The 2012 USA Cycling Mountain Bike Gravity National Championships are officially in the books as professional and category 1 downhill racing closed out competition at Beech Mountain on Sunday.
The hot place to be on the final day was the rock garden where music blasted, and everything from barking dogs to a fan in a bunny suit cheered on the riders as they descended the mountain.
Riding into Stars-and-Stripes jerseys in the pro events were Jacqueline Harmony and Aaron Gwin (Trek World Racing).
Harmony clocked in at 02:36.6 to beat out silver medalist Melissa Buhl who posted a 2:45.9. Jaime Rees (The Bike Hub) grabbed the bronze medal while Lauren Daney and Katie Holden rounded out the podium in fourth and fifth.
"The whole weekend has just been awesome. I've been training for this for many years. Finally, everything clicked and everything was working," an ecstatic Harmony said. "Awesome competition. All those girls, I'm so glad that all of them came out. I'm glad they were all able to come ride this course because it was super fun - super good."
In the elite men's race, Gwin was about three seconds faster than yesterday's dual slalom champ Neko Mulally (Trek World Racing). He claimed the title with a time of 02:10.0 compared to Mulally's 02:13.2. Eliot Jackson was the third fastest down the mountain while Logan Binggeli (KHS Factory Racing) and Kevin Littlefield were fourth and fifth.
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"It was always a big goal of mine and it definitely always feels good," Gwin said about winning the national title.
Category 1 Racing
The day opened up with the category 1 races. Jay Fesperman posted the fastest time of the morning with a time of 2:23.1 in the junior men's 15-16 event.
"When I came across the finish line, I knew I had a clean run, but I didn't know if it was going to be enough. But when everybody started screaming I kind of knew what happened, and I was pretty excited," the junior rider said after his win. "This was the big race that I was shooting for this year and it's really good have your goals go through."
Fesperman beat out second- and third-place finishers Shane Leslie and Charlie Harrison who posted times of 2:24.6 and 2:34.7 respectively.
Another notable category 1 race was the men's 40-44 event where Kevin Liebig descended to the win with a time of 2:36.4. Having also won his category's dual slalom competition, it was the second national title for the Maryland rider in as many days.
"It's amazing to have two titles," he said. "It's been 30 years of racing and it all came together this weekend. It's something to leave a legacy with the family. And now I'm passing it down to my son. He's 3 years old and starting to race."
Liebig bested silver and bronze medalist John Nicholson and Jerry Greene Jr.
In the very competitive Junior Men's 17-18 field, Alexander Willie (Intense Cycles) rode away with the win in 02:23.8. He bested Cole Picchiottino and Cody Kelley who clocked times of 02:25.2 and 02:25.4
Also making it to the top step of the podium on Sunday was Ethan Faw (Brushy Mountain) who won the junior men's 10-12 event with a time of 3:11.6, and Ben Bodycoat who clocked a 02:48.9 to take the win among junior men 13-14. Alex Dawson posted a 2:31.8 to claim top honors among men 19-24 while Geoff Ayr clocked in at 02:35.9 to win in the men's 25-29 race. As the men 30-34 descended the mountain, it was Thomas Schueler to win with a 02:41.2, and then Mike Hummel was victorious among men 35-39 with a 02:43.7. G. John Leslie descended into a Stars-and-Stripes jersey in the men's 45-49 race with a time of 03:03.5 while Mark Poore clocked a 03:34.2 to win among men 50+.
In the junior women's 10 & under race, McKenna Merten posted an impressive 05:03.2 to become the winner. Coleen Pacurariu was victorious among women 19-29 with her time of 03:18.3 while Heather Cowell beat out the rest of the 30-39 category with a 03:37.5. In the women's 40-49 event, it was Ellen Adams (Brushy Mountain) to ride to the top of the podium with a 03:53.9.
Full Results
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Elite men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Aaron Gwin (Trek World Racing)
0:02:10.00
2
Neko Mulally (Trek World Racing)
0:00:03.20
3
Eliot Jackson
0:00:06.80
4
Logan Binggeli (KHS Factory Racing)
0:00:07.20
5
Kevin Littlefield
0:00:08.30
6
Cody Warren (DRD Intense)
0:00:08.40
7
Gavin Vaughan (Team Voncooper)
0:00:09.80
8
Austin Warren (DRD Intense)
0:00:10.10
9
Ethan Quehl
0:00:10.60
10
Kevin Aiello (KHS Factory Racing)
0:00:10.70
11
Jason Memmelaar (DRD Intense)
0:00:11.00
12
Duncan Riffle
0:00:11.30
13
Philip Wheeler (Team Big Crank)
0:00:14.10
14
Bradley Benedict (Specialized gravity)
0:00:14.30
15
Austin Hackett Klaube
0:00:14.60
16
Curtis Keene
0:00:14.90
17
Cody Johnson
0:00:15.10
18
Arthur Babcock
0:00:16.70
19
Samuel Pensler
0:00:16.90
20
Jason Scheiding
0:00:18.30
21
Max Morgan
0:00:19.60
22
Kyle Thomas (Diamondback)
0:00:19.80
23
Brandan Bohl
0:00:20.20
24
Logan Mulally (NC 15-16)
0:00:20.30
25
Nate Furbee
Row 24 - Cell 2
26
Michael Haderer (IXS Unique Sports)
0:00:20.50
27
Leland O'connor
0:00:20.80
28
Jordan Newth
0:00:20.90
29
David Flynn
0:00:21.40
30
Hugh Taylor (Billy Goat Bikes)
0:00:21.90
31
Alexandre Couture (Kona/Michelin)
0:00:23.00
32
Christopher Mari (Speed Legion Racing)
0:00:23.20
33
Heikki Hall
Row 32 - Cell 2
34
Greg Nelson (East Coast Gravity Pros)
0:00:23.50
35
Ryan Condrashoff
0:00:25.00
36
Trevor Parson
0:00:25.90
37
Ben Calhoun
0:00:26.50
38
Tim Mangini
0:00:26.90
39
Michael Buell (Team Geronimo/Banshee)
0:00:28.20
40
Benedict Treglia
0:00:28.50
41
Burke Saunders
0:00:28.70
42
Jacob Hinlicky
0:00:29.20
43
Geritt Beytagh
0:00:29.50
44
Daniel Godard
0:00:30.50
45
Tyler Gilsdorf
0:00:30.80
46
Alex Mcandrew
0:00:31.30
47
Brian Buell (Team Geronimo)
0:00:31.50
48
Graeme Pitts (Graeme Pitts Racing)
0:00:33.00
49
Christopher Canfield (Canfield Brothers Factory Team)
L'Equipe says that the French cyclist is set to retire immediately, forgoing the rest of this season and the final year of his contract with Tudor Pro Cycling
