Cyclists ride up highest peak in Northeast

PINKHAM NOTCH, N.H. (AP) — A Massachusetts man and a Pennsylvania woman 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 Saturday.

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 and 42 seconds Saturday, 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 hour, 10 minutes and 34 seconds, leading the women’s field from the beginning of the climb. Levinsohn and Sydlik each won $1,500. For the men, Drake Deuel, 21, of Arlington, Massachusetts, finished second in 54 minutes and 28 seconds while David Talbot, 30, of New Canaan, Connecticut, placed third at 57 minutes and 4 seconds.

In the women’s division, Sydlik was followed by Lane Marden, 33, of Somerville, Massachusetts, who came in second at 1 hour, 16 minutes and 31 seconds; and Gabrielle Vandendries, 20, of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, who finished third at 1 hour, 22 minutes and 29 seconds.

The race raises money for the Tin Mountain Conservation Center in Albany, New Hampshire, which provides environmental and recreational education.