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Keystone's Annie Black launches off a small ledge during the 10th annual 24 Hours of Moab in Utah on Saturday. Black's team, the Mountain Sports Outlet Divas, won the women's vet division, joining three other local teams which stepped to the top of the podium at the end of the event on Sunday.
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ENLARGE
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Hundreds of mountain bikers run through a dust cloud during the Le Mans-style start of the 2003 24 Hours of Moab. Twenty-one teams represented Summit County in this year’s edition, which took place this past weekend in rural Utah.
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MOAB, Utah., - Four Summit County-based teams won their respective divisions in the 10th annual 24 Hours of Moab in Utah this weekend.
More than 20 local teams competed in the race, which has grown over the last decade to become one of the country's most popular 24-hour races. The event began at noon on Saturday and ran until noon on Sunday.
Breckenridge residents Kevin Soller and Taylor Shelden led the way for local racers, teaming up with Vail Valley mountain bikers Brad Bingham and Nick Certeza to win the junior men's division.
Riding for Vail Racing and Development (VRAD)/Century Tel, the four teenagers completed 19 laps on a technical course in the Moab backcountry to finish a remarkable 10th-place overall.
"At the beginning it was really close," said Shelden. "We were only two or three minutes apart from second and third, but toward the end we were so consistent and the other teams started to get slower and slower."
Added Soller, "My 3 a.m. lap was a little bit painful for me, but I just kind of forced myself. We had so much support - every single parent was a big factor."
More than 20 local teams competed in the race, which has grown over the last decade to become one of the country's most popular 24-hour races. The event began at noon on Saturday and ran until noon on Sunday.
Breckenridge residents Kevin Soller and Taylor Shelden led the way for local racers, teaming up with Vail Valley mountain bikers Brad Bingham and Nick Certeza to win the junior men's division.
Riding for Vail Racing and Development (VRAD)/Century Tel, the four teenagers completed 19 laps on a technical course in the Moab backcountry to finish a remarkable 10th-place overall.
"At the beginning it was really close," said Shelden. "We were only two or three minutes apart from second and third, but toward the end we were so consistent and the other teams started to get slower and slower."
Added Soller, "My 3 a.m. lap was a little bit painful for me, but I just kind of forced myself. We had so much support - every single parent was a big factor."
In the clydesdale division, Frisco's Brad Grohusky and Breckenridge's David Overstreet led Team Chicken Riders to their third consecutive victory.
With the help of Denver's Carl Pluim and Aspen Keith Berglund, the team was able to complete 18 laps to finish in the top 50 overall at 44th.
Meanwhile, the Mountain Sports Outlet Divas also successfully defended a title, winning the women's vet division for the second year in a row.
The Divas performance didn't come without incident, as Jody Thompson crashed on her first lap, shattering a shifter. Bruised and battered, Thompson still came through with the fourth fastest of the team's 16 laps and persevered through the race.
"Jody was pretty bruised up," said teammate Mary Scheifley. "But she's tough and she said, 'I'm going to complete this.' We just looked at each other and said, 'You have to do what you can do.'"
The Divas' victory marks the third consecutive year they have won a division after winning the women's sport class in 2002.
Team Barbie rounded out the Blue Ribbon performances by local racers by winning the women's junior division.
With the help of Denver's Carl Pluim and Aspen Keith Berglund, the team was able to complete 18 laps to finish in the top 50 overall at 44th.
Meanwhile, the Mountain Sports Outlet Divas also successfully defended a title, winning the women's vet division for the second year in a row.
The Divas performance didn't come without incident, as Jody Thompson crashed on her first lap, shattering a shifter. Bruised and battered, Thompson still came through with the fourth fastest of the team's 16 laps and persevered through the race.
"Jody was pretty bruised up," said teammate Mary Scheifley. "But she's tough and she said, 'I'm going to complete this.' We just looked at each other and said, 'You have to do what you can do.'"
The Divas' victory marks the third consecutive year they have won a division after winning the women's sport class in 2002.
Team Barbie rounded out the Blue Ribbon performances by local racers by winning the women's junior division.
The girls earned an asterisk by being the only women's junior team, but that is offset by the age of the team members - captain Lea Taylor is racing the event for the fourth time at 16 years old, Marie Oberriter is 15, and Jozy Gessner is 13.
Their fourth teammate, 12-year-old Julie Oberriter was the only racer on the team to race Moab for the first time. That didn't stop the preteen from completing a night lap, however, as she set out on course at 10:39 p.m. on Saturday, returning to the start/finish area at 2:02 a.m. on Sunday.
To go with the championship performances were several notable top 10 finishes.
Breckenridge's Sue and Bob Nothnagel teamed up with three friends to finish second in the Just For Fun category.
The Keystone-based Arapaho Warriors women's team pedaled to sixth in the women's expert division.
Copper Mountain-based Natural Disaster finished eighth in the women's expert division, despite losing a rider early in the race and completing the event with only three racers.
Breckenridge's Susie and the Banshees finished 10th in the 76-team 5-person open category.
Their fourth teammate, 12-year-old Julie Oberriter was the only racer on the team to race Moab for the first time. That didn't stop the preteen from completing a night lap, however, as she set out on course at 10:39 p.m. on Saturday, returning to the start/finish area at 2:02 a.m. on Sunday.
To go with the championship performances were several notable top 10 finishes.
Breckenridge's Sue and Bob Nothnagel teamed up with three friends to finish second in the Just For Fun category.
The Keystone-based Arapaho Warriors women's team pedaled to sixth in the women's expert division.
Copper Mountain-based Natural Disaster finished eighth in the women's expert division, despite losing a rider early in the race and completing the event with only three racers.
Breckenridge's Susie and the Banshees finished 10th in the 76-team 5-person open category.
And in the middle of everything, Summit Cove's Cullen Barker and Breckenridge's James Barnum took on the challenge of the solo division, finishing 12th and 23rd, respectively.
Team TATRA finished ninth in the 126-team field of the men's sport division. The team is based out of Winter Park but is sponsored by Woody's Woodfired Hamburgers in Frisco.
Complete results for the event can be found on the event organizer's Web site, www.grannygear.com.
Information from www.grannygear.com was used in this report. Richard Chittick can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 236 or at rchittick@summitdaily.com.
Team TATRA finished ninth in the 126-team field of the men's sport division. The team is based out of Winter Park but is sponsored by Woody's Woodfired Hamburgers in Frisco.
Complete results for the event can be found on the event organizer's Web site, www.grannygear.com.
Information from www.grannygear.com was used in this report. Richard Chittick can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 236 or at rchittick@summitdaily.com.
