Ketchum, Idaho (July 5, 2012) — The first three national championships were awarded Thursday, the first day of the 2012 USA Cycling Mountain Bike Cross-Country National Championships at Sun Valley in Ketchum, Idaho. National titles were awarded in short track cross-country after category 2 and 3 riders contested the mountain bike cross-country race in non-national championship races under cloudy skies and cooler than usual temperatures.
Short Track Cross-Country
Helene Drumm (San Anselmo, Calif./Whole Athlete-Specialized), Chris Jackson (Somis, Calif./California Polytechnic-San Luis Obispo) and Ty Kady (Brea, Calif./Team Sho-Air) earned Stars-and-Stripes jerseys after winning their respective short track cross-country races.
Drumm’s race opened the short track cross-country competition just as the sun began to peek through the clouds. With the race scheduled for three laps after 20 minutes, the riders were forced to be aggressive from the start. Grace Alexander (Boise, Idaho/BYRDS (Boise Young Riders Dev Squad)) got the hole shot and set an early pace, working with Drumm. That duo opened a lead on the field before Drumm attacked with four laps remaining in the race. Alexander was unable to counter, allowing the 42-year-old Drumm to ride away with the gold medal. The 18-year-old Alexander finished second and Brianne Marshall (Durango, Colo./NoTubes Endurance Racing) took the bronze medal.
“I know she’s (Alexander) a good junior rider, she’s fast and young, so I just stayed with her,” Drumm said. “We took turns pulling through. I gauged where I my strengths were, which would be that little uphill rise on the back side with the loose dirt. I knew that I could take her on the uphills. She’s technically a little more savvy than me, I think. I just took the opportunity later in the race when I knew that I still had a little bit and she could possibly be tired. It was a little earlier than I thought, but it worked out.”
In the senior men 19-29 short track cross-country race, Chris Jackson (Somis, Calif./California Polytechnic Institute-San Luis Obispo) surged late in the race to pull away from Brandon Cross (West Bountiful, Utah/Cole Sport) to collect the first national championship of his cycling career.
“It’s a big deal for me,” Jackson said. “I’ve trained real hard. I started late in the season. I went out, started in the third row and just worked my way up. Once I saw that I was in contention, I attacked on the climb. Another guy (Cross) and I got a little gap. We started working together. Unfortunately, he went down behind me. At that point, I just attacked and just kept the pressure on.”
In the masters men 30-and-up short track cross-country race, Ty Kady (Brea, Calif./Team Sho-Air), who won the masters men 30-34 race as well as the cross-country contest in 2011, took care of the first half of repeating in 2012. Kady overcame a late mechanical issue with his bicycle to win the men’s 30-and-up short track cross-country race by three seconds over the silver medalist, Marco Arocha (Newbury Park, Calif./RNR-B4B) and 21 seconds faster than Kyle Dixon (Reno, Nev./Velo Reno p/b Tamarack Junction).
“These guys are fantastic,” Kady said. “This was one of the strongest fields. Guys like Marco (Arocha), (Brandon) Gritters and Kyle Ashton are unbelievable. I was just super fortunate to win this. I can’t thank the team enough. I’m just super excited. That one I had to dig for. It’s really sweet to back up the title two years in a row.”
Mountain Bike Cross-Country
Category 2
In the category 2 men’s 15-18 race, Dean Haas (Lakewood, Colo./Team Specialized Racing) rode away from the other 49 riders in his field to earn a win.
“It’s awesome,” Haas said. I’ve never medaled at nationals or won anything. It’s not the category 1 race, but it’s still a win. The track was good. I rode well and was strong. I was able to pull off the ‘W.'”
Other category 2 winners were: Miles Fink-DeBray (Ketchum, Idaho) won the seniors men 19-29, Brad Walker (Hailey, Idaho) won the masters men 30-34, Luke Wynen (Mammoth Lakes, Calif./Eastside Velo) won the masters men 35-39, Christopher Jenkins (Colorado Springs, Colo.) won the masters men 40-44, Mark Avery (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) won the masters men 45-49 and John Higgins (Salt Lake City, Utah) won the masters men 50-54.
Haas’ time of 1:39:39 was just one second faster than Walker’s mark for the fastest among category 2 men.
Avery Morin (Roseville, Calif./Victory Velo Racing) won the juniors women 15-18, Ivy Pedersen (Bozeman, Mont./Team Rockford-Clif) won the seniors women 19-29, Brett Stevenson (Hailey, Idaho) won the masters women 30-39 and Sarah Halvorson (Missoula, Mont./MBW Racing-Team Stampede) won the masters women 40-49 with the fastest time among category 2 women, 2:03:38.
Category 3
The category 3 mountain bike cross-country winners were: Daniel Riley (Park City, Utah) in the men’s 15-18, whose time of 1:46:16 was the fastest among category 3 men, Ryan Bibko (Kent, Wash./JL Velo Racing Team/Northwest Velo) in the seniors men 19-29, Dustin Harder (Portland, Ore./Harder Cycling) in the masters men 30-39, Steve Price (Twin Falls, Idaho) in the masters men 40-49 and Timothy Harmon (Ketchum, Idaho) won the masters men 50-54.
In the category 3 women’s races, Mercedes Drummond (Springdale, Ark./Bell & Company Mountain Biking) won the juniors women 15-18 with the fastest time among category 3 women, 2:18:11, Sierra Reid (Portland, Ore.) was victorious in the seniors women 19-29, Andrea Fox (Leander, Texas/512-Racing p/b AJ’s Cyclery) won the masters women 30-39 and Heather Youngwerth (Boise, Idaho/Boise VeloWomen) topped the masters women’s 40-49.
In a pair of non-national championship paracycling short track cross-country races, David Poole (Bozeman, Mont.) won the handcycling race with a time of 21:37 while William Simmel (Missoula, Mont.) won the two-wheel race with a time of 18:00.
The racing on Friday morning features the juniors and U23 men and women competing in cross-country beginning at 9 a.m. The women open the day’s racing at 9 a.m. before the juniors women start their race three minutes later. The U23 men begin their ride at 11:30 a.m. before the juniors men start their contest three minutes later. The juniors men and women 11-12 contest the juniors cross-country course at 3:15 p.m. before the juniors men and women compete on the same course at 4:30 p.m.
For complete details on this event, including a complete schedule, results, course maps and a photo gallery, please visit the event web site. Photos taken throughout the event will be available for purchase from the event photographers, TeamI4 photography. If you can’t make it out for the event, follow all of the action on Twitter using the hashtag #MTBNats.
For more information on the Ride Sun Valley Bike Festival, please visit the web site.
2012 USA Cycling Mountain Bike Cross-Country National Championships
July 5-8, 2012
Ketchum, Idaho
Short Track Cross-Country
Men – Category 1 – Senior – 19-29
1. Chris Jackson (Somis, Calif./California Polytechnic-San Luis Obispo) 29:21
2. Brandon Cross (West Bountiful, Utah/Cole Sport) 29:54
3. Adam Leiferman (Casper, Wyo.) 29:56
4. Tyler Jenema (Marquette, Mich.) 30:09
5. Trevor DeRuise (Reno, Nev.) 30:38
Men Category 1 – Senior – 30-99
1. Ty Kady (Brea, Calif./Team Sho-Air) 27:30
2. Marco Arocha (Newbury Park, Calif./RNR-B4B) 27:33
3. Kyle Dixon (Reno, Nev./Velo Reno P/B Tamarack Junction) 27:51
4. Brandon Gritters (Mission Viejo, Calif./RNR/B4B) 27:55
5. Eric Bostrom (Westlake Village, Calif.) 28:28
Women – Category 1
1. Helene Drumm (San Anselmo, Calif./Whole Athlete-Specialized) 32:05
2. Grace Alexander (Boise, Idaho/MTB PRO Team: BMC Mountainbike) 32:24
3. Brianne Marshall (Durango, Colo./NoTubes Endurance Racing) 32:58
4. Elisa Otter (Montpelier, Vt.) 33:28
5. Shayna Powless (Roseville, Calif./MTB PRO Team: BMC Mountainbike) 33:45
Para-cycling Short Track Cross-Country
Men – Para – Handcycle
1. David Poole (Bozeman, Mont.) 21:37
2. Pat Dougherty (Boise, Idaho) 30:28
3. Jet Turner (Bellevue, Idaho) 35:01
Men – Para – 2-Wheel
1. William Simmel (Missoula, Mont.) 18:00
2. James Santangelo (Sterling Heights, Mich.) 19:03
3. Jason Sellars (Ketchum, Idaho) 20:45
Cross-Country
Men – Category 2 – Junior – 15-18
1. Dean Haas (Lakewood, Colo./Team Specialized Racing) 1:39:39
2. Zachary Skalet (Rocklin, Calif.) 1:42:23
3. Brett Maur (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Singletrack Racing Development) 1:42:43
4. Matthew Turner (Park City, Utah/Summit Bike Club-UT) 1:44:07
5. Keenan DesPlanques (Durango, Colo./Durango Devo) 1:44:47
Men – Category 2 – Senior – 19-29
1. Miles Fink-DeBray (Ketchum, Idaho) 1:41:51
2. Gerald Drummond (Springdale, Ark./Bell & Company Mountain Biking) 1:42:37
3. Todd Cross (Missoula, Mont.) 1:42:53
4. Taylor Benz (Ketchum, Idaho/Audi-Kryki Sports) 1:45:56
5. Joshua Leighton (Boise, Idaho/Joyride Cycles-ID) 1:47:24
Men – Category 2 – Master – 30-34
1. Brad Walker (Hailey, Idaho) 1:39:40
2. Mike Stemp (Ketchum, Idaho) 1:42:51
3. Eric Greenwood (Ogden, Utah) 1:47:11
4. Ben Flandro (Ketchum, Idaho/Audi-Kryki Sports) 1:47:37
5. Jason Vayre (Marquette, Mich./Kitchi-Mi-Kana) 1:48:45
Men – Category 2 – Master – 35-39
1. Luke Wynen (Mammoth Lakes, Calif./Eastside Velo) 1:46:33
2. Filip Wojcikowski (Park City, Utah) 1:47:27
3. Troy Clark (Idaho Falls, Idaho) 1:48:05
4. Reto Mueller (San Francisco, Calif./Peninsula Velo Racing) 1:48:27
5. Aaron Obelleiro (Dixon, Calif./Grass Roots Racing pb Velo Wrench) 1:53:07
Men – Category 2 – Master – 40-44
1. Christopher Jenkins (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 1:42:36
2. Jason Russell (Vail, Colo.) 1:50:10
3. Mike Pinsker (Greenbrae, Calif.) 1:50:50
4. Richard Kirby (Santa Rosa, Calif.) 1:50:50
5. Jason White (Boise, Idaho) 1:50:51
Men – Category 2 – Master – 45-49
1. Mark Avery (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) 1:47:24
2. Alex Lizarazo (North Ogden, Utah) 1:52:29
3. Ross Tinline (San Carlos, Calif.) 1:53:09
4. Jeffrey Roth (Hailey, Idaho) 1:53:46
5. Thomas Smuts (Santa Monica, Calif.) 1:54:00
Men – Category 2 – Master – 50-54
1. John Higgins (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1:45:01
2. Paul Lastayo (Salt Lake City, Utah/Ski Utah Cycling Team) 1:50:50
3. Stephen Hill (Edwards, Colo.) 1:51:42
4. David Poulton (Lake Forest, Ill./Vision Quest) 1:55:15
5. Ken Harmon (Snoqualmie, Wash./Jet City Velo) 1:56:15
Men – Category 3 – Junior – 15-18
1. Daniel Riley (Park City, Utah) 1:46:16
2. Steffen Andersen (Capitola, Calif.) 1:51:03
3. Milo Steimle (Port Townsend, Wash.) 1:51:31
4. Benedikt Toeldte (Boise, Idaho/BYRDS (Boise Young Rider Dev Squad)) 1:54:07
5. Cole Paton (Cashmere, Wash.) 1:54:55
Men – Category 3 – Senior – 19-29
1. Ryan Bibko (Kent, Wash./JL Velo Racing Team/Northwest Velo) 1:59:03
2. Erik George (Boise, Idaho) 2:02:11
3. Dallin Hatch (Riverton, Utah) 2:23:18
4. Gary Hoehne (Wallingford, Conn./Cheshire Cycle Racing) 2:32:17
5. Richard Nagel (Vacaville, Calif./Grass Roots Racing pb Velo Wrench) 2:39:35
Men – Category 3 – Master – 30-39
1. Dustin Harder (Portland, Ore./Harder Cycling) 1:59:08
2. Mark Lovlien (Ketchum, Idaho) 2:09:15
3. Shawn Arterburn (Albuquerque, N.M.) 2:22:56
4. Anthony Wynd (Oklahoma City, Okla./Off Camber Cycling) 2:30:33
5. Mariusz Malkowski (Edison, N.J.) 2:30:40
Men – Category 3 – Master – 40-49
1. Steve Price (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1:55:57
2. Ken Masica (Livermore, Calif.) 1:58:48
3. John Tsamasfyros (San Mateo, Calif./CoreTechs Cycling Team) 2:01:47
4. Erik Week (Vacaville, Calif.) 2:01:56
5. Mark Rago (San Diego, Calif.) 2:07:35
Men – Category 3 – Master – 50-54
1. Timothy Harmon (Sun Valley, Idaho) 1:52:30
2. Ryosei Kaneko (Rough And Ready, Calif./Nevada Union Mt Bike Team) 1:59:27
3. Carl Bronson (Los Angeles, Calif.) 2:08:46
4. Chris Dunn (Chino Valley, Ariz./Absolute Bikes Team) 2:10:04
5. Chuck Spiteri (San Mateo, Calif./Peninsula Velo Racing) 2:10:42
Women – Category 2 – Junior – 15-18
1. Avery Morin (Roseville, Calif./Victory Velo Racing) 2:10:48
2. Mckenzie Melcher (Mentone, Calif. The TEAM) 2:17:40
3. Reka Feleneyi (Lake Arrowhead, Calif.) 2:17:50
4. Dalma Felenyi (Lake Arrowhead, Calif.) 2:18:31
5. Madelaine Melcher (Mentone, Calif./The TEAM) 2:18:56
Women – Category 2 – Senior – 19-29
1. Ivy Pedersen (Bozeman, Mont./Team Rockford-Clif) 2:05:53
2. Erin Larson (Boise, Idaho/Wild Rockies Race Team) 2:14:43
3. Laura Theis (Ketchum, Idaho/Mud Honey Cycling) 2:22:39
4. Christa Baker (Nevada City, Calif.) 2:23:32
5. Hayley Olson (Minneapolis, Minn./University of Minnesota Cycling) 2:41:21
Women – Category 2 – Master – 30-39
1. Brett Stevenson (Hailey, Idaho) 2:08:21
2. Sadie Babits (Boise, Idaho/Trailhead Sports) 2:32:06
3. Nikki Allemand (Meridian, Idaho/Team Ascent Idaho) 2:46:00
4. Colleen Quindlen-Parham (Austin, Texas) 2:58:45
Women – Category 2 – Master – 40-49
1. Sarah Halvorson (Missoula, Mont./MBW Racing-Team Stampede) 2:03:38
2. Lori Harward (South Jordan, Utah/Utah Premier-Ski Utah Cycling Team) 2:12:40
3. Wendy Rector (Hailey, Idaho Mud Honey Cycling) 2:18:03
4. Debra Preller (Bothell, Wash./Fischer Plumbing Cycling Team) 2:21:20
5. Renee Shelton (Mill Valley, Calif.) 2:25:54
Women – Category 3 – Junior – 15-18
1. Mercedes Drummond (Springdale, Ark./Bell & Company Mountain Biking) 2:18:11
2. Meredith Nunnink (Nevada City, Calif.) 2:23:59
3. Ashley Albor (Orangevale, Calif.) 2:25:13
4. Andrea Casebolt (Olympia, Wash./Revel Consulting/Rad Racing NW) 2:27:17
5. Nicole Jewell (Lake Arrowhead, Calif.) 2:27:17
Women – Category 3 – Senior – 19-29
1. Sierra Reid (Portland, Ore.) 3:05:15
2. Amanda Cooper (Boise, Idaho/Wild Rockies Racing Team) 3:10:39
3. Brittany Serra (South Salem, N.Y.) 4:23:25
Women – Category 3 – Master – 30-39
1. Andrea Fox (Leander, Texas/512-Racing p/b AJ’s Cyclery) 2:25:35
2. Darcie Levenson (Boise, Idaho) 3:07:59
3. Miranda Welch (Nampa, Idaho) 3:08:00
4. Kelly Cleveland (Fairview, Tenn./Treehouse Racing) 5:04:16
Women – Category 3 – Master – 40-49
1. Heather Youngwerth (Boise, Idaho/Boise VeloWomen 2:19:35
2. Jenny Walsh (Corte Madera, Calif.) 2:20:27
3. Maxine Lamperti (Sebastopol, Calif.) 2:43:41
4. Elizabeth Allen (Allentown, Pa./Saucon Valley Bikes-Weyerbach) 3:40:47
5. Jennifer Mace (Ocala, Fla.) 4:14:07
