Auction winner donates bike to Leadville race

KETCHUM, ID (BRAIN)—The winner of an auction of the Specialized bike used by Rebecca Rusch to win the 2011 Leadville Trail 100 is not planning to ride the bike. Instead, he is donating it to be put on display at the race's headquarters.

Nate Whitman, who has competed at the race for ten years and has finished in the top 10, paid $4,200 for the bike on Ebay. The proceeds from the auction are going to the Wood River Bike Coalition, a mountain bike advocacy group in Rusch's hometown of Ketchum, Idaho.
 
“There’s a lot of history in that bike,” said Whitman. “As much as any athlete out there, male or female, Rebecca Rusch gives back to the sport of mountain biking ... This bike is going to be a symbol of Rebecca Rusch and the spirit of the race.”
 
The 2012 Leadville Trail 100 is this Saturday, August 11. Rusch will be racing for her fourth time.