The 2009 Crank the Kanc uphill time trial, which bills itself as “the best unknown hillclimb in the East,” was held on Saturday May 16th with over 200 riders taking up the challenge.  The 21 mile course which ascends the east side of the Kancamagus Highway saw a new course record set under near perfect racing conditions.

Several ECV and affiliated local riders had strong performances and earned top 3 spots in their categories.  Here’s a summary of the results:

 

In the TTT division, Destination Cycling of Marblehead with members Marti Shea, Joe Tonon and Don Metz, earned 3rd place in a field of 16 teams with a time of 1:14:33.  Marti and Joe have been seen training at the ECV Monday night ride and the Spank’om ride.

  David Burnett of Burnett MG in Wenham handily won the Masters division (age 45-54) with a blistering time of 1:04:43.  In any other year this would also have been a winning time for the entire field.  However, Dave had to settle for 3rd place overall as two younger riders grabbed 1st and 2nd with the winner setting a course record of 1:02:18!!  Just to mention, Dave won the event in 2007 with a time of 1:06:58.   George Thompson of Beverly (rumored to be in negotiations with ECV) placed 18th in the Masters group with a solid time of 1:19:42.    Joe Rapuano (ECV) also rode in the Masters group and placed 21st with a time of 1:20:34 which was a near 4 minute improvement over last year’s performance!   In the Grand Masters division (age 55-64), Mark Godin (ECV) captured 2nd with a time of 1:15:45, an improvement of 4 minutes over a PR set in 2005.  This clearly demonstrates the benefit of moving up an age group!   To see the official results and a great main page photo of Dave Burnett cranking the finish, go to www.nebikes.com