Twenty champs crowned on final day of Mountain Bike Nationals

Granby, Colo. (July 18, 2010) – Competition wrapped up at the SolVista Bike Park on Sunday astwenty more national champions were crowned in short track cross country, Super D, and downhill racing. Todd Wells (Durango, Colo./Specialized) grabbed his second national title of the weekend in the pro men’s short track while Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Planet Bike) powered to the win in the women’s race.

Todd Wells capped off a stellar weekend of racing with a second national title on Sunday. After winning the cross country event on Saturday, the Colorado rider powered his way to another Stars-and-Stripes jersey in the pro men’s short track event, again finishing ahead of silver medalist Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Trek). Wells set a super-fast pace at the front, and despite an impressive chase effort by JHK and Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont./Subaru-Trek), his pace simply couldn’t be matched.

“Up here at altitude, it’s hard to attack because if you go into the red zone it takes a while to come out,” Wells explained of his tactics at the finish line. “So I upped it a little bit. It wasn’t a full out attack but I could see they were suffering so I started to push the pace a little.”

Adam Craig (Bend, Ore./Giant-Rabobank) eventually worked his way past Schultz to take the bronze medal while Schultz claimed fourth and Carl Decker (Bend, Ore./Giant) crossed the line in fifth for the final spot on the podium.

Click here to check out the You Tube video of Todd’s win.

Katie Compton dominated a fast pro women’s short track event, upping the pace in lap three and opening a gap that gradually increased until she crossed the finish line for the national title ahead of Saturday’s cross country winner Georgia Gould (Fort Collins, Colo./Luna). Heather Irmiger (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Trek) was third while Mary McConneloug (Chilmark, Mass./Kenda-Seven-NoTubes) and Willow Koerber (Durango, Colo./Subaru-Trek) were fourth and fifth.

Click here to see a video of the pro women’s start.

Four categories of amateurs contested the short track competitions on Sunday morning and afternoon. In the women’s cat 1 race, it was Alicia Rose Pastore (Durango, Colo./Rocky Mountain Chocolate) to take the victory over second-place rider Helene Drumm (San Anselmo, Calif./Peanut Butter & Co). Howard Grotts (Durango, Colo./Durango Devo) powered his way to a national title in the junior men’s 15-18 event.

In the men’s 19-29 contest, Jafer Beizer (Conyers, Ga./Niner) won the national title and dedicated the win to his father who is fighting pancreatic cancer and was unable to witness the victory in person.

Crossing the finish line for the silver and bronze medals were Mark Parmelee (Waterford, Mich.) and Stevie Cullinan (Paradise Valley, Ariz./Racelab U23 Cycling Team) while Peter O’Donnell (Boulder, Colo./Mafia Racing) and Amar Mannina (Boulder, Colo.) rounded out the podium in fourth and fifth.

“It was a great course today. Climbing is one of my best strengths,” Beizer explained about his race at the finish line. “Yesterday in the cross country, I crashed out half way through, but I was leading the race so I wanted to make up for it today. I like to go from the start. I wanted to stick it as hard as I could and see if I could hold on.”

Next to toe the line were the men in the 30+ group. On the third lap, Jorge Expinoza (Boulder, Colo./prerace.com) took off from the field and never looked back. The Coloradoan powered his way to the national title over silver and bronze medalists Ed Oliver (Littleton, Colo./EPC-Wheatridge Cyclery) and Ward Baker (Boulder, Colo./Justin’s-Titus) while Donald Myrah (San Jose, Calif.) and Frank Gonzalez (Montana Velo) made the fourth- and fifth-place efforts.

The Super D opened up the final day’s competition bright and early with a Lemans style start at 8:00 a.m. In the pro men’s event, the gold and silver medal were separated by only a second with Mike West (Boulder, Colo./Maverick) posting a time of 9:52 to take the national title ahead of Kevin Soller (Breckenridge, Colo./Summit Velo) and bronze medalist Mitchell Hoke (Tokyo Joes). Adam Snyder (Westminster, Mass./Jamis Bikes) and Gregory Carpenter (Canton, Conn./3D Racing) rounded out the podium in fourth and fifth.

In the pro women’s event, Kelli Emmett (Colorado Springs, Colo./Giant Bicycles) posted a time of 11:23 over the 2.33 mile course to ride into the Stars-and-Stripes jersey ahead of Krista Parks (Cannondale-InCycle.com) who clocked 11:38. Allison Mann (Murrieta, Calif.), Elke Brutsaert (Durango, Colo./Durango Devo), and Julie Olsen (Silverthorne, Colo./Standard Process) were the third, fourth, and fifth women down the mountain.

Additionally, nine groups of category one riders contested the Super D competition Sunday morning. In the men’s 18 and under Super D, Seth Kemp (Campobello, SC) descended the course with a time of 10:18 to beat out silver medalist Casey Williams (Big Bear City, Calif.) who wasn’t far behind with a time of 10:25. Chris Thibodeau (Grass Valley, Calif./SERT-Sho-Air) clocked a 10:34 to beat out Lars Ellefson  (Durango, Colo.) by only ten seconds in the men’s 19-29 category. In the men’s 30-39 group, Dejay Birtch (Tucson, Ariz./Niner-Ergon-NoTubes) descended to a national title while Ward Baker (Justins-Titus) and Chris Grove (Flagstaff, Ariz./Absolute Bikes Team) grabbed the wins in the 40-49 and 50+ categories. Kaylee Blevins (Durango, Colo.) barely bested Kate Courtney (Kentfield, Calif./Whole Athlete) for the Stars-and-Stripes jersey in the women’s 18 and under contest while Philicia Marion (Mount Airy, NC/Carpe Diem Racing) beat out Amanda Ryan (Wixom, Mich./Wolverine Sports Club) in the 19-29 group. Among women 30-39, Maria Pastore (Eagle, Colo.) was the fastest while Helene Drumm (San Anselmo, Calif./Peanut Butter & Co) rode her way onto the podium’s top step in the 40+ category.

Bringing the 2010 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships to a close were the final three downhill contests. The junior men, pro men, and pro women all took their turns on the course.

Jill Kintner (Seattle, Wash./Transition Racing) clocked a time of 2:46.20 over the 1.4 miles to best the 2:49.66 clocked by runner-up Jacqueline Harmony (Sedona, Calif./Vixen Racing). Melissa Buhl (Chandler, Ariz./KHS Bicycles) grabbed the bronze medal while Leigh Donovan (Murrieta, Calif./Intense Cycles) and Darian Harvey (Durango, Colo./Vixen Racing)

In the pro men’s downhill time test, Aaron Gwin (Morongo Valley, Calif./Yeti Fox Factory) descended to the win with a time of 2:21.17 compared to the 2:24.64 posted by silver medalist Logan Binggeli (Saint George, Utah/KHS Bicycles). Tyler Immer (Rancho Murieta) had the bronze medal ride while Kyle Strait (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Bradley Benedict (Auburn/Specialized) rounded out fourth and fifth.

In the Category 1 Men 17-18 downhill contest, Sam Powers (Lyons, Colo./Redstone Cyclery) claimed the win over Bryson Martin (Stevenson Ranch/Oakley) and Nate Furbee (Los Osos, Calif.) while Evan Powell (Boulder, Colo./Yeti Fox) and Trevor Trinkino (Evergreen, Colo./Yeti RPM) posted the fourth- and fifth-fastest times.

With the conclusion of Sunday’s racing, the 2010 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships are officially in the books. CLICK HERE for a photo gallery of all the action, or here for complete results.

USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships
SolVista Bike Park at Granby Ranch, Granby, CO
July 15-18, 2010

About USA Cycling  
Recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and the Union Cycliste Internationale, USA Cycling is the official governing body for all disciplines of competitive cycling in the United States, including road, track, mountain bike, BMX and cyclo-cross. As a membership-based organization, USA Cycling comprises 66,500+ licensees; 2,200 clubs and teams; and 34 local associations. The national governing body sanctions 2,650 competitive and non-competitive events throughout the U.S. each year and is responsible for the identification, development, and support of American cyclists. To learn more about USA Cycling, visit www.usacycling.org.