With an innovative real-time scoring system in use, spectators of the 24 Hours of Snowshoe mountain bike race could keep close tabs on current standings throughout the race. Shortly after racers completed their last lap, results for each class were formalized and an awards ceremony was presented.

A selection of photos from the end of the race and the award ceremony follow. (Note: the names of team members do not necessarily correspond to the placement of members in photos.)

Below, Heather Mason, 24, chats with event organizer Laird Knight after capturing first place in the Women’s Solo class. Although Heather did not face competition in the Women’s Solo category this year, she still managed to finish 12 grueling laps, finishing at 12:00:49.

Mark Hendershot fields questions from Laird Knight. The 39-year old captured first place in the Men’s Solo category, logging 20 laps. He faced 14 other competitors in this category.

Laird Knight, founder and organizer of the 24 Hours series of mountain bike races, announces results to an audience of spectators and competitors.

A reduction in the prize purse didn’t keep the Coed Pro/Am team of Trek/VW East Coast from attending the 24 Hours of Snowshoe, nor did it keep them from cleaning house in the race. The team finished a total of 27 laps during the race, ending at 12:01:15. One member of the team, Jeremiah Bishop, finished one of those laps in just under 39 minutes, the shortest lap time of any race participant.

Trek / VW East Coast members include Team Captain Chris Eatough, 29, from Maryland; Jeremiah Bishop, 27, from Virginia; Jennifer Smith, 30, from Colorado, and Kristy Mantz, 32, from Virginia.

Also competing in the Coed Pro/Am class, team ESSM/GPOA captured second place with 26 laps at 12:50:50.

The team, shown below on the left podium, includes Team Captain Anna Noller, 27, from Pennsylvania; Betsy Schauer, 27, from Pennsylvania; John Hoke, 32, from Ohio; and Frederick Schauer, 32, also from Ohio.

One team competed in the Women’s Sport category this year, and churned out 17 laps with a finish time of 12:23:57.

Nuf Ced members include Team Captain Loretta Torres, 36, from Maryland; Kristin Andrs, 30, from Virginia; Amy Leishear, 30, from Maryland; and Denelle Grant, 28, from Maryland.

The Duo Pro/Expert category saw team Specialized Grass Roots capturing first place. West Virginians Benjie Klimas, 28, and Jonathan Martin, 22, finished 23 laps at 12:43:12.

Women’s Solo winner Heather Mason, 24, from New York.

From left, Men’s Solo winners Ernesto Marenchin, 31, of Ohio; Mark Hendershot, 39, of Michigan; and Gary Contic, 39, of Massachussetts. Mark took first place by riding 20 laps, finishing at 12:11:13, while Ernesto captured second place with 19 laps and finishing at 13:06:56. Gary earned third place with 18 laps and a finish time of 13:19:52.

Many winning teams in these and many other categories are not listed on this page. For complete race results, please visit Granny Gear Production’s web site here.

View additional DCSki coverage of the 2003 24 Hours of Snowshoe and photos in the following sections: