PINKHAM NOTCH, N.H. — A Massachusetts man and a Pennsylvania woman on Saturday won the grueling bicycle race up Mount Washington, the highest peak in the northeastern United States.
Erik Levinsohn, of Boston, and Stefanie Sydlik, 34, of Pittsburgh, beat the competition in the men’s and women’s divisions of the 7.6-mile Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb to the summit at 6,288 feet.
Riders deal with a steep grade that averages 12% and rises to 22% at the finish, as well as Mt. Washington’s unpredictable weather.
Levinsohn, 29, had finished second and third in his two previous races in 2013 and 2018. He crossed the finish line in 53 minutes, 42 seconds after breaking away from the lead pack in the second mile.
Sydlik, who had competed three other times in the race, made it to the top in 1:10:34, leading the women’s field from the beginning of the climb.
For the men, Drake Deuel, 21, of Arlington, Mass., was second in 54:28, while David Talbot, 30, of New Canaan, Conn., placed third in 57:04.
Lane Marden, 33, of Somerville, Mass. (1:16:31) and and Gabrielle Vandendries, 20, of Chestnut Hill, Mass. (1:22:29) followed Sydlik in the women’s division.
The race raises money for the Tin Mountain Conservation Center in Albany, New Hampshire, which provides environmental and recreational education.