Robinson Wins ESWG Fat Bike Gold in the Cold

Patrick Robinson rides a frozen beard and a series of wheelies to the Empire State Winter Games & New York State Fat Bike Champs Cross Country Gold.

Saranac Lake locals shine as Emily O'Mahony wins the women's XC title, Nicholas Seleni grabs gold in the 18-39 category and Grant Eckardt defends his Dual Slalom title.

Despite temps dipping to -7 and nearly a foot and a half of snow just 24 hours before the race, Saranac Lake's Mt. Pisgah put on a Winter Bike show Saturday as athletes battled cold and soft snow for Empire State Winter Games and New York State Bicycle Racing Association (nysbra) titles. The event marked the return of Winter Bike after a one year hiatus do to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Cross country riders tackled a grueling 5K course featuring a climb halfway up the mountain followed by a zig zagging descent on the ski slope that caused its fair share of crashes into the soft snow.

New Jersey's Patrick Robinson ripped to the XC men's overall and 18-39 category titles with a time of 25:12. After a blistering first run, Robinson kept the pace throughout the four-lap course and even found time to pop a few frozen beard wheelies for the crowd. Local Emily O'Mahony capitalized on home hill advantage to take the women's overall and 40+ title with a time of 44:25 over Rome's Kristen Szarek, who experienced a fat tire flat tire during the the race. Fellow Saranac Laker and Team Placid Planet rider Nicholas Seleni grabbed the Men's 40+ title in 28:21.

Cross country also served as the nysbra fat bike championships, which came with it's own set of hardware plus bonus bragging rights.

Dual Slalom action kicked in under the lights following the XC as athletes battled head-to-head in a downhill sprint around banked turns, deep ruts and a series of rollers. It was another local battle as Saranac Lake's Grant Eckardt defended his title from 2020 over Adrian Hayden in a tight men's final.

A special shout out goes to the Village of Saranac Lake for hosting, especially to the hard work of their staff to get the mountain prepped for a fabulous evening of racing.