US Open Fat Bike Beach Championship returns this weekend

Three years following the inaugural race, the US Open Fat Bike Beach Championship has achieved national recognition as a Top-20 Festival & Event by the Southeast Tourism Society.
“Fat bike beach racing in the one-mile oval format is an exciting sport for both athletes and spectators,” said Shawn Spencer, race chairman. “The number of entries, the fitness level of the athletes, and the crowd size on the beach has improved every year. In 2017, racers from seven states participated.”
The 4th annual US Open Fat Bike Beach Championship will be held March 16-18, 2018, in Wrightsville Beach, with activities and races based at host hotel Blockade Runner Beach Resort. There is no admission charge for spectators.
Registrations are expected to reach maximum capacity with a waiting list for this weekend’s race. Thus far, sign-ups exceed 90-percent of the race cap with participants traveling from 10 states and 25 North Carolina cities and towns.
A few of the notable participants include:
• Father and daughter duo Paul Curley and Emily Curley of Taunton, MA, each winning a national title in their respective field at the 2018 USA Cycling Fat Bike National Championships in Grand Rapids, MI.
• Barney Baxter of Raleigh, NC, second-place winner in his category at the 2018 Cyclocross National Championships in Reno, NV.
“Fat bike racing, especially in the elite division, requires incredible conditioning and stamina,” said Spencer. “We’re seeing CrossFit and triathletes use fat bikes as an alternative method to stay in shape. Pedaling for miles on a fat bike in soft sand at the beach is exuberantly painful.”
The women’s elite division will be an exciting rematch from 2017. Mountain-biker Zdenka “Zoe” Cahojova-Worsham of the Crank Arm Brewing Team in Raleigh will defend her hard-earned 24-mile championship against a very determined Philicia Marion from Mount Airy, NC. “My goal is to win the elite women’s division in 2018,” said runner-up Marion, member of the Carpe Diem Professional Race Team. 2016 champion Jesse Piersol from Downington, PA could be another contender for the women’s title.
“I’m a mountain biker, cross-country, endurance, enduro, downhill, and occasional cyclocross racer. I’ve raced in all sorts of conditions,” said Worsham, defending women’s elite champion in the 2017 US Open Fat Bike Beach Championship. “Last year’s race was difficult, exciting, exhausting, physically and mentally challenging all at the same time. It was only two-and-a-half hours, but it was as challenging as any six-hour race I’ve done.”
Limited to 100 racers, bikers from eight states, including cyclists from 20 cities and towns across North Carolina, have already signed up to compete.
“I was pleasantly surprised with so many positive comments and cheers from the men I passed during the race,” said Worsham. “Over the years there have been times when I was blocked from passing or heard reasons for having a slow day instead of complimenting the female rider. This race is such an exception. It was really refreshing to hear the support from the male racers. To all the men supporting and cheering us ladies, thank you.”
Worsham, representing the Crank Arm Brewing Team in Raleigh, faces an exciting rematch with runner-up Philicia Marion of Mount Airy, North Carolina. Jesse Piersol of Downington, PA, the 2016 Women’s Elite Champion, will be another contender for the title.
“Fat bike beach racing in the one-mile oval format is an exciting sport for both athletes and spectators,” said Spencer. “The number of entries, the fitness level of the athletes, and the crowd size on the beach has improved every year.” Spencer expects a sellout roster with late registrations going onto a waiting list.
Three years following the inaugural race, the US Open Fat Bike Beach Championship has achieved national recognition as a Top-20 Festival & Event by the Southeast Tourism Society. All activities and races are based at host hotel Blockade Runner Beach Resort. There is no admission charge for spectators.
The competition will be equally fierce in the men’s division with a deep lineup of elite bikers all able to seize the day. Possible contenders include 2015 champion Ben Brown of Wilmington, NC; 2016 champ Robert “Fear the Beard” Marion of Mount Airy, currently recovering from a bike injury; and 2017 winner Andrew Bailey of Piney Flats, TN.
The 2018 format is changing from a specified distance to timed events. The 8-mile race becomes a one-hour event; the 16-mile changes to a one-hour and thirty-minute contest; and the elite 24-mile race converts to a two-hour competition. Race slots will be awarded to the first 100 online registrations.