A "lightning fast" course helped riders set a record pace in the brutal 1995 Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race on Saturday (August 12).

The second-annual 100-mile race through Colorado's Rocky Mountain mining country was the first of two epic annual events around the old Columbine mine. Runners will face the same high-altitude misery next Saturday.

The mountain-bicycling race was notable not only for the fast times, but for the tough time experienced by defending champion, John Stamstad, who many expected to win the 9,000-foot-plus event again this year.

Instead, fireplug Russell Worley of San Diego, California, finished first at 7:27:55, a full 30 minutes better than Stamstad's time last year.

Laurie Brandt, of Louisville, Colorado, successfully defended her women's title, completing the off-road century in eight hours, 52 minutes and 58 seconds, to smash last year's time by nearly 20 minutes.

Of the 333 riders who started the race, 228 finished under the 12-hour time limit on a high-altitude trail that wanders between 9,000 and 12,000 feet.

The race was marked by many surprises, for riders and spectators alike. Worley took the lead one and a half hours into the men's race and was never seen again. While the chase group waited for him to fade in the afternoon, Worley held his pace and a nine-minute margin of victory.

"The course was lightning fast," said Stamstad. "I predicted someone would break seven and a half hours. I just thought it would be me."

The troubles began for the three-time winner of the 160-mile Iditabike race when he recently hit a deer during a training ride in his home town of Cincinnati. The collision trashed his road bike and left him with a sore back. Then, just before the start of Saturday's race, Stamstad said he had a strange feeling in his stomach.

Two hours into the race, that queasy sensation had developed into severe stomach problems, making it impossible for him to refuel for the next six hours; when the time came for one of his patented charges down the stretch, the energy reserves just weren't there.

Stamstad still managed a respectable fourth-place finish (time of 8:01:14), although his strain was evident as he crossed the line with head drooping. He nearly fell off his bike before being helped to the medical tent where he was treated for dehydration.

"I don't think people realize how hard it really is, how much you really need to eat and drink all the time. You're just burning so many calories," explained Brandt, who had problems of her own headed up the course's longest climb to Columbine Mine nestled at 13,000 feet. "I had to stop and get off bike and rest for a couple of minutes," she said. "I seriously thought about quitting because it just didn't feel good, but I thought, everyone else is suffering, I might as well."

The extra effort paid off as Brandt, winner of last year's Colorado Off-Road Point Series, passed five men on the final climb to finish 20th overall, well ahead of Michelle Grainger who was 41st overall at 9:41:18.

It was the second time Grainger finished second behind Brandt, who had an aggressive agenda for this race.

"My goals were obviously to win, to break nine (hours), and to finish in the top 20 overall, so I was able to do all three and I'm very happy," said Brandt. "I think these epic rides are really what mountain biking's all about."

While Brandt's training focused on the NORBA National Championship Series, Worley prepared for the event with a nine-day bike tour, consisting of nine hours a day in the saddle on bikes loaded with 40 pounds of gear. Worley completed his tour just two days before the start of the Leadville Trail 100.

His only other ultra-endurance race was the 1993 Palm Springs to the Sea 150 where he finished third.

"I was surprised to break John's (Stamstad) time," said Worley. "On the way out my legs started cramping, so I had to go really slow on the climbs, but I think I ended up making up a lot of time on the downhills."

His closest competition came from Richard Feldman of Ketchum, Idaho, who finished second at 7:38:15, and Charlie Hayes of Boulder, Colorado, who finished third at 7:54:12.

"In these kind of races there's always a chance you'll blow up in the last 30 miles," said Hayes, who improved on last year's fourth-place finish.

"When Worley went early, we thought, well, we'll let him go and we'll see him later, but we didn't see him later."

Gant Enderle is a reporter with the Vail Daily News in Colorado