Was Anyone Faster than the 41 Year Old?

A while ago, we challenged any non-pro rider to try to beat Shimano's 41-year-old marketing guy (and ex-big-name-pro), Joe Lawwill in the Fontana City National Super-D event. Well, it turns out the dude has still got it. Despite fighting off a bit of a cold and scratchy throat, Lawwill managed to fend off every last amateur racer in the field. The closest competitor, Dennis Yuroshek from Tempe, Arizona, was 35 seconds back of Lawwill's time of 09:45.65 (combination of two timed runs).

Yuroshek doing his best to beat Lawwill.

As a consolation prize, Bike and Shimano will be giving Yuroshek an XTR Shadow Plus rear derailleur (plus a 10-speed cassette and rear shifter to complete his build, as he is currently on a 1x9 system).

Yuroshek commented on the race, "Joe's still super fast on both the downhills and in fitness. It was good times--I was definitely motivated because of the contest. On the sections that I wanted to sit down, I just kept thinking: XT, XT, XT."

Shimano feels that super d and enduro racing could be the future of mountain biking, and Yuroshek echoed that during Bike's phone call to him (he was getting his Sprinter van ready for a summer of traveling to enduro and super d races when we called), "I think super d and enduro will take off in the next 2 years. You can do it on a 5 inch bike that costs $2,000, or $10,000, it's nice that you dont need a specific race bike."

Stay tuned for your next chance to try and beat The 41 Year Old.