Tour de Rez Cup Series: Page native wins fifth straight Asaayi crown

Special to the Times Lee Begaye
Navajo Times

ASAAYI, N.M. – The Tour De Rez Cup Series, organized by Navajo Yes, made a stop in the foothills of the Chuska Mountains for its only road bike race in the series, the Asaayi Bike Race. The 20.6-mile race, which began at the pavement ending of Navajo Route 31 and finished at the Narbona Pass picnic area, drew 43 riders, with 39 finishing.

Defending title holder Tom “Sunshine” Preller added to his impressive collection, winning his fifth straight title. Preller won the race in 58 minutes and 47.14 seconds.

Special to the Times | Lee Begaye
Tom Preller of Page leads the pack during the Asaayi Bike Race on Saturday. Preller won his fifth straight title, covering the 20.6-mile course in 58:47.14.

The Asaayi Bike Race begins with an eight-mile mostly downhill ride with a few small hill climbs. Taking a right on Navajo Route 12, the challenge begins with an uphill climb up to the turn-off to Crystal, NM, onto New Mexico State Road 134. A rolling hill entry yields to a long straightaway, and the climb up the Chuskas begins up to the Narbona Pass picnic grounds. While most of the pavement is decent for road bikes, some of the patchwork road up the pass becomes a challenge for road bike tires. Most of the racers fielded mountain bikes, which minimized any road pavement-related incidents.

Preller, currently running for a City Council seat for the town of Page, outpaced the other road cyclists for the first third of the race, which was mainly downhill. A trio of racers—Shane Rakestraw, Ross Delaplane, and Hayden Cox—kept pace and tried to reel Preller in during the ascent up the Chuskas. However, Cox dropped out about twelve miles into the race. Although the remaining duo managed to make up some time, it was not enough to dethrone Preller.

“I was trying to keep it consistent and pretty steady,” said Preller. “This year was more consistent, whereas last year it was more of a challenge because of the group of challengers in the downhill. I’m stronger than one of them, but I can’t beat four riders working together.”

Ross Delaplane of Dolores, Colorado, finished second overall in the men’s category, while Shane Rakestraw finished third with a time of 1 hour, 2 minutes, and 2.74 seconds. Rakestraw, originally from Tocito, NM, is Bit’ahnii born for Naalani (Santee Sioux) and won the Monument Valley Bike Race in April, the previous Tour De Rez Cup Series race.

“We worked together to keep pace (with Preller), and it’s good to be back on the podium,” said Rakestraw.

Meanwhile, in the women’s category, Sarah Scott of Farmington, finished first overall with a time of 1 hour, 26 minutes, and 32.18 seconds, while Yvonne Johnson of Kirtland, New Mexico finished second in 1 hour, 30 minutes, and 28.55 seconds. The junior males were led by Keishawn Long from Window Rock, who finished in1 hour, 39 minutes, and 04.0 seconds.

“I love this race,” Preller said. “It’s perfect—the perfect distance, the perfect amount of climbing, and just the atmosphere. I’ve run these Rez races for a couple of years.”

When asked about a possible return, Preller stated, “I’m not sure about coming back next year. I think the competition and the organization would like to see someone else win for a change.”

The next race in the Tour De Rez Cup Series moves on to the Chuska Challenge, a 20-mile mountain bike race on top of the Lukachukai Mountains, on September 17.