2011 Mountain Bike Marathon Nationals roll out Saturday in Bend

Heather Irmiger rides to her 2010 MTB Marathon national title.

Bend, Ore. (Sept. 16, 2011) — More than 200 riders will take to the trails in and around Bend, Oregon, tomorrow for the 2011 USA Cycling Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships.

Aiming for a third-straight Mountain Bike Marathon national title in the pro category are Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Trek) and Heather Irmiger (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Trek). The husband-and-wife duo dominated last year’s event, held in Breckenridge, Colorado. Horgan-Kobelski is also looking to add to his 2011 national titles after taking the short track cross-country championship at the Mountain Bike Cross-Country Nationals in July.

Returning 2010 Stars-and-Stripes jersey winners also include Robert Stanley (Longmont, Colo./Foxtrot Racing) in the men’s 50-59 category and Dwight Hibdon (Park City, Utah/Mad Dog Cycles Race Team) in the men’s 60+ category.

Competitors will traverse more than 50 miles of singletrack, doubletrack and pavement between starting and finishing in Bend’s historic Old Mill District. The single-loop course will wind through the trails west of downtown Bend and feature a mixture of technical sections along with sustained climbs and fast descents.

This year, riders will be divided into 14 different categories:

• Men Pro/Elite, Women Pro/Elite
• Men 19-29, Women 19-29
• Men 30-34
• Men 35-39
• Female 30-39
• Men 40-49, Women 40-49
• Men 50-59, Women 50+
• Men 60+
• Men Singlespeed, Women Singlespeed

Visit the 2011 Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships webpage for more information, including a schedule of events, register riders list, course map, photo gallery, results and more.

You may also follow race coverage on Twitter using the tag #MTBmarathon.