Hermansson and Pucker emerge from the desert, making it two of three ERL victories on MyWhoosh's Alula Culture Ride route.
Date: December 28, 2024
Course and Format: A two-lap 35km scratch race on MyWhoosh’s Alula Culture Ride course, a flat route with a series of seven rollers at 2.5 km into each lap.
Echelon Racing League Men's Elite Race 3
“I knew after the 2nd lap rollers I had the legs to win today,” said Race 1 winner Hayden Pucker, but did he have enough to make it two out of three against the top-elite esports field?
The race exploded out of the virtual pen as Pucker (USA) unleashed a blistering 7 wkg effort, immediately stringing out the group. By the first kilometer, the dust settled slightly, but the pace remained punishing as riders jostled for position ahead of the short, sharp kickers looming at kilometer three.
The former UCI Cycling Esports World Champion Andreassen (DEN) landed the first haymaker, surging over the first roller with a 10 wkg attack. Counterpunches came swiftly, with Pucker and Nehr (USA) trading blows and whittling the field down. The front group was established by the third roller, leaving the rest to chase in vain.
“Zach came up with a strategy for us before the race. It worked out perfectly,” Pucker explains. The plan was to attack the third roller and go hard through the rest of them. “This made the selection, and then Zach and I worked together.”
Behind them, Bird (CAN) launched an ambitious solo effort to close the 15-second gap, digging deep into his reserves. But the front group was unrelenting, and the vigilant chasers clipped Bird’s wings before he could bridge.
When the camera returned to the leaders, Andreassen was conspicuously absent, sidelined once again by a technical issue—his second heartbreak in as many weeks.
By the end of the first lap, the writing was on the wall. The chase group, featuring heavy hitters like Bird, Fryett (USA), Panizza (ITA), Ospina (ESP), former USA Cycling Esports National Champion Rocca, Bruhn (USA), Canadian Cycling Esports National Champion Thrall, and Marr (USA), had all but surrendered the win as the leaders stretched their advantage to over a minute.
Meanwhile, Pucker and Nehr, a coach-athlete duo, worked seamlessly at the front, time trialing away from the field like a perfectly tuned tandem bike.
As the second lap unfolded, the gap ballooned to two minutes, and the chase group settled into damage control mode. The rolling terrain briefly shook things up, with J. Bruhn dropping off the back, but the main chasers stayed together heading into the flat final kilometers.
“After the rollers on the second lap, we agreed to race each other,” reveals Pucker. “Zach gave me a strategy to beat Tom (Thrall) if it came down to a last-minute attack. I used that on Zach.”
With 3 kilometers to go, the alliance at the front shattered. Nehr had no answer, even though he knew what to expect. He was left to hold on for second as Pucker powered solo to the finish line, securing a decisive second series win. Pucker crossed the line 35 seconds ahead of Nehr, who was a full 1.5 minutes ahead of the chasing pack.
The battle for the best of the rest came down to fireworks in the final 500 meters. Panizza launched a daring attack, opening a slender gap, but Thrall closed it with a searing 12 wkg burst. Fryett, perfectly positioned, capitalized on the chaos with a 16 w/kg sprint that delivered him third place. Rocca rounded out the top five.
You can find the full results for the Men’s Elite Race on mywhooshinfo.com here.
The Echelon Racing League Overal Standings for Men’s Elite, B, and C are on mywhooshinfo.com here.
Echelon Racing League Women's Elite Race 3
The women’s race began with an all-star lineup featuring Elyse Gallegos (USA), Melissa Aitken (USA), Tiffany Penner (CAN), and Lisa Hermansson (SWE). The action kicked off immediately, but drama struck early as Liz Van Houweling(USA) was left stranded in the pen due to what appeared to be a technical issue, setting her up for a lonely chase.
The remaining quartet showed their class as they stormed through the first lap, sticking together through the rolling terrain and the flat run-in to the end of the first lap. Their synchronized pacing was unyielding, leaving Van Houweling unable to claw back despite her determined solo effort.
“During the first lap, the rollers were chill,” said Tiffany Penner, the 2024 UCI Cycling Esports World Championship finalist from Canada. “On the second lap, in her usual style, Elyse took off with Lisa on her wheel. They dropped Melissa and me, but I knew if I stayed calm, we could TT back to them.”
The fireworks began on lap two when Gallegos attacked over the first kicker, fracturing the group. Hermansson, the winner of Race 1, dug deep to stay in contention, while Penner and Aitken struggled to hold the pace.
Listen to Project Echelon’s Eric Hill as he explores his early adoption of cycling esports as a distinct discipline, and hear about his plans for the 2024/25 Echelon Racing League season during Virtual Velo Podcast Episode 59!
By the time the riders emerged from the rolling section, two distinct groups had formed: Gallegos and Hermansson at the front, with Penner and Aitken mounting a successful chase.
The decisive moment came as counterattacks flew in the final kilometers. Hermansson and Gallegos traded blows, forcing Penner and Aitken to burn their matches just to hang on.
Thinking that she had done enough to soften her opponents’ legs, Gallegos attacked over a small roller with 1,200 meters to go. The move looked like a race-winner until Aitken countered with a daring surge of her own, opening what appeared to be a race-defining gap.
But Hermansson, known for her devastating sprint, had other plans. With impeccable timing, she launched a crushing 9 wkg effort in the final meters, roaring past Aitken and holding off a charging Penner to claim her second series victory.
Penner came through for second in the group sprint, with Gallegos rounding out the podium. Aitken’s bold gamble ultimately fell short, landing her in fourth, while Van Houweling crossed the line with grit and determination after a tough solo ride.
“Melissa took off with 600m to go, and I couldn’t let her go, but I also couldn’t waste my sprint power,” Penner explained what she was thinking in the final meters. “And then Lisa was there, and she and I went to the line. I couldn’t beat her awesome sprint. Well done to all!”
You can find the full results for the Women’s Elite Race on mywhooshinfo.com here.
The Echelon Racing League Overal Standings for Women’s Elite, B, and C are on mywhooshinfo.com here.
Echelon Racing League Community C Results
In the Echelon Community Women Cat C race, Valentina Disegna from Italy claimed victory with a time of 59:53.834. KJ Phillips-Coalition from the USA secured second place, just 1.230 seconds behind. Colombia’s Tatiana Sanchez took third, followed closely by her compatriot Stefania Sanchez in fourth. Andrea Smith from the USA rounded out the top five.
The Women’s Community Cat C results are on mywhooshinfo.com here.
In the Echelon Community Men Cat C race, Dylan Kennett from New Zealand secured first place with a time of 56:27.28. Nicolás Trujillo of Colombia finished a close second, just 0.513 seconds behind. Jacques Rusinek from Canada claimed third, followed by Colombians Andres Londoño in fourth and Jhon Jairo Calderon in fifth.
The Men’s Community Cat C results are on mywhooshinfo.com here.
Echelon Racing League Community B Results
In the Echelon Community Women Cat B race, Dorancy Gonzalez Rua from Colombia clinched first place with a time of 57:47.517. Serena Vittori of Italy took second, just 0.495 seconds behind, while Sweden’s Camilla Ahlberg secured third, 0.864 seconds off the lead. Alejandra Jaramillo, also from Colombia, finished fourth, with Randi Gino from USA rounding out the top five.
The Women’s Community Cat B results are on mywhooshinfo.com here.
In the Echelon Community Men Cat B race, Jonathan Bisson from Canada claimed victory with a time of 50:42.501, followed by compatriot Michael Gavelis in second, 8.115 seconds behind. Jose Montero Oviedo from Colombia took third, 29.496 seconds off the lead. Joe Meyer from USA finished fourth, and Dave Garguilo, also from USA, rounded out the top five.
The Men’s Community Cat B results are on mywhooshinfo.com here.
Semi-retired after more than 20 years as the owner and director of a private Orthopedic Physical Therapy practice, Chris now enjoys the freedom to dedicate himself to his passions—virtual cycling and writing.
Driven to give back to the sport that has enriched his life with countless experiences and relationships, he founded a non-profit organization, TheDIRTDadFund. In the summer of 2022, he rode 3,900 miles from San Francisco to his “Gain Cave” on Long Island, New York, raising support for his charity.
His passion for cycling shines through in his writing, which has been featured in prominent publications like Cycling Weekly, Cycling News, road.cc, Zwift Insider, Endurance.biz, and Bicycling. In 2024, he was on-site in Abu Dhabi, covering the first live, in-person UCI Cycling Esports World Championship.
His contributions to cycling esports have not gone unnoticed, with his work cited in multiple research papers exploring this evolving discipline. He sits alongside esteemed esports scientists as a member of the Virtual Sports Research Network and contributes to groundbreaking research exploring the new frontier of virtual physical sport. Chris co-hosts The Virtual Velo Podcast, too.
