Defeats Floyd Landis For Second Place In The Last Event Of The Series

In the endurance world, it would seem that 29″ers are becoming more and more common place at the top of the leader boards. Of course, the riders are the real stars here, but their choice of 29″ers is conspicuous in the mountain bike racing world. Here’s an excerpt from a press release put out by Wilderness Trail Bikes, the sponsor of Harlan Price who just took second place overall in the National Endurance Series.

“Wilderness Trail Bikes, Inc., a world leader in bicycle components, is proud to announce that its sponsored rider, Harlan Price, captured second place overall in the National Ultra Endurance Series.The seven-race endurance series concluded Sunday, September 2 at the Shenandoah Mountain 100,near Harrisonburg, Virginia. Price (Team Independent Fabrication) suffered through the 100-mile off road race in an epic all-day battle against 2006 Tour de France winner, Floyd Landis. While Jeff Schalk (Trek/VW) made an impressive display up the trail in first, Price and Landis traded the second-place position a half-dozen times. The 31-year-old Philadelphia native finally distanced himself from Landis on the last downhill of the race. Price finished a minute and a half ahead of Landis, but still 17 minutes behind Schalk’s course record ride.“

Price also won the inaugral series last year with consistently strong efforts. The growing popularity of the events and the new level of competition by the likes of former Tour winner Landis did not deter Price from reaching the top levels again this year. Price says it best here:

“I had a great day, my legs actually felt terrible, but squeezing out a diesel rock-star like Landis for second place, felt great,â€? Price said.

In a text book example of mountain bike cool, Price didn’t forget the “little guy” either by giving away his own prize to the guy that had the most flats of the day.

“I figured that since I escaped the series without a flat, I’d try to pass on the luck through my favorite racing rubber,” Price stated.

Not a bad way to walk away from a frustrating day, I’d say. Nanoraptors, or “The Tire” as 29″er buffs call them, are a classic and still very good 29″er tire for off roading. That’s a class move by Harlan, and Twenty Nine Inches would like to take this opportunity to recognize Harlan’s achievement aboard our favorite wheel size. Congratulations!