quiring Race: Scott Quiring pays Oberpriller back as he took advantage when Oberpriller popped his foot out of his pedal just before the finish at Mt. Holiday and motored to a 5 second victory and a new course record. Elise Harrington scores the first ever Iceman hat trick with her third victory in a row. Developments: Start line is moved from Dresden St. to Kalkaska High School athletic fields. Specialized Bicycles becomes "Presenting" sponsor. Awards at Mt. Holiday are moved into a tent outside to accommodate more athletes. Iceman becomes a NORBA Classic event. The 8 mile long Slush Cup is added to the menu of races available. Title Sponsor: Leelanau Wine Cellars Total Purse: $7,000.00
Date: November 6, 1993 Weather: Rain turned to snow (2 inches) on Friday night then froze, making the race course hard as a rock and very slippery. Saturday's race saw temperatures in the lower to mid 30's. Number of competitors: 918 Champions: Elise Harrington and Gene Oberprillar Race: Gene Oberpriller found redemption for a mechanical problem in '92 as he pounced on a bonking Scott Quiring just before the entrance into Mt. Holiday. Elise Harrington continued her dominance over the ladies. Developments: 4 page Glacier Gazette makes its debut. Kalkaska High School gymnasium first used for packet pick-up. Wave starts (4) are used for the first time. Killer single track just before the finish is introduced. Leelanau Wine Cellars hosts a post race wine tasting party. Mt. Holiday is packed with people during the awards ceremony. Title Sponsor: Leelanau Wine Cellars Total Purse: $4,000.00 Date: Saturday November 7,1992 Weather: Crystal clear skies, 20 degrees, and 4 inches of picture perfect snow Number of competitors: 630 Champions: Elise Harrington and Peter Noverr Race: Elise Harrington, using her road racing experience, simply rode away from her female competitors. Peter Noverr, a student at the University of Indiana and a Traverse City native, made a bold move with under two kilometers to go to escape from defending champion Tim Swift and others to win by just four seconds. Developments: First year of electronic timing. Finish venue is moved to Mt. Holiday to accommodate more riders. Title Sponsor: none Total Purse: $3,000
Date: November 2, 1991 Weather: 40 degrees with a 20 knot wind from the southwest at the start. A major snow storm blew in about half way through the race. By the time the awards were concluded, there were six inches of snow on the ground. Number of competitors: 360 Champions: Margaret Sanchez and Tim Swift Race: Tim Swift, riding in his second mountain bike race ever, made an early move at the four mile mark and survived the ensuing blizzard to be the first across the finish line at Jellystone Park. Margaret Sanchez posted the fastest time of the 35 female competitors. Developments: Timing was done by hand. "Iced-T" shirts available for the very first time. Title Sponsor: None Total Purse: $3,000 Date: November 4, 1990 Weather: 40 degrees and cloudy Number of competitors: 35 Champions: Debbie Baker and Don Fedrigon, Jr. Race: It wasn't so much a race as much as an adventure to see if mountain bikes could make the journey from Kalkaska to Traverse City. The overwhelming answer was "Yes"! The $5.00 entry fee included a post race barbecue at Jellystone Park. Title Sponsor: None Total Purse: None |
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