Local school teacher wins her second LoToJa Classic

A local school teacher can now tell her students that she not only won the women's division of the nation's longest bicycle race once, but twice after being the first woman to cross the finish line of the LoToJa Classic last month.

Aileen Pannecoucke, originally from Belgium, is a teacher at Pocatello's Franklin Middle School who has been into bicycling for a few years now. The 27-year-old first heard about LoToJa while she was attending Idaho State University and entered it for the first time around 2021. She won her first LoToJa and this year she wanted to ride to victory again. This was her third time participating in the race and second time winning the women's division.

"I wanted to do it again this year to try and break the record," she said.

The LoToJa race starts in Logan, Utah, and ends in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The distance is about 200 miles, which makes it the longest bike race in the nation.

"I heard about the race and I heard in Pocatello that a lot of people participate in it," Pannecoucke said. "I wanted to do it as a challenge to myself."

Although she won the race this year, Pannecoucke was unable to beat the record. She finished in 9:43:26:37.

"I would love to break the record one day," she said.

Participants in the race spend more than nine hours riding their bikes to the finish line. Pannecoucke said everyone is both physically and mentally exhausted by the time it is over.

"It's really rough," she said. "The physical is not as bad as the mental toward the end. You go through a lot of different phases."

The last 40 miles of the race are the most painful. It is the part of the race that feels the longest and participants have to make sure to keep themselves motivated.

"It definitely feels like an accomplishment after you finish," Pannecoucke said.

Pannecoucke's favorite part of the race is the valley that you enter during the last 40 miles. She said the valley has awesome scenery and serves as a reminder that you're close to the finish line.

"It's very pretty even though it gets pretty rough," she said.

The best part about bicycling for Pannecoucke is that it gives her a chance to be out in nature and to explore the outdoors. She also likes that it is a good way to condition yourself and stay in shape.

"You can work out physically and it helps with your mental health," she said. "It's a very cool sport to do."