{"id":809487,"date":"2026-07-18T06:04:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T06:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/809487\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T06:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T06:04:10","slug":"twenty-one-national-titles-awarded-on-day-four-of-the","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/809487\/","title":{"rendered":"Twenty-one National Titles Awarded on Day Four of the\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day four of the\u00a02026 USA Cycling Endurance Mountain Bike National Championships<\/a>\u00a0opened at Explore Park with the first wave of XCO races. Junior athletes were the first to take on the course, setting the tone for an action-packed day.\u00a0Temperatures remained high throughout the day, keeping the trails dry as the revamped course layout introduced new challenges for the riders.<\/p>\n

Junior 11-12\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Junior Women 11-12 were first to tackle the newly designed XCO courses. Silvia Palomaki\u00a0(Marquette, Mich.; Sisu Cycles Factory Racing) attacked during the prologue lap, quickly opened a gap, and never looked back. She held the lead through the finish to earn her second national title of the week. Naia Moctezuma\u00a0(San Antonio, Texas) rode a strong race to claim silver, finishing just over two minutes behind Palomaki. Raven Kemp-Hudson (Williams Bay, Wis.; Molly Maid-Byron Health and Healing) earned her second bronze medal of the week.<\/p>\n

Thirty riders sprinted onto the course for the Junior Men\u2019s 11-12 race. Nolan Elkins (Ramona, Calif.; Elkins Bros Racing) and Cooper Wells\u00a0(Durango, Colo.; TWL) immediately went head-to-head through the prologue. Elkins used his speed in the singletrack to pull away, becoming the only 11-12 rider to record sub-10-minute lap times. The defending XCO National Champion and Thursday\u2019s XCC winner finished nearly a minute ahead of Wells to complete the weekend double. Wells earned his second silver medal of the week, while Owen Morozowich\u00a0(Scottsdale, Ariz.; Durango Devo) finished two minutes later to secure bronze.<\/p>\n

Junior 13-14<\/p>\n

The Junior Women 13-14 were the first to compete on the Red Course, with 46 riders taking the start. Weslie Winebarger (Durango, Colo.; 2nd Ave Sports\/Purenergy) quickly established a gap as she rolled through for the first lap of the Red Course, with Wednesday\u2019s XCC National Champion Aspen Revallo\u00a0(Occidental, Calif.; Slay Development Team) following closely behind. The duo entered the final lap together before Winebarger pushed the pace and opened a winning gap to claim the national title. Revallo followed seven seconds later to earn silver and her second medal of the week. Jocelyn Schouten\u00a0(Plymouth, Wis.; Linear Sport Racing Team) rode a strong race, finishing only 32 seconds later for the bronze medal.<\/p>\n

Due to smoke from Canadian wildfires and concerning Air Quality Index (AQI) levels in the area, the Junior Men\u2019s 13-14 race was shortened from two laps to one lap. A large field of 76 riders launched off the line, with no time to settle into the race. Max Thornton\u00a0(Spring Hill, Tenn.; Hub Youth Cycling), Wednesday\u2019s XCC National Champion Weston Elkins (Ramona, Calif.; Elkins Bros Racing), and Chase O\u2019Donnell\u00a0(Delmar, N.Y.; Capital Bicycle Racing Club) completed the prologue together, before Thornton separated himself from the group.\u00a0After narrowly missing the title earlier in the week, Thornton set a relentless pace and crossed the line nearly 20 seconds ahead of Elkins to claim the Stars and Stripes. O\u2019Donnell delivered another strong performance, climbing his way from an 18th-place call-up to finishing third for his second bronze medal.<\/p>\n

Amateur\u00a0and Masters Women<\/p>\n

After a short break, the afternoon racing resumed with the Amateur and Masters Women. In the Amateur Women\u2019s 19-29 race,\u00a0Cassidy Frost\u00a0(Charlotte, Vt.; Frost Beer Works) attacked from the whistle and never looked back, building a three-minute advantage over second place, Arden Rossi\u00a0(Georges Mills, N.H.; Team KellCat Racing) to take home the national title. Paula Coyos\u00a0(Elkridge, Md.; ABRT) came out of the prologue in second, but quickly gained steam in the opening lap to ride away with the Masters Women\u2019s 30-34 Stars and Stripes jersey. Carla Williams\u00a0(Roanoke, Va.; Cardinal Bicycle) added a second gold medal to her collection for the week after taking the win in the Masters Women\u2019s 35-39.<\/p>\n

In the Masters Women\u2019s 40-44 race,\u00a0Serena Defelice\u00a0(New Egypt, N.J.; Team EPS p\/b Brielle Cyclery) won gold, adding to the silver medal she earned on Wednesday for the XCC. Kristen Smith\u00a0(San Clemente, Calif.; Team Baghouse) returned to Explore Park to successfully defend her Masters Women\u2019s 45-49 national title. Trish Thomas\u00a0(Durango, Colo.; 2nd Ave Sports\/Stans Cycling Team) raced to top honors in the 50-54 race, while Jessica Rockson\u00a0(Bella Vista, Ark.; Revolution Factory Suspension\/Thaden Cycling) won the Women\u2019s 55-59 national title. In the 60-64 category,\u00a0Elizabeth Sheldon (Washington, D.C.; CXD Trek Bikes) had an incredible ride to take the win. Tamara Tabeek\u00a0(Ramona, Calif.; KUHL Cycling Team) successfully defended her national title in the Masters Women\u2019s 65-69, and Kim Bear\u00a0(Santa Fe, N.M.; Spokettes) went home with gold in the 70-74 category.<\/p>\n

Singlespeed and E-MTB<\/p>\n

With multi-time National Champion Kerry Werner\u00a0(Vinton, Va.) now retired from the sport, the Men\u2019s Singlespeed title was up for grabs. Max Abner\u00a0(Greenville, S.C.; Robson Forensics) emerged victorious to become the new National Champion. On the women\u2019s side, hometown favorite, Abigail Synder\u00a0(Roanoke, Va.; Ride Fierce Racing p\/b Visit Virginia\u2019s Blue Ridge) delivered a commanding ride to earn the Women\u2019s Singlespeed national title.<\/p>\n

The E-MTB category returned to Nationals for its fourth year, adding a different element to the day\u2019s racing. Reigning champion Nick Mackie (West Palm Beach, Fla.; Specialized) retained his title after holding off David Kahn\u00a0(Mills River, N.C.; Pisgah Trail Company), who stayed close throughout the race and finished just five seconds back to earn silver.\u00a0On the women\u2019s side, Stephanie Lamer\u00a0(Ocala, Fla.; Santos Bike Shop)\u00a0took home the Stars and Stripes jersey.<\/p>\n

Amateur\u00a0and\u00a0Masters Men<\/p>\n

The Amateur Men 19-29, Masters Men 30-34, and Masters Men 35-39 were the final fields of the day, racing the start prologue plus a total of\u00a0two\u00a0laps on\u00a0the Red Course. Ryder Jordin\u00a0(Holladay, Utah; KUHL Cycling Team) had another impressive ride, which earned him his second Stars and Stripes jersey of the week. In the Masters Men\u2019s 30-34 race, Jacob Zimmerman (Palm City, Fla.; Z Boys Racing) turned in consistent 17:01 lap times to win gold. The Masters Men 35-39 closed out the day\u2019s racing. Gus Michaels\u00a0(Brevard, N.C.), who won the Men\u2019s 30-34 XCO title last year and the Men\u2019s 35-39 XCC title earlier this week, capped off his week with another victory to complete the XCC\/XCO double.<\/p>\n

Full results from Friday\u2019s events can be\u00a0found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Up Next<\/p>\n

Racing will continue at Explore Park on Saturday morning for more XCO racing, where the Junior 17-18, Under-23, and Elite fields will all be\u00a0vying for the Stars and Stripes jersey. Click\u00a0here<\/a> for the full event schedule.<\/p>\n

Photo credit: SnowyMountain Photography<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Day four of the\u00a02026 USA Cycling Endurance Mountain Bike National Championships\u00a0opened at Explore Park with the first wave…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":809488,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[1163,417,1167,1169,1165,49,48,1172,1173,1171,1175,1179,635,1174,1166,1180,1048,1181,1168,1178,1182,1170,1164,582,1176,82,1177,1184,1183],"class_list":["post-809487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-bicycle","tag-bike","tag-bike-event","tag-bike-mechanic","tag-bike-race","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-coach","tag-coaches","tag-commissaire","tag-criterium","tag-cross-country","tag-cycling","tag-cycling-coach","tag-cycling-event","tag-downhill","tag-events","tag-gravity","tag-mechanic","tag-mountain-bike","tag-national-championship","tag-official","tag-race","tag-racing","tag-road-race","tag-sports","tag-time-trial","tag-us-cycling","tag-usac"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=809487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/809488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=809487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=809487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=809487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}