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English and Douglas win WEMBO 24-hour solo titles

Finale Ligure hosts new WEMBO championship

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Jason English (Australia)celebrates his win with a wheelie

Jason English (Australia)celebrates his win with a wheelie (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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An exhausted Jess Douglas after her win

An exhausted Jess Douglas after her win (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Race progress graph for the top 20 elite men. After 5.5 hours, Jason English had a lead on Thomas Widhalm that would never be closed.

Race progress graph for the top 20 elite men. After 5.5 hours, Jason English had a lead on Thomas Widhalm that would never be closed. (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Rachel Edwards (Australia) leasds the Women's 35-39 category

Rachel Edwards (Australia) leasds the Women's 35-39 category (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Returning from the Le Mans run, Jason English (Australia) leads out the field.

Returning from the Le Mans run, Jason English (Australia) leads out the field. (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Riders get underway with the traditional le Mans start to Worlds. Jason English is on the right in the Australian champion's jersey.

Riders get underway with the traditional le Mans start to Worlds. Jason English is on the right in the Australian champion's jersey. (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Riders had to concentrate throughout the night as some periods of rain made the track slippery

Riders had to concentrate throughout the night as some periods of rain made the track slippery (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Some of the newly crowned elite and age group champions

Some of the newly crowned elite and age group champions (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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The race crew gets ready for a long night

The race crew gets ready for a long night (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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The view from Savona from the eastern end of the 17.16km loop

The view from Savona from the eastern end of the 17.16km loop (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Thomas Hebestreit (Germany) passes through one of the vineyards on course

Thomas Hebestreit (Germany) passes through one of the vineyards on course (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Thomas Widhalm (Austria)

Thomas Widhalm (Austria) (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Thomas Widhalm (Austria) leads Jason English (Australia) early in the race. They stayed together for several hours.

Thomas Widhalm (Austria) leads Jason English (Australia) early in the race. They stayed together for several hours. (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Thomas Widhalm leads Jason English through the vineyard early in the race

Thomas Widhalm leads Jason English through the vineyard early in the race (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Views like this provided a major distraction for riders in the race

Views like this provided a major distraction for riders in the race (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Race progress graph for the elite women. Jess Douglas and Rickie Cotter stayed together for 9 hours before Rickie fell back. Third placed Megan recovered from a bad start to come on strong later.

Race progress graph for the elite women. Jess Douglas and Rickie Cotter stayed together for 9 hours before Rickie fell back. Third placed Megan recovered from a bad start to come on strong later. (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Overall men's results - page 4

Overall men's results - page 4 (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Andrew Clark (Australia) leads the men's U23 race near the feed zone

Andrew Clark (Australia) leads the men's U23 race near the feed zone (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Ausilia Vistarini (Italy) races on a singlespeed

Ausilia Vistarini (Italy) races on a singlespeed (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Elite men's podium: 4th - Michael Kochendorfer (Germany); 2nd Jason Miles (Great Britain); 1st - Jason English (Australia); 3rd - Craig Bowles (Great Britain)

Elite men's podium: 4th - Michael Kochendorfer (Germany); 2nd Jason Miles (Great Britain); 1st - Jason English (Australia); 3rd - Craig Bowles (Great Britain) (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Elite women's podium: 4th - Giuliana Massarotto (Italy); 3rd - Megan Dimozantos (New Zealand); 1st Jess Douglas (Australia); 2nd - Rickie Cotter (Great Britain); 5th - Lisa Kamphausen (Germany)

Elite women's podium: 4th - Giuliana Massarotto (Italy); 3rd - Megan Dimozantos (New Zealand); 1st Jess Douglas (Australia); 2nd - Rickie Cotter (Great Britain); 5th - Lisa Kamphausen (Germany) (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Jason English (Australia) on his way to a win.

Jason English (Australia) on his way to a win. (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Jess Douglas (Australia) on her way to becoming the women's world champion. She leaves the feed zone while Jenni English is busy supporting her husband Jason English.

Jess Douglas (Australia) on her way to becoming the women's world champion. She leaves the feed zone while Jenni English is busy supporting her husband Jason English. (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Jess Douglas (Australia) crosses the line to take the women's title

Jess Douglas (Australia) crosses the line to take the women's title (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Mirja Martin (Germany) in fourth in the women's 35-39

Mirja Martin (Germany) in fourth in the women's 35-39 (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Overall female results

Overall female results (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Overall men's results page 1

Overall men's results page 1 (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Overall men's results page 2

Overall men's results page 2 (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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Overall men's results - page 3

Overall men's results - page 3 (Image credit: Russ Baker)
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World Champions Jason English and Jessica Douglas with Riccardo Negro from the organizing team

World Champions Jason English and Jessica Douglas with Riccardo Negro from the organizing team (Image credit: Russ Baker)

Australia riders Jason English and Jessica Douglas became the first WEMBO 24-hour solo mountain bike racing world champions in the toughest single-day mountain bike race in the world. 136 riders from 15 nations gathered at Finale Ligure, Italy to decide who was the best of the best.

The Finale Ligure course is well known by Europe's 24-hour riders, having hosted events for over a decade, but it was the first time English and Douglas had ridden on Italian soil. The Ligurian coast provided a spectacular setting for the race, with many international riders staying after the race to enjoy the area.

In the men's race, Australian champion English completed 22 laps of the challenging course to take the win, while Douglas tackled Rickie Cotter (United Kingdom) to take the women's title.

In early running, Thomas Widhalm (Austria) lead the field with English a bike length behind for the first five and a half hours, but after losing time to a mechanical just before sunset, Widhalm's misery was compounded by a stomach complaint which eventually took him out of the race. But English had begun to mark his dominance before that. While Widhalm was dealing with his mechanical, English put in two blistering laps to pull out a sizeable lead going into the night. By the time racing finished at 13:00 on Sunday, he had completed 22 laps of the 17.16km course - just under 380km in 24 hours. Through the night England's Jason Miles put in a heroic performance to rise through the field to take second place. A consistent ride from fellow countryman Craig Bowles was good enough for the third step of the podium.

With the women, it was a closer race and in early running Cotter pushed Douglas hard as they drew away from the field. The two leaders split at the nine-hour mark and as the night wore on, Douglas extended her lead little by little. By the morning her lead had grown to about 50 minutes and Cotter couldn't close in. Megan Dimozantos (New Zealand) completed the elite women's podium.

The 2013 WEMBO 24-hour solo world championships will take place in Canberra, Australia in October and then return to the northern hemisphere to Fort William in Scotland in October 2014.

The following video is filmed and edited by RITM - Rock In The Middle. Music is by Survival - Moon Furies and We singing - Frank Sent Us.

Full Results

Elite men
#Rider Name (Country)Result
1Jason English (Australia)22laps
2Jason Miles (Great Britain)21
3Craig Bowles (Great Britain)21
4Michael Kochendörfer (Germany)20
5Matthew Warner-Smith (France)20
6Philip Simcock (Great Britain)20
7Dave Powell (Great Britain)20
8Bruno Sombreireiro Gomes (Portugal)19
9Stefan Hutmacher (Switzerland)18
10Matteo Melis (Italy)17
11Josué Duarte (Portugal)17
12Stefano Bergeretti (Italy)16
13Kristof Stes (Belgium)16
14Thomas Widhalm (Austria)15
15Marco Maurizio (Italy)15
16Andrew Howett (Great Britain)15
17Markus Hager (Germany)14
18Jochen Waldherr (Austria)14
19Jaume Ribosa de Gracias (Spain)13
20Daniele Bormida (Italy)12
21Christian Kaiser (Germany)11
22Morgan Pilley (Australia)10
23Renè Manse (France)9
24Marcus Wallmeyer (Germany)9
25Juergen Jansen (Germany)9
26Felix Breske (Germany)9
27Paolo Laureti (Italy)9
28Rudolf Springer (Austria)7
29Alessio Bisio (Italy)7
30Tom Haacke (Germany)6
31Tom Van de Velde (Belgium)5
32Michael Kalivoda (Germany)4

Elite women
#Rider Name (Country)Result
1Jessica Douglas (Australia)19laps
2Rickie Cotter (Great Britain)18
3Megan Dimozantos (New Zealand)17
4Giuliana Massarotto (Italy)16
5Lisa Kamphausen (Germany)15
6Mona Petrie (SCO)12
7Silvia Accinelli (Italy)9
8Noemia Lopes (Spain)6
9Elena Perin (Italy)3

Singlespeed men
#Rider Name (Country)Result
1Matt Powell (Australia)17laps
2Enrico Morvillo (Italy)17
3Francesco Cerchio (Italy)16
4MARÇAL Font Solà (Spain)11
5Ambrogio Grillo (Italy)9

Singlespeed women
#Rider Name (Country)Result
1Ausilia Vistarini (Italy)14laps
2Carolina Casacuberta (Spain)10
3Bec Parkes (Australia)5

U23 men
#Rider Name (Country)Result
1Andrew Clark (Australia)15laps
2Giorgio Rebori (Italy)12
3Jacopo Ciccarelli (Italy)4

Men 23-29
#Rider Name (Country)Result
1Kai Saaler (Germany)18laps
2Mattia Iulini (Italy)14
3Christopher Simon (Germany)13
4Jason Harrod (Australia)12
5Tobias Simon (Germany)10
6Roberto Sanna (Italy)10
7Federico Scotto (Italy)8

Men 30-34
#Rider Name (Country)Result
1Alexis Matthys (Belgium)19laps
2Simone Arici (Italy)17
3Anton Friedrich (Germany)15
4Alessandro Filippini (Italy)14
5Matteo Spagnol (Italy)12
6Alessio Dalser (Italy)10
7Sven Rhenisch (Germany)8
8Tobias Bachsteffel (Germany)7
9Christopher Thompson (United States Of America)5
10Daniele Saccoman (Italy)3

Women 30-34
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Silvia Müller (Germany)17laps

Men 35-39
#Rider Name (Country) Team
1Marco Nicoletti (Italy)19laps
2Davide Arici (Italy)18
3Crstian Ragnoli (Italy)17
4Marco Vogliotti (Italy)15
5Marco Tamagnone (Italy)14
6Thomas Hebestreit (Germany)14
7James Heraty (Great Britain)14
8Dominik Scherer (Germany)11
9Matteo Messina (Italy)9
10Luca Frioli (Italy)9
11Diego Drago (Italy)8
12Mauro Vanoli (Italy)7
13Pablo Barnes (Argentina)7
14Massino Pantusa (Italy)7
15Pantaleone Locane (Italy)6
16Andi Beger (Germany)5

Women 35-39
#Rider Name (Country)Result
1Rachel Edwards (Australia)16laps
2Ilaria Balzarotti (Italy)16
3Jane Chadwick (Great Britain)15
4Mirja Martin (Germany)13

Men 40-44
#Rider Name (Country)Result
1Pere Sanchez (Spain)19laps
2Phil Welch (Australia)18
3Fabrizio Valle (Italy)16
4Valter Di Cesare (Italy)16
5Luca Bausone (Italy)14
6Giuseppe Bolzoni (Italy)12
7Manuel Minola Violino (Italy)12
8Stefano Ariu (Italy)12
9Stefano Catella (Italy)12
10Antonio Zannoner (Italy)10
11Cristian Ciccarelli (Italy)10
12Markus Hahn (Austria)9
13Matteo Luchini (Italy)9
14Gabriele Canepa (Italy)8
15Clayton Locke (Australia)8
16Davide Giribaldi (Italy)8
17Andrea Bertani (Italy)6
18Rainer Buschmeier (Germany)6

Women 40-44
#Rider Name (Country)Result
1Merryl King (Australia)13laps
2Eva Maria Fünfgeld (Germany)7

Men 45-49
#Rider Name (Country)Result
1Alberto Zambelli (Italy)20laps
2Ugo Sirigu (Italy)15
3Jaume Caixas (Spain)15
4Hubertus Hohl (Germany)14
5Marco Moriconi (Italy)12
6Marco Copelli (Italy)9
7Marco Giacobone (Italy)8
8Luciano D'Aniello (Italy)8
9Davide Pistaceci (Italy)7
10Alberto Zanardelli (Italy)3

Men 50-54
#Rider Name (Country)Result
1Neil Dall (Australia)17laps
2Markus Meier (Switzerland)16
3Samuel Burkart (Switzerland)16
4Andrea Oreste Banchieri (Italy)14
5Pietro Bandinelli (Italy)8
6Carlo Bridi (Italy)3

Men 55-59
#Rider Name (Country)Result
1Raffaele Verzella (Italy)17laps
2Marco Carezzana (Italy)9
3Diego Gesi (Italy)7

Men 60+
#Rider Name (Country)Result
1Armando Fasolo (Italy)4laps

 

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