Bostrom Third in World Championships
Henny Ray Abrams | October 23, 2010
Ben Bostrom winning the Superbike race on the undercard of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix was impressive. But what Bostrom did today halfway around the world was nothing short of amazing.Bostrom finished a brilliant third in a field of over 850 riders from 30 countries that included some of the world’s best in the World Single Speed Mountainbike Championships, a competition for mountain bikes limited to a single gear, in Rotorua, New Zealand on Saturday. Bostrom’s Pat Clark Motorsports’ teammate Chris Clark also competed.The race was hosted by New Zealand for the first time ever and held on a 25-mile course of single track trails in the Whakarewarewa Forest, on the southern outskirts of Rotorua in central New Zealand, coincidentally just up the road from where two-time World Superbike Champion Fred Merkel lives in Taupo.Though serious, the race has a whimsical side. Riders can take two shortcuts, but must chug a beer on the way through. The battle for the victory came down to the line, with a local Kiwi and the defending champion American, Ross Schnell, emerging from the trails and downing a can of Speights Traverse ale before sprinting to the finish line.Rotorua native Garth Weinberg (NZ) just edged out Schnell, with Bostrom a very creditable third.After winning the race on home ground, Weinberg was game to continue another of the race’s unorthodox traditions. The two-time defending New Zealand singlespeed champion had the winner’s tattoo inked over his heart.