The new US national champions in the marathon mountain biking category are Erin Huck and Luke Vrouwenvelder.
Small fields of 12 women and 19 men competed in the elite race, held on Sunday in Gambrill State Park in Frederick, Maryland. The route included a tough singletrack.
Lea Davison and Deanna Mayles completed the women's podium. Alexis Skarda, the defending champion, made a strong effort to finish sixth after traveling from Bentonville, Arkansas, where she finished third in the 100-mile Big Sugar Gravel race on Saturday.
Stephan Davoust, the defending marathon champion, finished second, and Carson Beckett finished third.
The 2022 national marathon competition's location remained the same, but the course was modified. The 7.2-mile prologue loop that the organizers included an additional 950 feet of ascent. The next challenge for the riders was a 16-mile circle with a total ascent of roughly 2,000 feet. The distances were the same for men and women.
The route was "very rocky and pretty complex, tricky technically, which is a wonderful break from what we're used to racing on," according to Huck. The singletrack was also quite continuous.
The 2022 national marathon competition's location remained the same, but the course was modified. The 7.2-mile prologue loop that the organizers included an additional 950 feet of ascent. The next challenge for the riders was a 16-mile circle with a total ascent of roughly 2,000 feet. The distances were the same for men and women.
The route was "very rocky and pretty complex, tricky technically, which is a wonderful break from what we're used to racing on," according to Huck. The singletrack was also quite continuous.
