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24 Hours in Old Pueblo Race Preview
Posted by: Shannon Boffeli
|February 23, 2012 3:01 AM
 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo Ready to Dominate the Desert This Weekend
Mountain bikers
from around the world are planned to arrive in Tucson, Arizona, this weekend to
participate in the 13th Annual Kona Bikes 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo
Presented by Tucson Medical Center, set to begin at noon February 18th at
Willow Springs Ranch.
Welcoming over 1,800 participants to "24 Hour Town” presented by Tucson Medical Center, the event filled in record time. Registration closed earlier than ever, on December 26th. Riders will enjoy the 16.1-mile fast and fluid Sonoran Desert course under a forecast of optimal weather conditions. A long list including some of the very famous and extremely fast riders will be competing at this year’s event. Included in the start list are racing legends Susan Demattei and Sue Haywood, endurance specialists Rebecca Rusch, Ernesto Marenchin, Cody Wallace, and Nat Ross, as well as cross country hot rods Barry Wicks, Kris Sneddon, and Spencer Paxson. Wicks, Sneddon, Paxson, and Wallace, racing for Kona, will no doubt be the 4-person men’s favorite with the newly formed Stan’s NoTubes team including Sarah Kaufmann, Sue Haywood, Jenny Smith, and Vicki Barclay will be favorites to win the 4-person women’s crown. The race continues its six-year run as the largest 24 hour mountain bike event in the U.S., but the race itself is just one facet of what Epic Rides President Todd Sadow describes as "the mountain bikers burning man.” The event expo area, largest in the 13 years of the event, includes over 35 vendors including brands like Kona Bikes, NiteRider Technical Lighting Systems, Strava Velo and Pro Gold Lubricants. More than 3,500 people will populate "24 Hour Town” presented by Tucson Medical Center, a tent, camper and RV city that appears on the desert and leaves no permanent trace of its presence during the balance of the year. The Kona Bikes 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo Presented by Tucson Medical Center also raises funds for the University of Arizona Cancer Center’s lung cancer research through the Epic Raffle. Raffle ticket holders have the opportunity to win a Kona King Kahuna Carbon 29’er valued at $3,399. For more information about the event, maps and to purchase raffle tickets visit www.epicrides.com/twofour/24.htm.
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