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Saturday, July 26, 2008
Two Bikers Face Off in Frazer Race
By Phil Parker
Journal Staff Writer
It'll be a grudge match today at Taos Ski Valley when the last two winners of the annual Frazer Mountain Madness hill climb finally face off in this year's edition, biking up a grueling 5.5-mile course.
In this cornah...! Mike McCalla, who smoked the field last year. McCalla set a course record, ascending 2,800 feet in 49 minutes, 47 seconds. The second-place finisher reached the top of Mount Frazer more than 15 minutes later.
In the othah cornah...! Damian Calvert, the 2006 winner, who was racing in Montana at this time last year.
The two men are friends who have competed against each other several times, but never on the Taos course, which Calvert called "the steepest, hardest climb we have in the New Mexico off-road series, for sure."
"It starts hard and ends hard, and only gets harder in the middle," Calvert said.
The race begins at an elevation of 9,200 feet. Five and a half miles later, it ends at 12,163.
"It's short and sweet," McCalla said. "And it's one of the highest points in New Mexico you can legally ride on."
This year is the fourth annual Frazer Mountain Madness ("Beat the heat at 9,300 feet" is the event's slogan). There will be kids' races, a party, live music and a cross country race that runs about 18 miles.
The hill climb, though, is the event's signature competition.
"It's a very unique event," promoter Kerrie Pattison said. "The alpine climb is beautiful and has spectacular views. Wheeler Peak, the highest point in New Mexico, is right there. We think it's pretty cool, and people really dig it."
Calvert and McCalla are both biking pros who have met on several occasions dating back to the mid-1990s.
"We're close to the same ability," McCalla said. "He's gotten the best of me more times than not, but it's good competition."
Calvert said he thinks he's a narrow favorite but acknowledged that McCalla's the record holder, coming off a very close second-place finish in the Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships held earlier this month in Breckenridge, Colo.
"He's an animal," Calvert said. "It's gonna be a grudge match."