Home Calendar Current Results Standings Year-Rounder Records Training Equipment Nutrition About the UMCA Site Index     Ultracycling Cup Competition sponsored by		Ultracycling Cup Competition Final 2006 Standings Download final standings. Final 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 Standings UCC medal [  Ultracycling Cup Competition   |   Current UCC Standings   |   Races   |   Complete Rules   |   UCC Registration Form   |   JMC History  ] John Jurczynski setting the Vermont N-S recordto earn UCC points. Photo by Jennifer Jurczynski and Caleb Johnson. Ultracycling Cup Competition 2006 It's Called Racing! Final Standings By Joe Jamison Download most recent standings Maybe it was the infusion of new riders into the Ultracycling Cup Competition (UCC) that caused the performance levels we observed this season now passed. Or maybe our experienced racers learned that success is as much about having a season strategy as it is about riding fast. Or maybe it was because there were more and varied opportunities to race. Whatever the cause it was absolutely, positively, without a doubt some of the greatest racing in the history of the UCC! You have to go back to 2003 and that classic season finishing Furnace Creek 508 showdown between Sam Baugh and Reed Finfrock to match the excitement of this season. We recall another player in the hunt that year by the name of John Jurczynski, who finished second overall. Another racer that year won her second consecutive women's overall championship: Nancy Guth. And that's part of the greater story of UCC 2006. Yes, Jurczynski prevailed this season to capture his third consecutive overall championship, setting the record for the second straight year for total points in a season. His accomplishment was exceeded only by Nancy Guth capturing the Women's overall championship for the fifth consecutive year. Further, Guth worked with a group of women and increased by 111% in the number of women racing this year. The racing in the Men's division was particularly intense. In addition to Jurczynski's record, Virgil Moehsmer broke the Men's 50-59 total points record, Richard Rupp broke the Men's 60-69 record, Lew Meyer broke the Men's 70+ record and Larry Graham broke the Men's Recumbent record. This sweep is unprecedented in the seven-year history of the UCC! The podium for the top three men in the point competition across all divisions: Top Three Men Total Points Rider 217.51 points John Jurczynski, 49, New Hampshire 193.12 points Virgil Moehsmer, 58, Missouri 179.51 points Richard Rupp, 64, Indiana The podium for the top three women in the point competition across all divisions: Top Three Women Total Points Rider 156.98 points Nancy Guth, 56, Virginia 124.35 points Shanna Armstrong, 32, Texas 112.22 points Lisa Butkus, 46, Florida Racers earn UCC points based on the difficulty rating of an event multiplied by the rider's average speed for the event. Each event in the UCC is assigned a numerical value, or difficulty points (DPs), of between 1 and 8, based loosely on multiples of 12 hours, i.e.: Assignment of Difficulty Points Distance Difficulty Points 12-hour races and double centuries 1 difficulty point cross-state record (125-299 miles) 1 DP 24 hour races 2 DPs cross-state record (300-474 miles) 2 DPs all 500 mile RAAM Qualifiers (roughly 30 - 36 hours to win) 3 DPs cross-state record (475+ miles) 3 DPs 1200 kms (roughly 48 hours to win) 4 DPs RAAM 8 DPs
Nancy Guth near Byers, CO, returning from Kansas on the Last Chance 1200 km. John Guth photo.

A rider can earn a maximum of 12 DP; if a rider does events totaling more than 12 DP, then the rider's best 12 are counted. To be eligible for the overall championship, a rider must complete an event worth at least 3 DP.

In the 12- and 24-Hour Divisions the mileage from each rider's best three 12- or 24-hour races is totaled

Points Division Races
Male: Under age 25
Jason Jaksetic, the only entrant, used a credible performance at Bike Sebring to claim the division while title.

Male: 25-49
Jurczynski, the overall points champion used a diverse racing strategy of setting cross-state records, racing 12- and 24-hour races, double centuries and Boston-Montreal Boston. Jurczynski overcame 41 other hungry competitors in this division. Kevin Kaiser (2nd) and Mark Pattinson (3rd) brought significant pressure to bear throughout the season but the leader posted impressive performances at the midpoint and late in the season. Eric Jensen, the overall champion in the 12-Hour Mileage competition with an average 251.4 miles per race, carried a fast enough average speed over his season to challenge Jurczynski but couldn't get to enough races. (To qualify as overall champion in the 12-Hour Mileage competition, racers must participate in the Tejas 12-Hour.) John Blaszcak took top honors for the division in the 24-Hour Mileage competition with an average of 361.0 miles per race. (To qualify for overall champion in the 24 Hour Mileage competition, racers must participate in the UMCA 24-Hour Championship.)

Male: 50-59
This division may have provided the most exciting racing in a year of great racing. Coming out of the "show me" state of Missouri for his first year with the UCC, Virgil Moehsmer finished the first third of the season behind Tony Goodnight and John Fuoco and then in the second segment he was overshadowed again by Fuoco, Mark Pritchard and John Guth. During this part of the season, Moehsmer was logging great races and then from August through October he tallied 99 points to take command of the division point championship breaking the record with 193.12 points in the process. He and Fuoco provided a classic season long battle and in the intended spirit of UCC racing met head to head at four events. Their average speeds differed by only 0.4 miles/hour in those encounters! Finally, Fuoco could not finish his season due to a serious injury; however, he earned the overall 24 Hour Mileage championship with an average of 411.2 miles for each of his three races. Wesley Wilmer, who averaged an impressive 20.4 mph for his four events, took the division championship in the 12-Hour Mileage competition averaging 237.4 miles per race.

Male: 60-69
James Cartwright, who has claimed the championship of this division since the inception of the UCC did not race in 2006. If anyone thought the quality of racing left with Cartwright, they weren't aware of a newcomer by the name of Richard Rupp. Rupp, like Cartwright, hales from Indiana and he shattered the old record of 165.1 points with his 179.5 points and raced evenly across the season. In the first part of the season, he was close behind Dan Crain, and then during the second segment Fred Boethling posted his RAAM finish, but Rupp was close behind again. In the third and final segment of the season, Ken Bonner made an amazing thrust with two of his three 1200-km finishes but again Rupp was there. At the end, he had taken the division championship by a comfortable 28 points as well as the 24-Hour Mileage division championship by averaging 365.2 miles per event. The 12-Hour Mileage division championship was claimed by Gale Long from Wyoming with an average of 147.5 miles.

Male: 70+
Lew Meyer finally enjoyed some competition in his division when Milan Stolka participated for his first time in the UCC; however, Meyer, as ever the strong cyclist, dominated the division copping the points, 12- and 24-Hour Mileage competitions.

Female: 25-49
This group of women may represent the toughest division of all. Lisa Butkus from Florida grabbed the early lead by the end of April with a strong showing at Sebring and the surprisingly difficult Music City Double in Tennessee. Then in the second segment of the season, she threw in the Cascade 1200-km only to have Shanna Armstrong conclude a very successful RAAM, taking the lead from Butkus by 11 points. Meanwhile, Veronica Tunucci was quietly challenging California's most difficult double centuries and positioning herself in contention for leadership at the end of the season. With less than three months in the season, Butkus finished Boston-Montreal-Boston, Tunucci finished the Death Valley Double and Last Chance 1200-km and Armstrong posted an excellent result at Furnace Creek 508. Can you imagine a much tougher dance card? At the end, it was Armstrong with the points lead followed by Butkus and then Tunucci. Ellen Bone, from Florida, captured the Women's overall in the 24-Hour Mileage competition by competing in the UMCA 24-Hour Championship. She averaged 292.4 miles for each of her three events. Veronica Meridith, of Illinois, was the division champ in the 12-Hour Mileage competition totaling 279 miles in that category.

Female: 50-59
Once again, Nancy Guth dominated her division by taking the women's overall point championship, as well as her division's 12- and 24-Hour Mileage competitions. Although Guth led her division throughout the season, she was mindful of the ever-present Merry Vander Linden and the newcomer Kitty Goursolle. Goursolle was the first woman to compete in RAAM in 1983 and she exhibited her toughness with the schedule she raced, which included four of California's most challenging doubles and a 1200-km event. This small but competitive field will be interesting to watch next season.

Female: 60-69
Pauline Lundgren from Texas was the only woman who raced in her division. She earned the overall points championship in her division and was the 12-Hour Mileage competition winner. She also won the overall 12-Hour Mileage competition by virtue of racing in the 12-Hour event at Tejas!

Recumbents, Men: 25-49
Again this year, it was a race between two talented cyclists. Just as in 2005, James Kern jumped out to an early season lead over Larry Graham and at the end of the first third of the season had a 71-point lead! But then, in the second third of the season, Kern had to withdraw from RAAM for medical reasons and got no credit while Graham was accumulating 54 unanswered points. Graham was equally dominating at the season's end and scored 86 more points to finish with a comfortable 35-point lead. Graham also took the division title in the 12-Hour Mileage competition. Kern took the 24-Hour Mileage competition with 1366.2 miles, the all-time record for riders of any type frame!

Men: 50-59
David Balfour raced alone in his division, earning 39.85 points at Sebring and Calvin's.

Hand cycles, Men:
Bill Schwarz raced alone in his division earning 19.42 points at Sebring and the National 24-Hour.

Tandems, Male/Male
Chris Hopkinson and Richard Thoday, the only entrants in this division, were the first UCC racers to earn points on English soil.

Tandems, Male/Female
Martin Hayes and Nita Hayes were alone in this division and earned 31.87 points at Sebring and Calvin's.