Tostado, Mata claim solo titles

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After taking an early lead on their respective fields through the opening lap, Josh Tostado (Bach Builders) and Pua Mata (Team Sho-Air) went the distance to become the male and female solo national champions at the 2011 USA Cycling 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championships.

The top three men each completed 18 laps, with Tostado finishing in 22:12:21. Runner-up was Nate Ginzton at 23:26:57 and in third was Jonathan Davis (Trek Bike Store Boulder) with a final time of 23:50:57.

Mata earned her win by finishing 15 laps in a time of 22:34:57. KT DeSantis followed with 13 laps through 23:27:00, and Laureen Coffelt, who completed 13 laps in 23:37:21, rounded out the top three.

Tostado and Mata dominated on a course that many competitors described as difficult but deserving of awarding a national title.

"I was pretty destroyed at the end because it was a really tough course," said Tostado. "The first six hours I felt horrible. Then during the night I felt really good until about three or four in the morning, and then I definitely was suffering after that. I went really hard in the nighttime, and I paid for it. But I always like to finish with nothing at the end."

For Tostado, it was his third 24-hour national title in a row. "I feel super lucky to have won a national championship three times. I count my blessing every day that I could have won it three times — and three times in a row! It's such a hard race; 24-hour racing is just brutal. Every time I do it I'm like 'Man, I don't ever want to do that again!' But you forget the pain and go ahead and do it again."

Mata's victory caps a successful season that includes topping the 2011 USA Cycling Pro Ultra-Endurance Tour (UET) standings and a national title at the 2011 US Marathon National Championships in September. It also marks a triumphant return to 24-hour racing.

"I actually loved the course," said Mata. "It's a lot of fun. It's, I think, one of the harder 24s for sure. You're constantly using your suspension, getting bumped around.

"I really wanted to prove it to myself and win the title back," said Mata, referring to her 24-hour nationals win in 2008. "It becomes a mental game. The mind is such a powerful tool that you have to use it. Everyone is suffering out there, and everyone goes through those rough times. You just have to keep in mind what your goal is."

Solo singlespeed

After spending an entire day riding in one gear, Evan Plews and Danielle Musto rode into the stars-and-stripes jerseys as the solo singlespeed champions. Plews earned his title after just missing one as the singlespeed runner up at this year’s marathon nationals.

Duo categories

Cameron Chambers and Daniel Matheny, who as the team of Honey Stinger/CTS took home the men’s duo stars-and-stripes jerseys. They received some of the biggest cheers of the day. Chambers continued his winning ways at 24-hour nationals after claiming the solo men’s singlespeed championship in 2010.

The Daves’ Slaves duo of Michelle Slingsby and Coreen Wright combined to win the women’s race. The two were part of a four-person team that won last year, as well.

NoTubes Elite/Bike n Sport, made up of Nina Baum and Cameron Brenneman, won the mixed duo category.

Four-person team categories

Similar to the solo races, first-lap leads led to overall victory in the open four-person team races. Jennifer Smith led the SRAM squad off. She was followed by Rebecca Rusch, Sonya Looney and Kelly Boniface, who crossed the finish line close to noon on Sunday to secure the three-lap win.

In the men’s open four-person team category, Russell Finsterwald was the first rider overall to come into transition after lap one. Along with his Pro Cycling teammates Kalan Beisel, JJ Clark and Brady Kappius, the foursome completed 23 laps in the shortest amount of time of all the teams at the event.

The CA-AZ DEVO team of Tyler Coplea, Ryan Geiger, Shane Skelton and Casey Williams rode to a 10-lap victory over Goatheads Jr. Devo in the men’s junior four-person team race.

The Light and Motion squad rode to the men’s 35+ four-person team category win, earning stars-and-stripes jerseys for Ezekiel Hersh, Dax Massey, Thane Wright and Jeff Zurakowski.

Mark Gouge, Russell Kappius, Kelly McGrew and Michael Trimble put five laps between them and the competition to earn a national title for their Dirt WattAge team in the men’s 45+ four-person team event.

Full Results