Winning Streak Extended on Men’s Side, Newcomer Takes Women’s Title
It might be best to rename the 8th Annual Elliptical Cycling World Championships to “The Rusty Snow Show.” The reigning champ showed his strength and tactical savviness on daunting Palomar Mountain, located just outside of San Diego, by winning his sixth title in a row in 1:11:47.
Eventual winner Rusty Snow leads challenger Eric Blake
On the women’s side, a new winner was crowned. Madeleine Marecki, ElliptiGO’s Marketing Communications Manager, covered the course in 1:41:00 in her first appearance at the World Championships.
Women’s winner Madeleine Marecki
The Elliptical Cycling World Championships features a brutal 11.69 mile, 4,209-foot climb at an average grade of 7% up Palomar Mountain’s South Grade. In the invitation-only event, riders must post a qualifying time in an organized ride prior to the championship.
Snow, an elite Masters runner with numerous national and international Masters titles to his name, prepared for his ride with more ElliptiGO-specific training than in the past. His diligence worked, as he held off a tenacious Eric Blake, who himself took the lead several times throughout the race. Blake, who hails from Connecticut, used his strong climbing skills honed from being a member of the U.S. Mountain Running Team and three-time winner of the Mount Washington Road Race. Jason Warwick, a 2:19 marathoner out of Canada, rounded out the men’s podium, clocking in at 1:15:26.
The women’s race played out differently, with Marecki leading the competition wire-to-wire and taking tenth overall. The recent California transplant, who ran Division I for Brown University, ran 40 to 50 miles and doubled with the ElliptiGO bike 4 days per week in the lead-up to the race. Mary Johnson of Connecticut, Head Coach of Run Lift Perform and a 3:06 marathoner, took runner-up honors in her first World Championships, riding 1:52:51. Competitive Ironman triathlete Cary Craig of Davis, California took the final podium spot, pipping perennial World Championships rider Anna Thatcher by 28 seconds with a 1:58:02.
Winner’s podium, from left: Cary Craig, Mary Johnson, Madeleine Marecki, Rusty Snow and Eric Blake
Overall Results from the 2017 Elliptical Cycling World Championships
| 1 | Rusty Snow | 1:11:47 |
| 2 | Eric Blake | 1:12:20 |
| 3 | Jason Warwick | 1:15:26 |
| 4 | Niels Vande Casteele | 1:17:13 |
| 5 | Matt Fitzgerald | 1:24:01 |
| 6 | Bryan Pate | 1:31:03 |
| 7 | Nat Waller | 1:35:33 |
| 8 | Bryce Whiting | 1:38:39 |
| 9 | Steve Loewenkamp | 1:40:36 |
| 10 | Madeleine Marecki | 1:41:00 |
| 11 | Jordan Trump | 1:42:29 |
| 12 | Jim Cremer | 1:44:08 |
| 13 | Jeff Caron | 1:44:28 |
| 14 | Jeff Baker | 1:45:54 |
| 15 | Eric Korevaar | 1:47:09 |
| 16 | Chuck Day | 1:49:11 |
| 17 | Clay Whiting | 1:49:54 |
| 18 | Mary Johnson | 1:52:51 |
| 19 | Bill Pinnell | 1:53:38 |
| 20 | Bob Rowden | 1:54:36 |
| 21 | Ron Richardson | 1:54:52 |
| 22 | John Burmester | 1:57:50 |
| 23 | Cary Craig | 1:58:02 |
| 24 | Anna Thatcher | 1:58:30 |
| 25 | Anissa Andres | 2:03:33 |
| 26 | Djohara Vande Casteele | 2:15:05 |
| 27 | John Pilkington | 2:16:15 |
| 28 | Dave Griffith | 2:35:12 |
Results from the 2017 Elliptical Cycling World Championships – Men
| 1 | Rusty Snow | 1:11:47 |
| 2 | Eric Blake | 1:12:20 |
| 3 | Jason Warwick | 1:15:26 |
| 4 | Niels Vande Casteele | 1:17:13 |
| 5 | Matt Fitzgerald | 1:24:01 |
| 6 | Bryan Pate | 1:31:03 |
| 7 | Nat Waller | 1:35:33 |
| 8 | Bryce Whiting | 1:38:39 |
| 9 | Steve Loewenkamp | 1:40:36 |
| 10 | Jordan Trump | 1:42:29 |
| 11 | Jim Cremer | 1:44:08 |
| 12 | Jeff Caron | 1:44:28 |
| 13 | Jeff Baker | 1:45:54 |
| 14 | Eric Korevaar | 1:47:09 |
| 15 | Chuck Day | 1:49:11 |
| 16 | Clay Whiting | 1:49:54 |
| 17 | Bill Pinnell | 1:53:38 |
| 18 | Bob Rowden | 1:54:36 |
| 19 | Ron Richardson | 1:54:52 |
| 20 | John Burmester | 1:57:50 |
| 21 | John Pilkington | 2:16:15 |
| 22 | Dave Griffith | 2:35:12 |
Results from the 2017 Elliptical Cycling World Championships – Women
| 1 | Madeleine Marecki | 1:41:00 |
| 2 | Mary Johnson | 1:52:51 |
| 3 | Cary Craig | 1:58:02 |
| 4 | Anna Thatcher | 1:58:30 |
| 5 | Anissa Andres | 2:03:33 |
| 6 | Djohara Vande Casteele | 2:15:05 |