Boardman, Pummel shine in Pintler Classic race

The word he favored in describing the vast, expansive landscape where Saturday’s Pintler Classic was held was “beautiful.”

“But I don’t know if I should be saying that,” he joked after winning the 81.4-mile, Cat 1/2/3 event with a time of 3 hours, 11 minutes, 4.78 seconds.

“I think I’m supposed to be saying it sucks here, don’t come.”

Boardman, a professional cycler who moved to Whitefish two years ago with his Montana-raised wife, has a personality that’s perfect for cycling promotion. He’s well-spoken and humble with a familiar sense of humor.

“I think grassroots events are what make bike racing possible,” he said. “Local, small organizations like the one that put on today’s race are the way I got into bike racing.

“I think it’s great to have events like this, especially in Montana where it’s the only road race in the state. As a road racer who lives in the state, I feel like it’s almost my duty to come support this.”

Boardman, who grew up in Washington, D.C., seemed to enjoy the journey even more than the outcome Saturday.

“Being the city-slickin’ interloper I am who married my way into the state because my wife is from here, I never really experienced Montana until we started dating and I started visiting here,” said the 28-year-old, who met his wife in college in California.

“It’s completely different than what I’m used to, growing up in the city. To be able to enjoy this landscape in a race, along with a little bit of dirt road in there, which was pristine, it’s a pleasure.”

Boardman races full-time and works as a substitute teacher on occasion. The 28-year-old used Saturday as a tune-up for an important pro race he will be competing in later this month as a member of Project Echelon Racing.

“It’s an oven in Portugal right now,” he said, “so I wanted to get in some hot-weather racing here.”

Boardman would love to see the Pintler Classic, which made a return this summer after 11 years, flourish and grow. He said he would enjoy competing in the event again.

“I know the folks at Frontiers Racing are looking to expand it into a multi-day event, which I think would be amazing,” he said, referring to the Montana cycling team that organized the event and focuses primarily on road racing.

“I know there are a variety of events in Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Washington that if they can coordinate a calendar that’s cohesive, it could create a really robust mountain west block that I think could be a huge boon to the cycling scene.”

The winner of Saturday’s Cat 4/5 men’s race also has a reputation as a star athlete, especially within the borders of Montana. But unlike Boardman, Will Silk has made his name in speedskating, where he hopes to make the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

Silk, a Butte native currently residing in Salt Lake City, would have loved to square off against the likes of Boardman in the 81.4-mile, Cat 1/2/3 event. But a cycler must meet certain point requirements, so Silk opted for the Cat 4/5 event, which was roughly 20.5 miles.

The 18-year-old won in 1:44:32.46, edging out fellow Butte native Max Kluck by just under two seconds.

“This is really good cross training and I ride quite a bit — I don’t race quite as much as I’d like to but I do what I can,” Silk said. “The course was great. The big climb with about 14 miles to go really split it up and then kind of made it select, then finishing up on the main street was really cool.

“Max and I live together in Salt Lake and we’ve been best friends since Kindergarten, so we’ve definitely sprinted out a couple times.”

The top women’s finisher was 39-year-old professional Chelsee Pummel of Bozeman. She finished the 20.5-mile course in 1:54:23.66.

“We were supposed to be at Crusher in the Tushar (in Utah) today but it got canceled because of the fire,” she noted. “We came and did this instead. I was prepared to climb 10,000 feet today.”

Pummel was hoping to trek the 81.4-mile Pintler Classic course but race officials opted to put all of the women’s competitors at the shorter distance.

“It was nice to have a women’s race, separate from the men,” she said. “It was like low stress, which was nice, work together. I feel like when there’s a combination of men and women’s it’s like twitchy and stressful.

“The last climb is where I broke off from everyone. This last 10 miles I was trying to keep my lead from the climb I did. The last five miles I could see this swarm of purple behind me.”

Pummel is used to mountain bike racing on gravel and trails. The physical therapist has been on the USA Skimo team and just recently purchased a road bicycle.

“This is great,” she said of Saturday. “I’ve heard of this race, just never done it. We drive by here and my partner, he’s like, ‘There’s a really great road race here.’ It’s awesome this is back.”

As a road racing rookie, Pummel did not meet the requirements to be in the Cat 1/2/3 race. Consequently, she was crowned Cat 4/5 champion despite finishing with the best women’s mark.

Emma Swartz of Missoula won the Cat 1/2/3 event in 1:55:48.55. Only three women were entered in the division.

Tamara Bessette, 62, of Missoula, won the women’s masters (40+) race in 1:55:49.42. John Riley, 48, of Bozeman, won the men’s masters event in 1:45:20.90.

Odin Berryman, 16, of Missoula won the U18 boys race in 1:45:20.98. Natalie Rehklau, 17, of Billings, won the U18 girls race in 2:00:27.11.