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2011 USA Cycling Mountain Bike Cross-Country National Championships, Sun Valley, Idaho

by Berne Broudy

It was a bright and sunny weekend in Sun Valley for the 2011 XC MTB Nationals, the firs time that USA Cycling has separated XC and Gravity Nationals. The event went off without a hitch, except for a tail moto crash on the rock wall that caused ego damage not bodily harm, and ultimately didn’t interfere with any of the riders in the pro women’s race.

The most dramatic race might have been one that technically preceded the comp. Sun Valley hosted a Fat Tire Criterium on Wednesday night, and there were two significant crashes in the women’s Pro category, one throwing rider Susan Robinson down in the street with broken ribs, the other tossing rider India Wysong over the barrier next to the judges stand at the finish line.

The sanctioned races were exciting but with less carnage. Ketchum local Rebecca Rusch competed in the women’s singlespeed category for the first time and crushed it with a nine-minute lead over the next finisher.  Cary Smith, from Jackson, WY won the men’s division with a two-minute lead over Cameron Brenneman from Santa Fe, NM.

The Cat 1 70+ men were some of the healthiest looking seniors ever. One of the top three finishers only got into racing in his 60s! The finish was smokin’. Locals Andy Andrews and Hans Muehlegger battled it out, with Muehlegger ultimately winning by four seconds.

The pro women’s cross-country race was exciting through the last lap. Georgia Gould (Fort Collins, CO; Luna Pro Team), 2008 Olympian, took an early lead, with Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, CO; Rabobank-Giant) in second and Lea Davidson (Jericho, VT; Specialized) in third. In the last two laps, Davidson made her move, passing Compton, who got a flat, and nearly catching Gould. Gould held her off to land her second consecutive pro women’s XC national title.

In the Pro Men’s cross-country race, Todd Wells (Durango, CO; Specialized) and Sam Schultz (Missoula, MT; Subaru-Trek) fought for first each lap. Schultz took and early lead, was passed by Wells, and then started to reel him back in. Wells ultimately outclimbed Schultz and beat him by 20 seconds, though Schultz looked like he had the most fun of anyone on the course—he smiled for the entire event. Adam Craig (Bend, OR; Giant) took a comfortable third.

Howard Grotts (Durango, CO; Durango Devo) and AliciaRose Pastore (Durango, CO; Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Development) took home two gold medals each in the cross-country and short track races in the junior 17-18 races.

In Sunday’s races, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, CO; Subaru-Trek) squeezed Todd Wells out of the Short Track gold, while Katie Compton took the women’s medal. Adam Craig and Lea Davidson locked up the Super D national titles. 

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