Hale and hearty mountain bikers led by Todd Wells tackled two demanding Bald Mountain courses in hot weather Saturday during the 2014 USA Cycling Marathon Mountain Bike Championships.
Three-time Olympian Wells, 38, of Durango, Co. captured his third straight Pro Men’s national marathon title timed in 3.51:16 for the two-lap, 50-mile course with 7,000 feet of climbing. Wells won by 6:08 over last year’s runner-up Stephen Ettinger, 25, of Bozeman, Mt. (3.57:24).
Due to a 10-mile-longer course, the Wells-Ettinger 1-2 finish took an hour longer than last year’s race on Baldy.
Saturday afternoon’s wave racers in the Pro Men’s and Women’s classes plus Men’s 19-29 and Master 30-34, 35-39 did their longer courses in the heat of the day, while the other 40-mile two-lap racers went off in the morning wave at 8 a.m.
Winning the Pro Women’s class was Rose Grant, 32, of Kalispell, Mt. by nearly 14 minutes in 4.55:24. Grant was the bronze medalist of last year’s U.S. Cross-Country National super downhill and Baldy marathon. Second place went to Joey Lythgoe, 42, of Park City, Utah in 5.09:06.
In all, 22 Stars-and-Stripes jerseys emblematic of class supremacy were awarded Saturday at the River Run Lodge staging area. The field of racers included 146 men in 12 classes, and 48 women in 48 classes.
Sun Valley Resort hosted the Marathon Mountain Bike Nationals for a second straight year, after Baldy hosted USA Cycling Cross-Country Mountain Bike Nationals in 2011-12. Top pros scored $350 and $250 prizes for first/second places.
Out of the 12 men’s classes, there were seven repeat champions. In contrast, the only repeat women’s winner was Ketchum’s Muffy Ritz, 57, who prevailed by about 54 minutes in the Women’s 55-59 class. Three-time winner Ritz captured the national marathon in 2011 at Bend, Ore. and again last year on the Baldy course.
Clocking the second-best women’s time on the shorter 41-mile course was former Ketchum resident Michelle Andersen, 40, of Boise in 3.55:25. She won Women’s Master 40-44 by 16 minutes over silver medalist Karoline Droege of Ketchum (4.11:28).
The other Wood River Valley gold medalist was John Reuter, 30, of Ketchum and The Elephant’s Perch. He won the Men’s 30-34 class with a time of 5.14:05 ahead of silver medalist Brad Walker, 32, of Hailey and The Perch, timed in 5.16:19.
Saturday’s other repeat champions were Jon Gould of Boise (Men’s 50-54), Kyle Dixon of Reno, Nev. (Men 40-44), four-time champion Cary Smith of Jackson Hole, Wyo. (Singlespeed), Zan Treasure of Ogden, Utah (Men’s 55-59), Allan Marvin of Denver, Co. (Men’s 65-69) and James Wagner of Auburn, Wa. (Men’s 70-plus).
Other second-place class finishers were Julian Gomez Villafane of Ketchum (Men’s 19-29), Cody Peterson of Bend, Ore. (Men’s 35-39) and Terry Duran of Hailey (Men’s 55-59). Taking third was Heidi Dohse of Hailey (Women’s 50-54).
Class winners and local results follow:
Pro/Open Men 17-plus: 1—Todd Wells, Durango 3.51:16. 2—Stephen Ettinger, Bozeman 3.57:24. 4—Joshua Berry, Ketchum 4.03:46. 16—Sam Young, Ketchum 5.20:56.
Pro/Open Women 17-plus: 1—Rose Grant, Kalispell 4.55:24. 2—Joey Lithgoe, Park City 5.09:06.
Men singlespeed 19-plus: 1—Cary Smith, Jackson Hole 3.11:21. 9—Shea Andersen, Boise 4.17:09.
Women singlespeed 19-plus: 1—Tina Brubaker, Bend 4.49:09.
Men Senior 19-29: 1—Daniel Munoz, Riverside, Ca. 4.42:53. 2—Julian Gomez Villafane, Ketchum 4.46:33. 5—Gus Gibbs, Ketchum 5.15:19.
Women Senior 19-29: 1—Nicole Tittensor, Axtell, Utah 4.06:55.
Men Master 30-34: 1—John Reuter, Ketchum 5.14:05. 2—Brad Walker, Hailey 5.16:19. 6—Adam Greene, Ketchum 5.43:48. 8—Jedediah Young, Ketchum 6.02:08.
Women Master 30-34: 1—Tracie Nelson, San Luis Obispo, Ca. 3.53:43.
Men Master 35-39: 1—Brandon Gritters, Mission Viejo, Ca. 4.53:09. 2—Cody Peterson, Bend 5.05:27.
Women Master 35-39: 1—Kristin Duyn, Portland 4.06:20. 4—Amy Drumm, Hailey 4.57:08.
Men Master 40-44: 1—Kyle Dixon, Reno, Nev. 3.21:40. 11—Christopher Pic, Hailey 3.36:30. 14—Brad Mitchell, Hailey 3.50:56.
Women Master 40-44: 1—Michelle Andersen, Boise 3.55:25. 2—Karoline Droege, Ketchum 4.11:28. 6—Peggy Trollan, Ketchum 4.49:58. 7—Tory Canfield, Ketchum 5.30:54.
Men Master 45-49: 1—Rob McGee, San Clemente, Ca. 3.17:41. 5—Kyle Rafford, Ketchum 3.41:39. 7—Joel Brazil, Ketchum 3.45:42. 10—Tony Buoncristiani, Ketchum 3.59:12.
Women Master 45-49: 1—Amy Fulwyler, Jackson Hole 4.10:06. 7—Susan Robinson, Ketchum 4.39:14.
Men Master 50-54: 1—Jon Gould, Boise 3.21:55. 9—Chris Gardner, Hailey 3.48:22. 23—Herberth Corrales, Hailey 5.08:14.
Women Master 50-54: 1—Jennifer Everhard, Bellevue, Wash. 5.08:19. 3—Heidi Dohse, Hailey 6.21:14.
Men Master 55-59: 1—Zan Treasure, Ogden, Utah 3.29:01. 2—Terry Duran, Hailey 3.30:33.
Women Master 55-59: 1—Muffy Ritz, Ketchum 4.19:23.
Men Master 60-64: 1—Bill Schultz, Missoula, Mt. 3.54:33.
Women Master 60-64: 1—Margie Lapoint, Truckee, Ca. 5.31:45.
Men Master 65-69: 1—Allan Marvin, Denver, Co. 4.18:16.
Men Master 70-plus: 1—James Wagner, Auburn, Wash. 4.13:33.