Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships a Family Affair

The husband and wife duo of Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, CO/Subaru-Gary Fisher) and Heather Irmiger (Boulder, CO/Subaru-Gary Fisher) made it a family affair at the 2009 USA Cycling Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships, as the pair nabbed the pro men’s and women’s national titles on July 4th at the Firecracker 50 in Breckenridge, CO. With a starting line elevation at 9000′ and climbs ranging up to 11,000′ above sea level, the 50-mile race loomed as a daunting challenge to the competitors—yet the both Horgan-Kobelski and Irmiger rode away from the competition, each of them setting new course records.

In the men’s race Jeremiah Bishop was the runner-up, with Jay Henry, Peter Stetina and Colin Cares rounding out the podium. Joining women’s champion Heather Irmiger on the podium, in second through fifth place were: Pua Sawicki, Gretchen Reeves, Krista Park and Heather Holmes.

The Firecracker 50 was the six of seven events on the 2009 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Ultra-Endurance Calendar. The current Ultra-Endurance series standings are as follows:

Men’s Standings
1. Harlan Price (Philadelphia, PA/Independent Fabrication)160
2. Jeremiah Bishop (Harrisonburg, VA/MonaVie-Cannondale) 100
3. John Mylne (Riverside, CA/Niner Bikes-Ergon) 85
4. Ernesto Marenchin (Stow, OH/Speedgoat Bikes) 78
5. Bryan Fawley (Austin, TX/Park Place Dealerships) 60

Women’s Standings
1. Rebecca Rusch (Ketchum, ID) 238
2. Sandra Tomlinson (Jacksonville, FL/Vanderkitten) 82
3. Danielle Musto (Grand Rapids, MI) 80
4. Rita Borelli (Tallahassee, FL) 70
5. Rebecca Tomaszewski (Boone, NC) 70

Complete 2009 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Ultra Endurance Calendar standings are available on the USA Cycling website.

The USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Ultra-Endurance Calendar wraps up with the USA Cycling 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championships at Granny Gear’s 24 Hours of Moab on Oct. 10-11th.

Photos courtesy of Matt Opperman, Gary Fisher team mechanic.