2009 USA Cycling National Champions

Karen Hogan - 2009 USA National Marathon Champion & 4 consecutive titles

Mike Hogan - 2009 USA National Marathon Champion, his 3rd national title

Keith Sanders - 2nd place 50+ marathon championships

Karen Hogan & Mike Hogan pulled off a repeat of last year, both winning the USA Cycling National Marathon Championships. Karen pulled on her 4th consecutive stars & stripes jersey. Her streak started in 2006 in Sonoma California followed by 3 wins in Breckenridge at the Firecracker 50. This was Mike's 3rd national title. He won the inaugural championship in Mammoth Lakes California in 2005, slipped to 2nd in 2006 & 2007, & has not come back to win in 2008 & 2009. Both Mike & Karen rode their fastest ever races with Mike putting in a 4:00:30. (The official times are 2 min slower in the upper groups due to a start time error).

The media was all buzzing over the husband/wife wins of Jeremy Horgan Kobelski & Heather Irminger who won the pro divisions both in unreal record times of 3:28 & 4:06. Hogan/Hogan make the 2nd Boulder area couple to score national championships in record times.

Keith Sanders, who has just entered the 50+ age group, fought hard & finished 2nd in 4:33; his personal best time.

Chipotle/Titus started 14 riders in the 2009 Firecracker. Mark Gouge & Drew Geer finished 15th & 22nd in the 40+ men's open field, which Hogan won. This was the largest category. 80 riders started in this field & less than 40 finished. Jamie Kilkoyn placed 19th in the 35+open field. Dan Melish was 4th in the cat 2 men's 35 class. Lance Loehding was 24th in "maverick" class, an unusual open field for high level riders who do not happen to have a license.

Four Chipotle/Titus ladies started in the 40+ open field which Karen Hogan won. Jacqui Wood placed 6th, Toni Geer 7th & Michelle Bliss 9th.

Jack & Sherri Boltz rode on duo teams. Sherris team finished 4th & Jack's 14th.

Titus X Carbon - Champion bikes!

14 riders starting & not a single flat or mechanical for Chipotle/Titus! This is particularly amazing given how hard the Firecracker is on equipment. Nearly 1/3 of the field typically drops out of this race either due to mechanical failure or "leg/lung" failure. Mike & Karen had a brief scare the morning of the race. Karen had a non shifting bike due to a cassette/chain mismatch & Mike has broken his remote for lockout while tinkering. Mike the Titus wrench/guru jumped in, repaired all damage & brought home 2 national titles - both on the new 2009 X Carbons.

The Chipotle/ Titus bike stable

The tire of the day was the Schwalbe Racing Ralph with Stans. These were mounted on our Crank Brothers Cobalts. This set up held up amazingly well & post race inspection shows not a nick or scuff on the sidewalls & not a wobble in the wheels. They are ready to race again. The Hogans are running a full UST setup while Gouge elected to go light & run non UST Ralphs with Stans. Geer ran a Rocket Ron on the rear - slightly lighter & a faster tread but comperable turning ability. Pressures were in the 26 - 28 range. The course is a mix of everything - fireroad, smooth single track, tire shredding scree fields & steep loose rocky climbs. The tires grapped well on the loose rock & flew down the scree.

The Titus X Carbon & X's are a treat to race. They literally float down the rough course, smoothing out all the little drops. Smooth is fast & the Titus was rolling up on other bikes, particularly the hard tails that were getting bounced everywhere.

The Crank Brother's Cobalt wheelsets were nothing short of amazing. Not a ding or wobble in any of them after the race. The wheels are fast & the 6 pawl freehub coasts noticably faster than most wheels. The wheels are very quick in the turns, a feature especially important on this course. It was a treat to run over the 29ers that were having trouble negotiating the 180 turns. They also have a very stable feel at high speeds.

2 National Champions
3 podium places
14 starts
no flats; no mechanicals

All dressed up for the Firecracker 50; the 4th of July & the USA National Championships
red accents, white carbon & blue wheelset