Record-Setting Weekend at the 2012 World Championships of Elliptical Cycling

Rusty Snow sets new mark in the hill climb event while Paul Thomas and Mary Decker Slaney raise the bar in the time trial

San Diego, CA (September 13, 2012) – ElliptiGO Inc. , creator of the world’s fastest elliptical cycles, today announced the winners of the 2012 World Championships of Elliptical Cycling. In Saturday’s grueling 11.69 mile ascent up Palomar Mountain, elite Masters runner Rusty Snow set a new record en route to capturing the men’s title while two-time Adventure Racing World Champion Robyn Benincasa dominated the women’s field to secure her first elliptical cycling win. In the team competition, Team USA claimed their first title, edging out Team Canada by just over two minutes. On Sunday, the competitors were back for the time trial event at Fiesta Island, which saw record-setting performances by Paul Thomas and Mary Decker Slaney, winners of the men’s and women’s divisions, respectively.

“Since the beginning, our goal has been to launch a new sport with its own competitive events and records,” said Bryan Pate, Co-Founder and Co-President of ElliptiGO. “Now in our third year, we can really see the traction on the competitive side of elliptical cycling. Attracting competitors like Olympians Adam Goucher and Mary Decker Slaney really shows how much we’ve achieved in such a short period of time. We’re all very excited to see how this event will develop and expand in the future.”

The 2012 event drew competitors from across the US, Canada and the UK.  The men’s hill climb event was a real battle with a lead pack of 10 riders setting a blistering pace from the start. After the first few miles, former duathlete of the year and the 2011 hill climb winner Paul Thomas broke away from the pack alongside Snow and elite Canadian runner Matt Leduc. In the chase group, Team Canada, comprised of Canadian marathon champions Bruce Raymer and Mike Dyon and three-time Olympian Steve Cyr were keeping pace with Olympian Adam Goucher and elite runners Simon Gutierrez and Brian Pilcher.   

By the time they reached the turn from Highway 76 onto South Grade Road, Snow and Leduc had separated themselves from the rest and would continue their battle for first place over the last six miles. In a final push to the top, Snow created a 20-second lead on Leduc and finished with a new record time of 1:10:49. Leduc crossed in second with a 1:11:10, followed by Thomas in 1:15:59.

“It was a really tough climb,” stated Leduc at the finish. “At the start we tried to hold back a bit but at the end I just tried to hang on and eventually I couldn’t.” Snow agreed with him. “It was very painful, but it was just fantastic to be out there with all these people on ElliptiGOs. To have Adam Goucher and Mary Decker Slaney out there alongside everyone else was incredible and really, really inspiring.”

Across the field, the competition was much tougher this year, resulting in faster times despite temperatures that climbed past 90°F by the end of the race. In the women’s division, professional cyclist Tammy Wildgoose returned to defend her 2011 titles, but after the first mile it was clear she would be unable to replicate her winning performance this year because of a recent surgery. That left the women’s race wide open. Adventure racing world champion Robyn Benincasa seized the day and charged up Palomar Mountain in first place. Olympian Mary Decker Slaney, returning to competition for the first time since 1996, passed several other women in the last few miles to deliver a strong second place finish. Last year’s third place finisher, Erin Whiting, who was the first woman to complete a century on an ElliptiGO back in 2009, outsprinted Jill Suarez to claim third again this year.

Decker Slaney was elated to be competing again. “My favorite part of the race was the starting line because it was the first time since 1996 that I had the opportunity to start in an event of any kind. I hope this sport takes off big time because it’s so fun and it gives people with injuries like myself the opportunity to pursue another sport and be competitive again. Now I know what to train for and I’m excited to compete next year.”

The next day, most of the competitors came out for the second act of the weekend’s competition, a flat, 8.1-mile time trial event on Fiesta Island. This time, it was Thomas and Decker Slaney who broke records en route to winning their respective divisions. “Yesterday we raced up Palomar Mountain and there was some strategy involved,” stated Thomas. “Today we raced on the flats by ourselves, man versus machine, testing our individual speed. The lighter guys do better in the hills and they crushed it yesterday. I prefer the flats and I loved this time trial today.” Goucher took second in his debut time trial event, followed by Leduc.

“The bar just keeps going up each year, the caliber of athletes keeps increasing, and the winning time keeps dropping,” said Brent Teal, ElliptiGO Co-President and Co-Founder. “It was a very dynamic race on the mountain and we’d like to congratulate Rusty and Robyn for their inspiring efforts on Palomar, as well as Paul and Mary for their wins at the time trial. We’re thrilled that this has become an event to look forward to every year and we’re excited to continue the development of this new sport.” 

For more information about the 2012 World Championships race, visit the World Championships page of the website. For more about ElliptiGO and its products, visit www.elliptigo.com or follow them on Twitter @elliptigo and Facebook at www.facebook.com/elliptigo .

About ElliptiGO

ElliptiGO, Inc. is the San Diego-based company that created the world’s first outdoor cross-training device engineered specifically for runners. Combining the best of running, cycling and the elliptical trainer, the ElliptiGO® delivers a high-performance workout experience that closely mimics running outdoors while eliminating the impact. Elliptical running is an effective way to build cardiovascular fitness without aggravating injuries and is great for everyone from the weekend warrior to the elite athlete. The ElliptiGO provides the most comfortable, fun and efficient way to get outside and be active. The full line of ElliptiGOs is available for purchase at select retailers nationwide and through the company’s website: www.elliptigo.com .