Florida State Championship series #8 – Santos Trails – Ocala, Fl
After dodging two hurricanes the FSC ‘25 version landed safely on the fields of Santos with great weather and awesome conditions. A 7.6 mile mix of flow and tech was the signature of the eighth race of the series and as one rider put it, the course was a good representation of the whole series, in other words a little bit of everything. And as always thanks to the Ocala Mountain Bike Association for all of their hard work on the trails.
Ryan Woodall notched his 4th win of the series on his home turf but it was not enough to deny Victor Alber the championship who ended up with a 4 point buffer after hard fought and close series. In the women’s top class it was multi time champion Simone Berger claiming the victory but it was Yerany Morejon Gonzalez with the series title.
Team “Pedal to the Medal / LeRoys Bike Works” was crowned the team champs with a healthy points gap. The Mudder Ducker $50 fast lap award went to Julio Gomez in the expert 40+ class.
In the E MTB races former champ Nick Mackie took the win but the series championship saw a three way points tie at 174 points go to defending champion Tim Zimmerman with the final round finish breaking the tie. Simone Berger jumped on a E bike and won the women’s but it was Stephanie Lamer taking home her second championship in a row.
The series banquet was held at the College of Central Florida to another full house and in addition to the champions and top five awardees the special awards were as follows…
Rider of the year male: Victor Alber
Rider of the year female: Yerany Morejon Gonzalez
Most improved rider: Marco Carrie
Most improved junior: Rodrigo Ferrer-Assad
Most improved female: Ariel Edens
ESPO Sportsmanship: Gilberto Araujo
Best supporting cast: Leroy’s Bikeworks
Congrats to all and many thanks to all of the fine sponsors of the series!
This season seemed to go by faster than most for some reason but we are so fortunate to have so many great people and challenging trails in this amazing sport. Next race for the New Year is January 4th & 5th in Lakeland for the FLE endurance opener, have a great holiday season and see you there!
