Wells wins third straight Marathon champs, Grant takes women’s title
Originally posted on July 7, 2014 at 0:45 am
Photo by Micah Rice
Twenty-two Stars-and-Stripes jerseys were earned on Saturday as the 2014 USA Cycling Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships brought an action-packed end to the Ride Sun Valley Bike Festival in Idaho.
Riders left the start line in morning and afternoon waves with temperatures being near perfect for the morning races and beautiful, but hot, in the afternoon.
PRO/OPEN
Todd Wells (Durango, Colo./Specialized Factory Racing) made it three in a row in Sun Valley, finishing six minutes ahead of silver and bronze medalists Stephen Ettinger (Bozeman, Mont./BMX Mountain Bike Racing Team) and Howard Grotts (Durango, Colo./Fort Lewis College/Specialized) in the pro men’s event. The win was the third straight Marathon Mountain Bike national title for Wells.
Rose Grant (Kalispell, Mont./Sportsman & Ski Haus) rode her way into the Stars-and-Stripes jersey in the women’s pro race, finishing 14 minutes faster than silver and bronze medalists Joey Lythgoe (Park City, Utah) and Nina Baum (Albuquerque, NM).
Photo by Braden Gunem
SINGLESPEED
The men’s singlespeed competition was very fast-paced with Cary Smith (Jackson, Wyo.) posting a scorching time of 3:11:21 to slip into the Stars-and-Stripes jersey ahead of Tom Flynn (Boise, Idaho/Pro Leisure) and Aj Linnell (Victor, Idaho).
The only woman to enter the singlespeed contest, Tina Brubaker (Bend, Ore.) completed her event with a time of 4:49:09 to take the national title in Sun Valley.
SENIOR 19-29
Daniel Munoz (Riverside, Calif.) was victorious in the senior men’s 19-19 battle as he crossed the line ahead of second- and third-place riders Julian Gomez Villafane (Ketchum, Idaho) and Brian Gordon (Corona, Calif./Blackstar Racing).
Nicole Tittensor (Axtell, Utah) rode her way onto the top step of the podium in the senior women’s 19-29 group after finishing nearly 15 minutes ahead of second-place rider Emily Paxson (Trout Lake, Wash.). Anona Whitley (Albuquerque, NM) claimed the bronze medal.
MASTERS MEN
The men’s 30-34 competition was fairly close with John Reuter (Ketchum, Idaho/The Elephants Perch) taking the win by only about two minutes ahead of teammate Brad Walker (Hailey, Idaho/The Elephants Perch). Nicholas Connolly (Reno, Nev./Reno Wheelmen) rounded out third.
Among men 35-39, Brandon Gritters (Mission Viejo, Calif./Blackstar Racing) was the fastest when he bested silver and bronze medalists Cody Peterson (Bend, Ore.) and Daniel Appelo (Albuquerque, NM/Scalo Veloce).
In the men’s 40-44 race, Kyle Dixon (Reno, Nev./Velo Reno p/b Tamarack Junction) was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 3:21.40, ahead of second-and third-place finishers Mitt Stewart (Sandy, Utah) and Steve Price (Twin Falls, Idaho).
Rob McGee (San Clemente, Calif./Blackstar Racing) overtook quite a few riders in the final lap to take the win in the men’s 45-49 category with a time of 3:17.41. He was more than 10 minutes ahead of his nearest threat, silver medalist Mike Castaldo (Chico, Calif./Chico Masters Cycling Team). Aaron Jordin (Sandy, Utah/Canyon Bicycles-Shimano) was third in that age group.
Jon Gould (Boise, Idaho.) was the fastest in the men’s 50-54 group. In fact, he passed most of the racers in the 40-44 category to achieve the gold medal with his winning time of 3:21:55. Taking the second and third steps on the podium were Tim Zandbergen (Aliso Viejo, Calif./Team Rokform) and Brian Taylor (Boise, Idaho/Team Ascent Idaho)
Zan Treasure (Ogden, Utah/Bountiful Bicycle Racing) rode his way onto the top step of the podium among men 55-59. He finished ahead of silver and bronze medalists Terry Duran (Hailey, Idaho/Infinity Racing-Tom Williams BMX-Mini) and Russell Thorstrom (Boise, Idaho).
Bill Schultz (Missoula, Mont.) earned the national title in the men’s 60-64 category when he beat out Wayne Gorry (Payson, Ariz.) and Dwight Hibdon (Park City, Utah).
Allan Marvin (Denver, Colo./Alpha Bicycles Co-Vista Subaru) took the win amongst men 65-69, ahead of
Peter Rockwood (Denver, Colo./Old School Racing) and Gary Peterson (Golden, Colo.).
The lone competitor in the men’s 70+ category, James Wagner (Auburn, Wash./Bike Masters-WA) finished the event in a time of 4:13:33 to add a gold national championship medal to his hardware collection.
MASTERS WOMEN
The fastest masters woman of the day was Tracie Nelson (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) One of the few masters women to break the four hour barrier, she completed the women’s 30-34 race in 3:53:43 to claim victory ahead of silver and bronze medalists Becky Edmiston (Steamboat Springs, Colo./Steamboat Velo) and Chelsey Magness (Bend, Ore.).
Kristin Duyn (Portland, Ore.) was nine minutes ahead of her nearest threat when she crossed the finish line for the win. She took the top step of the women’s 35-39 podium ahead of Naomi Haverlick (Reno, Nev.) and Sarah Pittiglio (Davis, Calif.).
Another woman to break the four hour mark was Michelle Andersen (Boise, Idaho/The Elephants Perch) in the women’s 40-44 group. Her time of 3:55:25 earned her the national title while Karoline Droege (Ketchum, Idaho) and Helene Drumm (San Anselmo, Calif./Whoe Athlete-Specialized) collected the silver and bronze medals respectively.
Amy Fulwyler (Jackson, Wyo.) rode her way into a Stars-and-Stripes jersey in the 45-49 contest, finishing ahead of Alisa Wade (Missoula, Mont./Missoula Bike Source Racing) and Michelle Byers (Boise, Idaho/Eastside Cycles-Idaho).
Jennifer Everhard (Bellevue, Wash./Fischer Plumbing Cycling Team) took the women’s 50-54 win ahead of Lori Selby (Richland, Wash./Chinook Cycling) and Heidi Dohse (Hailey, Idaho/DRV-Driscoll) while Muffy Ritz (Ketchum, Idaho/The Elephants Perch) was victorious in the women’s 55-59 group ahead of Debra Hakansson (Truckee, Calif./Truckee Bicycle Team) and Sue Hanna (Portland, Ore.).
Margie Lapoint (Truckee, Calif./Team City Sacramento) took the national title in the women’s 60-64 age group.