Josh Tostado, Jari Kirkland win solo titles at 24-Hr MTB Nationals
The grueling Utah race course drew about 4,000 riders, spectators, and support crew. Photo by Tim Gillies
Josh Tostado(Breckenridge, Colo.) successfully defended his title in the men’s solo division, completing 18 laps of the 15-mile circuit to take the win over rival Kelly Magelky (Golden, Colo.) who completed 17 laps for the silver medal, and Cary Smith (Austin, Texas) who raced 16 laps for the bronze.
Jari Kirkland(Crested Butte, Colo.) put forth a dominating performance to win the women’s solo category, putting 14 laps under her belt to ride into the Stars-and-Stripes jersey. Grabbing the silver medal was Kris Cannon (Steamboat, Colo.) with 13 laps while Laureen Coffelt (Memphis, Tenn.) completed 12 laps for the bronze.
On his singlespeed bike, Cameron Chambers (Colorado Springs, Colo.) completed 16 laps and climbed onto the top step of the podium in the men’s solo singlespeed contest. He beat out second-place finisher Shawn Gregory (Cortez, Colo.) and third-place rider Brian Lehman (Denver, Colo.) who completed 15 and 14 laps respectively.
Cat Morrison (Grand Junction, Colo.) rode for eleven laps on her singlespeed to earn the national title in the Women’s Solo Singlespeed Championship over silver medalist Karen Rishel (Las Cruces, NM) and bronze medalist Heather Thiry (MCCall, Idaho)
The Honey Stinger/Trek duo of Sarah Anderson (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) and Max Taam (Snowmass Village, Colo.) finished 19 laps, beating their nearest opponents by two laps, to take the victory in the Mixed Duo Championship.
The Hammer Duo of Ben Parsons (Kalispell, Mont.) and Clint Muhlfeld (Whitefish, Mont.) defeated six other pairs in the men’s duo championship, completing 20 laps for their Stars-and-Stripes jerseys.
The men's solo national championship podium with Josh Tostado on top. Photo by Tim Gillies
With a total of 22 laps, the Honey Stinger/Trek fouresome of Len Zanni (Carbondale, Colo.), Kalan Beisel (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Ross Schnell (Grand Junction, Colo.), and Jay Henry (Avon, Colo.) took the national title in the Men’s 4-Person competition.
Covering 16 laps in 24 hours, the Kent Brothers Women’s Team of Heidi Gaskill (Missoula, Mont.), Anya Weschler, Heidi Rentz (Moab, Utah), and Laurel Douglas (Missoula, Mont.) earned the podium’s top step in the Women’s 4-Person category.
The Quadruple Gnar II squad of Casey Williams (Big Bear City, Calif.), Tyler Coplea (Fountain Hills, Ariz.), Travis Glysson (Marana, Ariz.), and Zach Valdez (Hemet, Calif.) covered 19 laps for a total of 285 miles to take the national title in the Men’s Junior (18 & under) competition.
The Men’s Masters (35+) competition was quite close with the top two squads both completing a whopping 20 laps of the 15-mile circuit and the victory going to the Basalt Bike & Ski/ESC squad of Jason Lapointe (Carbondale, Colo.), Joel Mischke (Basalt, Colo.), Charlie Eckart (Aspen, Colo.), and Mike Scanlon (Snowmass Village, Colo.) in the end.
The Nutzy Girlz Justin’s/Titus team of Coreen Wright (Evergreen, Colo.), Kay Levesque (Boulder, Colo.), Stacy Moller (Golden, Colo.), and Michelle Slingsby (Arvada, Colo.) took the top step of the podium in the Women’s Masters (35+) group with 15 laps.
Justin’s Nuts team of Michael Hogan (Louisville, Colo.), Drew Greer, Keith Sanders, (Winter Park, Colo.) and Thomas Dooley (Boulder, Colo.) combined their efforts to complete 19 laps over the 24 hours to grab the national title in the Men’s Masters (45+) group.
It was the second year in a row that the 24-Hours of Moab hosted the USA Cycling 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championships. In addition to all of the championship categories that were contested, riders competed in various non-championship categories in both 12 and 24-hour divisions.
For complete results for both the championship and non-championship categories in Moab, please CLICK HERE.
2010 USA Cycling 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championships
Moab, Utah
October 9-10, 2010
Men's Solo Championship
Josh Tostado (Breckenridge, Colo.)
Women's Solo Championship
Jari Kirkland (Crested Butte, Colo.)
Men's Solo Singlespeed Championship
Cameron Chambers (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Women's Solo Singlespeed Championship
Cat Morrison (Grand Junction, Colo.)
Mixed Duo Championship
Honey Stinger/Trek duo
Men's Duo Championship
The Hammer Duo
Women's Duo Championship
The Lil’ Girls on Big Wheels
Men's 4-Person Championship
Honey Stinger/Trek team
Women's 4-Person Championship
Kent Brothers Women’s Team
Men's Junior (18 & under) Championship
Quadruple Gnar II
Men's Masters (35+) Championship
Basalt Bike & Ski/ESC
Women's Masters (35+) Championship
Nutzy Girlz Justin’s/Titus
Men's Masters (45+) Championship
Justin’s Nuts
About 24 Hours of Moab
Since its inception in 1995, the 24 Hours of Moab has earned a reputation as one of the largest and most prestigious 24-hour races in the world. Rightly so, Moab, Utah is recognized, around the world, as the Mecca of mountain biking. The 24 Hours of Moab is also unique in that it is operated in a completely remote venue, 12 miles from the nearest utilities. Each year, a mountain bike city grows up in the high-desert grazelands hosting 4,000+ racers, support crew and spectators. This amazing location provides a 15-mile race course that is breathtakingly scenic and brutally challenging. Typically, teams and soloists together, log more than 79,000 miles and more than 1,300 miles of vertical elevation gain during this epic event.
About Granny Gear Productions
Granny Gear Productions, a sports marketing and event production company, has earned a reputation as the mountain biking's most innovative and successful event organizer. In 2000, GGP created its unprecedented and unrivaled RealTimeTM Scoring System, that tracks every rider and every lap, posting results for every team in real-time on the web. With more than 26 years as a mountain bike race organizer, Granny Gear President and CEO, Laird Knight, created the 24-hour racing format in 1991. In 2001, Knight became West Virginia Tourism's Person-of-the-Year and in 2002, Knight was inducted into The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. www.grannygear.com
This Article Published October 10, 2010 For more information contact:
