Professional mountain-bike racer Jeremiah Bishop became the first cyclist to win both the Assault on Mount Mitchell road event and the Off-Road Assault on Mount Mitchell mountain bike race, accomplishing both victories in a single year.
On July 31, Bishop crossed the finish line on his mud-covered Trek bicycle Assault after riding 61 miles with 11,000 feet of elevation gain in just 5:15. In May, Bishop completed the 117mile Assault on Mount Mitchell road ride. Among one thousand entrants, Bishop was the first to summit the 6,648-foot peak with a total ride time of 6:11.
The 2005 “Assaults” marked Bishop’s first attempt in both cycling events. “It was really fun to be the first rider to win the road Assault on Mount Mitchell and the Off-Road Assault,” Assault had the most climbing I have done over that distance since TransAlp. A super quality course, it was really fun. Also, this victory represents a positive return to form after recovering from a recent illness,” Bishop adds.
The 2005 Off Road Assault on Mount Mitchell was the most successful running the event with over 265 participants. Bishop, 29, is a professional mountain bike racer on the Trek/Volkswagen Racing Team. In 2003, he won the Gold Medal in the Mountain Bike race at the XIV Pan American Games. Bishop completed the 2004 mountain bike season ranked twentieth internationally.
