English and Douglas win WEMBO 24-hour solo titles

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

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Elite men
#Rider Name (Country)ResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Jason English (Australia)22laps
2Jason Miles (Great Britain)21Row 1 - Cell 3
3Craig Bowles (Great Britain)21Row 2 - Cell 3
4Michael Kochendörfer (Germany)20Row 3 - Cell 3
5Matthew Warner-Smith (France)20Row 4 - Cell 3
6Philip Simcock (Great Britain)20Row 5 - Cell 3
7Dave Powell (Great Britain)20Row 6 - Cell 3
8Bruno Sombreireiro Gomes (Portugal)19Row 7 - Cell 3
9Stefan Hutmacher (Switzerland)18Row 8 - Cell 3
10Matteo Melis (Italy)17Row 9 - Cell 3
11Josué Duarte (Portugal)17Row 10 - Cell 3
12Stefano Bergeretti (Italy)16Row 11 - Cell 3
13Kristof Stes (Belgium)16Row 12 - Cell 3
14Thomas Widhalm (Austria)15Row 13 - Cell 3
15Marco Maurizio (Italy)15Row 14 - Cell 3
16Andrew Howett (Great Britain)15Row 15 - Cell 3
17Markus Hager (Germany)14Row 16 - Cell 3
18Jochen Waldherr (Austria)14Row 17 - Cell 3
19Jaume Ribosa de Gracias (Spain)13Row 18 - Cell 3
20Daniele Bormida (Italy)12Row 19 - Cell 3
21Christian Kaiser (Germany)11Row 20 - Cell 3
22Morgan Pilley (Australia)10Row 21 - Cell 3
23Renè Manse (France)9Row 22 - Cell 3
24Marcus Wallmeyer (Germany)9Row 23 - Cell 3
25Juergen Jansen (Germany)9Row 24 - Cell 3
26Felix Breske (Germany)9Row 25 - Cell 3
27Paolo Laureti (Italy)9Row 26 - Cell 3
28Rudolf Springer (Austria)7Row 27 - Cell 3
29Alessio Bisio (Italy)7Row 28 - Cell 3
30Tom Haacke (Germany)6Row 29 - Cell 3
31Tom Van de Velde (Belgium)5Row 30 - Cell 3
32Michael Kalivoda (Germany)4Row 31 - Cell 3
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Elite women
#Rider Name (Country)ResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Jessica Douglas (Australia)19laps
2Rickie Cotter (Great Britain)18Row 1 - Cell 3
3Megan Dimozantos (New Zealand)17Row 2 - Cell 3
4Giuliana Massarotto (Italy)16Row 3 - Cell 3
5Lisa Kamphausen (Germany)15Row 4 - Cell 3
6Mona Petrie (SCO)12Row 5 - Cell 3
7Silvia Accinelli (Italy)9Row 6 - Cell 3
8Noemia Lopes (Spain)6Row 7 - Cell 3
9Elena Perin (Italy)3Row 8 - Cell 3
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Singlespeed men
#Rider Name (Country)ResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Matt Powell (Australia)17laps
2Enrico Morvillo (Italy)17Row 1 - Cell 3
3Francesco Cerchio (Italy)16Row 2 - Cell 3
4MARÇAL Font Solà (Spain)11Row 3 - Cell 3
5Ambrogio Grillo (Italy)9Row 4 - Cell 3
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Singlespeed women
#Rider Name (Country)ResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Ausilia Vistarini (Italy)14laps
2Carolina Casacuberta (Spain)10Row 1 - Cell 3
3Bec Parkes (Australia)5Row 2 - Cell 3
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U23 men
#Rider Name (Country)ResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Andrew Clark (Australia)15laps
2Giorgio Rebori (Italy)12Row 1 - Cell 3
3Jacopo Ciccarelli (Italy)4Row 2 - Cell 3
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Men 23-29
#Rider Name (Country)ResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Kai Saaler (Germany)18laps
2Mattia Iulini (Italy)14Row 1 - Cell 3
3Christopher Simon (Germany)13Row 2 - Cell 3
4Jason Harrod (Australia)12Row 3 - Cell 3
5Tobias Simon (Germany)10Row 4 - Cell 3
6Roberto Sanna (Italy)10Row 5 - Cell 3
7Federico Scotto (Italy)8Row 6 - Cell 3
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Men 30-34
#Rider Name (Country)ResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Alexis Matthys (Belgium)19laps
2Simone Arici (Italy)17Row 1 - Cell 3
3Anton Friedrich (Germany)15Row 2 - Cell 3
4Alessandro Filippini (Italy)14Row 3 - Cell 3
5Matteo Spagnol (Italy)12Row 4 - Cell 3
6Alessio Dalser (Italy)10Row 5 - Cell 3
7Sven Rhenisch (Germany)8Row 6 - Cell 3
8Tobias Bachsteffel (Germany)7Row 7 - Cell 3
9Christopher Thompson (United States Of America)5Row 8 - Cell 3
10Daniele Saccoman (Italy)3Row 9 - Cell 3
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Women 30-34
#Rider Name (Country) TeamHeader Cell - Column 2 Header Cell - Column 3
1Silvia Müller (Germany)17laps
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Men 35-39
#Rider Name (Country) TeamHeader Cell - Column 2 Header Cell - Column 3
1Marco Nicoletti (Italy)19laps
2Davide Arici (Italy)18Row 1 - Cell 3
3Crstian Ragnoli (Italy)17Row 2 - Cell 3
4Marco Vogliotti (Italy)15Row 3 - Cell 3
5Marco Tamagnone (Italy)14Row 4 - Cell 3
6Thomas Hebestreit (Germany)14Row 5 - Cell 3
7James Heraty (Great Britain)14Row 6 - Cell 3
8Dominik Scherer (Germany)11Row 7 - Cell 3
9Matteo Messina (Italy)9Row 8 - Cell 3
10Luca Frioli (Italy)9Row 9 - Cell 3
11Diego Drago (Italy)8Row 10 - Cell 3
12Mauro Vanoli (Italy)7Row 11 - Cell 3
13Pablo Barnes (Argentina)7Row 12 - Cell 3
14Massino Pantusa (Italy)7Row 13 - Cell 3
15Pantaleone Locane (Italy)6Row 14 - Cell 3
16Andi Beger (Germany)5Row 15 - Cell 3
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Women 35-39
#Rider Name (Country)ResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Rachel Edwards (Australia)16laps
2Ilaria Balzarotti (Italy)16Row 1 - Cell 3
3Jane Chadwick (Great Britain)15Row 2 - Cell 3
4Mirja Martin (Germany)13Row 3 - Cell 3
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Men 40-44
#Rider Name (Country)ResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Pere Sanchez (Spain)19laps
2Phil Welch (Australia)18Row 1 - Cell 3
3Fabrizio Valle (Italy)16Row 2 - Cell 3
4Valter Di Cesare (Italy)16Row 3 - Cell 3
5Luca Bausone (Italy)14Row 4 - Cell 3
6Giuseppe Bolzoni (Italy)12Row 5 - Cell 3
7Manuel Minola Violino (Italy)12Row 6 - Cell 3
8Stefano Ariu (Italy)12Row 7 - Cell 3
9Stefano Catella (Italy)12Row 8 - Cell 3
10Antonio Zannoner (Italy)10Row 9 - Cell 3
11Cristian Ciccarelli (Italy)10Row 10 - Cell 3
12Markus Hahn (Austria)9Row 11 - Cell 3
13Matteo Luchini (Italy)9Row 12 - Cell 3
14Gabriele Canepa (Italy)8Row 13 - Cell 3
15Clayton Locke (Australia)8Row 14 - Cell 3
16Davide Giribaldi (Italy)8Row 15 - Cell 3
17Andrea Bertani (Italy)6Row 16 - Cell 3
18Rainer Buschmeier (Germany)6Row 17 - Cell 3
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Women 40-44
#Rider Name (Country)ResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Merryl King (Australia)13laps
2Eva Maria Fünfgeld (Germany)7Row 1 - Cell 3
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Men 45-49
#Rider Name (Country)ResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Alberto Zambelli (Italy)20laps
2Ugo Sirigu (Italy)15Row 1 - Cell 3
3Jaume Caixas (Spain)15Row 2 - Cell 3
4Hubertus Hohl (Germany)14Row 3 - Cell 3
5Marco Moriconi (Italy)12Row 4 - Cell 3
6Marco Copelli (Italy)9Row 5 - Cell 3
7Marco Giacobone (Italy)8Row 6 - Cell 3
8Luciano D'Aniello (Italy)8Row 7 - Cell 3
9Davide Pistaceci (Italy)7Row 8 - Cell 3
10Alberto Zanardelli (Italy)3Row 9 - Cell 3
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Men 50-54
#Rider Name (Country)ResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Neil Dall (Australia)17laps
2Markus Meier (Switzerland)16Row 1 - Cell 3
3Samuel Burkart (Switzerland)16Row 2 - Cell 3
4Andrea Oreste Banchieri (Italy)14Row 3 - Cell 3
5Pietro Bandinelli (Italy)8Row 4 - Cell 3
6Carlo Bridi (Italy)3Row 5 - Cell 3
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Men 55-59
#Rider Name (Country)ResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Raffaele Verzella (Italy)17laps
2Marco Carezzana (Italy)9Row 1 - Cell 3
3Diego Gesi (Italy)7Row 2 - Cell 3
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Men 60+
#Rider Name (Country)ResultHeader Cell - Column 3
1Armando Fasolo (Italy)4laps

 

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