Hagerty confirms Craig Webb and Brian Hofstra for Fat Camp!, March 8. 

It’s just a day away, but Hagerty Cycling has announced that it’s top two contenders in the NMFBS standings will be on hand Saturday, March 8 for Fat Camp! Craig Webb is in the hunt for the Master’s class after being scored there at King Vasa February 8. He’ll have teammate Steve Andriese as his trusted lieutenant, while Brian Hofstra may also feature in his hunt to make the top five in the final points classification.

They’ll be up against numbers, however, with Einstein Racing boasting twenty-two starters, nearly a third of the race. They have their own interests to protect, including keeping Jason Lowetz in the driver’s seat for the series win. He’ll have Chris and Ryan Kushman, as well as Wes Sovis, as support riders while Nate St. Onge will ride with a free role on the day. Einstein is also invested in moving Rob Goepfrich up as much as possible in the Master’s competition, and could appoint a rider to protect the mustached man over the two hour race.

Kim Thomas is on hand and emerges as a favorite in the women’s race. Her GRBC teammates, Danielle Musto and Jill Martindale, are off at the Birkie, so it falls to Thomas to give the team a season sweep at NMFBS. She’ll be up against another women inheriting the responsibility of replacing a legend. With Chelsea Strate back in Minnesota, Einstein’s top fat biker is Stacy Smith, and she’ll try to break GRBC’s streak of wins in 2014.

Beth Collins, Smith’s teammate, can deliver Einstein an equally impressive sweep of the Master’s class.

McLain Cycles is also in the hunt with Eric Grassa, Shawn McNamara and Marc Burnette. Grassa seems like a natural fat biker and Saturday should be perfect test. The course is expected to be extremely fast, with warmer temperatures waning overnight Friday for a hard, firm course. Expect winning average speeds around 15 to 16mph if the pace stays high.

Race coverage will be up as soon as possible Saturday night.