Sudbury Cyclist Places High In Worcester George St. Bike Challenge

SUDBURY, MA — A Sudbury man has again placed highly in a brutally steep annual bike race in Worcester.

The annual George Street Bike Challenge held Sunday pits cyclists against a 500-foot hill with an 18 percent grade. The race attracts cyclists of all ages from across the state and New England, and even from as far away as Texas and New Jersey.

Sudbury resident Phil Cass, 21, placed 4th overall in the race with a time of just over 26 seconds, according to the results. Richard Cass, 62, also of Sudbury, finished with a time just under 72 seconds.

Nearly 90 people competed in Sunday's race, including kids as young as 12. The course record was set in 2012 by Scott Smith, who was 18 at the time, of Feeding Hills near Springfield with a finish time of 22.19 seconds.

The race honors the training regimen of Major Taylor, an early 20th Century world biking champion who used the two-block hill to train while living in Worcester in the 1890s.

Here are the top 10 finishers from Sunday's race, according to the Major Taylor Association:

Men

• Tyler Paquin, 20, Medfield — 24.37 seconds
• Tom Goguen, 27, Sherborn — 24.38 seconds
• Taylor Smith, 32, Princeton — 24.47 seconds
• Phil Cass, 21, Sudbury — 26.28 seconds
• Matthew Cloutier, 20, Maynard — 26.47 seconds
• Eric Brassell, 55, Arlington — 27.34 seconds
• Jim Shepardson, 51, Charlton — 27.65 seconds
• Timothy Alzamora, 25, Holden — 28.41 seconds (tie)
• William Goguen, 14, Hopedale — 28.41 seconds (tie)
• Jonathan Marshall, 55, Framingham — 29.56 seconds

Women

• Gina Bullock, 57, Florham Park, NJ — 35.75 seconds
• Margo Pawlak, 56, Westford — 38.03 seconds
• Megan DeSanty, 21, Leominster — 38.43 seconds
• Judith Fenner, 67, Brewster — 43.16 seconds
• Michelle Milos, 21, Northborough — 44.15 seconds
• Hannah Ferguson, 26, Enfield, CT — 45.34 seconds
• Meg Giarusso, 59, Worcester — 46.41 seconds
• Kirsten Orender, 55, Worcester — 57.46 seconds
• Donna Severson, 60, Spencer — 90.79 seconds