Jorden Wakeley headed to Harrison to defend his Rust Shaker title. Mike Anderson decided to challenge him. For most humans beings, that would be a terrible, fatal decision. 

The two recently did battle at the Barry-Roubaix, with Anderson taking the win over one of the toughest fields ever assembled in the state of Michigan. Wakeley, a mountain biker in a flock of ‘cross bikes, gave valiant chase but was foiled by uncooperative riders just hoping to hold on, but the Einstein racer kept powering along nonetheless.

The two went to the Rust Shaker and dueled, to be frank. The pair ended up two minutes ahead of eventual third place John Cowan, but with that much firepower, it’s a huge credit to Cowan for keeping it that close.

In the end, Mike Anderson took the win by four tenths of  a second over a hard-charging Jorden Wakeley. Cowan’s strong showing earned him third, followed by Mitchell DeYoung and Chad Wells in fourth and fifth, respectively.

The Rust Shaker has over 100 entrants for the first time in the race’s history, with all riders reporting a tough, fun course and a great cookout afterwards. kolo t.c.’s resident old man, Joe Sovis riding for GTMTBA.com, dubbed it “…the truest mountain bike race around.” Singletrack, tight corners but with spots to pass, and trails that aren’t manicured make the Rust Shaker a back-to-basics, honest test of mountain bike skills and stamina.

Here’s the full results from the 2012 race!