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Memorial Day weekend means racing in the U.S. and Mark Hendershot (Santa Cruz Syndicate) began this 24 hour solo season with a big fat W at the BURN 24 Hour Challenge in Wilkesboro, North Carolina May 26. Just like Indy, the BURN race track infield was full of grizzled, dusty people. But helmet hair, not mullet, was haute couture at BURN.
Hendershot led 49 solo men on the 6.4 mile track. Chris Janiszewski, a Gainesville Gator, caught up to Mark after one lap, and the two rode together for the next few hours before Chris dropped off the pace. Hendershot had nothing but single track in front of him for the rest of the race and finished comfortably with a 4 lap advantage over second place Robert Anderson. Mark put up 34 laps, two more than last year.
"This is such a fun course. Nearly all of it is single track through wooded hills. The trail is smooth as silk. The Blur just floated. I love this race. It attracts so many solos. It's wonderful to see so many riders join in the insanity of solo 24 hour racing."
Hendershot rode Blurs outfitted with Sram XO, Avid Ultimate Juicy brakes, Rock Shox World Cup Reba forks with a hot new lock out, DT Swiss wheels, and tubeless Kenda Karmas. The bikes performed perfectly, not a single mechanical issue throughout the entire race. New to Syndicate solo racing was the Wilma 4 LED light from Lupine. The 15W beam threw as much light as an HID, with an amazing 8 hour burn time.
Race promoter, and fellow solo racer, Eddy O'Dea (55nineperformance.com) put on another stellar event. Hendershot tried to show his appreciation by offering Eddy a sloppy dog kiss at the finish line, but Eddy shied away from having his ear licked by Mark's skanky 24 hour race tongue.
As always, Mark greatly appreciates the support of his sponsors:
Santa Cruz Bicycles
Sram
RockShox
Truvativ
Avid
DT Swiss
Kenda
Crank Brothers
Chris King
WTB
Clif Bar
Troy Lee Designs
Lake Shoes
Zeal Optics
Sock Guy
Hammer Nutrition
BURN Energy Drink
Giro
Lupine Lighting Systems
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