PINKHAM NOTCH, N.H. – Former Olympic gold medalist Tyler Hamilton, who has been off the official racing circuit since September due to blood doping charges, won the Volkswagen Mount Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb on Saturday with a time of 51:11.

The winning woman for the second year in a row was Aimee Vasse, 27, who kept her lead despite being blown off her bike near the top. Vasse, of Tucson, Ariz. finished with a time of 1:12:28.

Hamilton, 34, a former teammate of Lance Armstrong who grew up in Marblehead, Mass., is appealing a two-year ban he received in April for a blood doping violation.

His is the first case based on a test designed to detect the presence of someone else’s red blood cells. A blood transfusion can increase endurance by providing extra oxygen-carrying red blood cells.

He was able to race at Mount Washington because it is an independent and unsanctioned event.

“This is my first race in 11 months,” he said. Hamilton had hoped to break a 2002 record set by Tom Danielson but missed the mark by less than two minutes.

Hamilton finished four minutes ahead of the second place finisher, Anthony Colby, 26, of Dedham, Mass.

Philip Wong, 25, of Gloucester, Mass. came in third.

For the women, Kerry Litka, 28, of Nashua took second with a time of 1:16:52. Jennifer Miller, of Burlington, Vt. took third.

More than 600 amateur and professional riders finished the 7.6 mile race this year, pedaling up 6,288 feet to the summit.