Racing at the 2012 USA Cycling Mountain Bike Gravity National Championships on Saturday featured dual slalom racing across all age groups and categories.
A short but heavy rain came down just before the finals began, making for slick conditions in the amateur finals. The course tightened up pretty quickly though, and by the time the pros went off - it was in perfect condition.
Neko Mulally (Trek World Racing) and Melissa Buhl raced to wins in the men's and women's dual slalom national championship, respectively.
In the big final, Mulally beat out Blake Carney to take the gold medal while Brian Buell (Team Geronimo) bested Cody Kelley in the bronze medal round.
"It means a lot. Dual slalom is kind of like an American heritage. This is our thing and to be the national champion is really special," Mulally said after his win. "I rode consistent runs every time and I think that's what won the title for me."
In the women's race, Buhl outraced silver medalist Katie Holden in the final and Jacqueline Harmony picked up the bronze after winning against Katelyn Parhiala in the small final.
"It's always a good title to win," Buhl said. "I love the area. I love the people. The energy here is amazing. The people who put on the races did a good job with the course and a lot of work went into it, so 'well done' for those guys."
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In the Category 1/2/3 women's race, Crystal Kalogris (Kovachi) claimed the gold medal ahead of silver medalist Nicole Kendle (Warren Wilson College).
Ethan Burns stood on the podium's top step after winning among junior men 14 and under. In the Category 1 Junior Men's 15-18 event, Luca Shaw came out victorious while Chase Hines (Factory SE Racing) claimed gold in the Category 1 Men's 19-29 contest and Jason Sherrill was the winner in the Category 1 Men's 30-39 race. In the Category 1 Men's 40+ competition, it was Kevin Liebig to claim top honors.
Among Category 2/3 Junior Men 15-18, Ian Turner was the top racer of the day while Kevin Quillan rode to the win in the Category 2/3 Men's 19-29 race. In the Category 2/3 Men's 30-39 event, Kevin Burkhead was the winner, and Ian Starr won the Category 2/3 Men's 40+ dual slalom.
