JHK, Heather Defend Marathon Titles
Slideshow: The MTB marathon nationals were held in conjunction with the 10th annual Firecracker 50 in Breckenridge, Colorado on the Fourth of July. And Heather Irmiger and her husband, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, lead the fireworks.
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By Singletrack.com
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As they did last year, husband-and-wife duo and Subaru-Trek teammates Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski and Heather Irmiger won Stars-and-Stripes jerseys at the USA Marathon Mounain Bike National Championships on Sunday.
The marathon nationals were held in conjunction with the 10th annual Firecracker 50 in Breckenridge, Colorado on the Fourth of July. The race started with a roll out as part of the town’s Fourth of July parade but then quickly turned into a lung-busting race that topped out at 11,500 feet.
Along with a sold-out field of more than 700 racers, two-time U.S. Olympian Horgan-Kobelski completed his two laps of the dusty, high-elevation 25-mile loop in 3 hours 36 minutes. Second-place finisher and Subaru-Trek member Sam Schultz crossed the line in 3 hours 42. Dave Wiens (Topeak Ergon) collected the bronze medal while Jeremiah Bishop (Cannondale Factory Racing) and Burke Swindlehurst rounded out the podium in fourth and fifth.
Irmiger had a gap of two minutes in the first lap, but stretched it even more. She beat a stacked women’s field in a time of 4 hours and 16 minutes while 22-year-old Amy Dombroski (Luna Pro Team) finished in second-place in 4 hours and 23 minutes. Krista Park (Cannondale) rode to the bronze medal while Gretchen Reeves (Tokyo Joes) and Kelly Boniface (Moots Cycles) claimed the podium’s fourth and fifth spots.
In addition to the pro/open contests that were contested, 12 other categories duked it out on the rocky course for Stars-and-Stripes jerseys, including the men’s and women’s single speed fields which were new championship categories for 2010.
Horgan-Kobelski and Irmiger will look to defend their cross-country national champions’ jerseys at the MTB nationals July 17-18 at Sol Vista, Colorado.
Initial Results
Pro/Open Men
1. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Trek)
2. Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont./Subaru-Trek)
3. Dave Wiens (Gunnison, Colo./Topeak Ergo)
4. Jeremiah Bishop (Harrisonburg, Va./Cannondale)
5. Burke Swindlehurst (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Pro/Open Women
1. Heather Irmiger (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Trek)
2. Amy Dombroski (Boulder, Colo./Luna)
3. Krista Park (Madison, Wis./Cannondale)
4. Gretchen Reeves (Avon, Colo.)
5. Kelly Boniface (Steamboat Springs, Colo./Moots Cycles)