Karen Hogan is the new US National Champion in the marathon event. She rode on the front from the start over a tough 7 lap race. Karen led home 4 podium & 6 top 10 finishes for Chipotle-Titus at the opening day of the 2006 USA Nationals in Sonoma California. Beth Gouge joined Karen on the Podium for 4th place.
Chipotle-Titus opened the USA NORBA Nationals in Sonoma with a great showing in the Marathon. If there had been a team event, we would have won. Karen Hogan is our new national champion - women 40+. I'm so glad we got her Titus just last week. It made the difference. Mike Hogan was on route to defend his national title with a 4 minute lead going into the last 6 miles. Unfortunately he was under hydrated & cramped. He still finished a fantastic 2nd - 40+. Dan Melish was 3rd in the 30-39 group. Beth Gouge was 4th in the women 40+. Drew Geer came in 6th in the 40+ men & Mark Gouge finished in the top 10, 40+ after a time consuming mechanical (note: he is not yet on the Racer X). Thomas Dooley was well on pace for a podium finish but the heat ate him up on lap 5 of 7 & he had to retire from the event.
from left to right: Dan Melish, Karen Hogan, Beth Gouge, Mike Hogan
The race was held with 7 laps of an 8.5 mile course. There was 1400 feet of climbing per lap. It was a really hot day. The first 2 laps were cool, but then the temperature climbed to 90+ degrees & there was not a tree for miles. For the first 3 laps only 1 bottle per lap was needed, but on the 4th lap two bottles per lap could easily be consumed - despite only a 35- 45 minute lap. Carol Newsom & Keith Sanders staffed a crack feed zone. Without them this race would have been a disaster. They had each feed ready to go - not a single bobble.
The NORBA National announcer, Peter Graves, is a long time friend of myself & my wife Toni (who is our photographer today). She talked to him just after the start & he announced every Chipotle-Titus rider, every lap - making sure to point out our team & bikes. No other riders except the lead 3 pros got anything close to the exposure we got!
The Racer X was perfect! The course demanded every kind of riding from the bike. There were long road climbs & it was imperative the bike did not bob & loose energy. The Racer X delivered. There was very rough single track & the bikes were hugging the ground. We could ride every piece at full speed & never worry about any loss of control. On the high speed downhills the Racer X was completely stable - no shimmy even in an aero tuck @ 45 mph. Not a single one of our Titus' had a mechanical problem - not true for many others on the course. Tires were run about 38-42 psi - we let the suspension do the work & need some tire pressure for the climbs.
Next up is the XC Saturday. Keith Sanders is hunting for a national title along with Mike Hogan, Gary Myer & Carol Newsom. Maybe we can talk Dan Melish into the Super D as well.
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