The 2023 Short’s Brewing Fat Bike Series wrapped up with the first-ever Fatty Caddy. Racing finally returned to the Cadillac Pathway for the first time in over 2 years, with the Fatty Caddy ushering the first fat bike race at the venue. The same organizers, Ray Passchier and Joe Cantwell, are also reviving the beloved Bear Claw Epic this spring.
Before Northern Michigan thaws, however, the SBFBS had plenty of racing to sort out.
Men’s Short Race
The Men’s Short race was already in the bag for George Shumar, but he’ll be happy to wrap up his Series win with a second place finish behind Nathan Wendel. Bob Czarniecki was third on the day just 1 second clear of Alan Pinon, with David Rosier fifth. Rosier also pocketed second for the Series, with Stephen Fleming finishing 16th on the day and third in the Series.
Women’s Short Race
The Women’s Short race was equally under wraps and also in the family. Piper Shumar takes her first Series win and earns the honor of being one of just a handful of races to hit all 4 races on the calendar this year.
Men’s Open
Jorden Wakeley finishes the 2023 SBFBS a perfect 3 for 3, but strong riding from John Burmeister and a 72 point win at Dog Man made it very, very close. Wakeley’s win at Fat & Flurrious was the difference, with the top 3 finishes counting for a total of 225. Burmeister finished just 2 points down on the Series and wrapped up his fat bike season with second place in the race and in the Series. Woody Woodbury slots in third for the Series thanks to a stellar ride at Fat & Flurrious and an electric finish at Vasa, storming back into the top 10 overall after the halfway mark.
Women’s Open
Call it another close one. Nina Waeschenfelder marched to a confident win at Fatty Caddy and then whipped out her TI-89 to see what she needed to take the overall Series win. Heather Compton, 2 wins in her pocket for the year, was second across the line, which was enough for her to hold off Waeschenfelder for the win by just 5 points. Haleigh Dunn finished off her fat bike season in fourth, finishing the Series in third.
Kudos on the day to third-place Andrea Dolson, who could be a big Series contender next year.
Men’s Masters
We saved the closest for last. Three riders entered the finale on points, making the math relatively simple. Win and you win the Series. Well, Rob Richardson threw a wrench in that plan, taking second overall and turning around just in time to see 3 fellow Master’s in a bunch sprint for the podium. Paul Olson won the sprint on the same time as Jeremy Daum, with Brent Lockhart fourth.
That gave Olson the Master’s win, a pretty solid week in which he also won the Trek Farley 5 from Brick Wheels! Behind Eric Langley and Jim Jackovatz rounded out the Series podium in second and third, respectively. We’re sure they saved a little in the tank for the Queen Stage of the Dope AF Tour on Sunday.
You can find the full results from Fatty Caddy here.
The final Short’s Brewing Fat Bike Series standings are (mostly) finished up, too!
We want to thank everyone who raced, donated to NMMBA and got outside this winter with the Short’s Brewing Fat Bike Series. Now we’re ready for spring!
What’s Next
The Dope AF Tour hits the high mountains Sunday, February 26 in what is the first and last chance for the pure climbers to impact the race.