Monster Energy congratulates team rider Luca Shaw on taking first place in MTB Downhill in the Elite Men's division and Mitch Ropelato who took the title In the Elite Men's MTB Dual Slalom competition at the 2023 USA Gravity Mountain Bike National Championships.
ZIRCONIA, N.C., July 18, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Monster Energy congratulates team rider Luca Shaw on taking first place in Mountain Bike Downhill in the Elite Men's division at the 2023 USA Gravity Mountain Bike National Championships. In the highly contested race event at Rock Creek, North Carolina, the 26-year-old from Hendersonville, North Carolina, took his first career U.S. championship title. Shaw was joined on the podium by Monster Army riders Austin Dooley in second place and Dante Silva in third place.
In the Elite Men's MTB Dual Slalom competition, 31-year-old Mitch Ropelato from Utah took the championship title. Monster Army's Kale Cushman from Old Town, Maine, took the win in the Elite Women's Dual Slalom Championships. In the Junior Men's Division Dual Slalom MTB Championships, Monster Army's Nate Kitchen took the win.
In the Junior Men's Division Downhill MTB Championships, 18-year-old Monster Army rider Ryan Pinkerton from Aliso Viejo, California, took the win, followed by teammate Nate Kitchen from Bakersfield, California, in third place.
The Junior Women's Division Downhill MTB Championships saw Monster Army's Kale Cushman claim the title. In the Elite Women Downhill MTB Championships, 22-year-old Monster Army rider Kailey Skelton from San Diego earned a strong second-place finish.
From July 12-16, the iconic racetrack at Ride Rock Creek in Zirconia, North Carolina, hosted the 2023 USA Cycling Gravity Mountain Bike National Championships. The park at the edge of DuPont State Forest showcased competitions for the national titles in Downhill, Dual Slalom, and Enduro racing for professional and age-group categories. The event will remain at Ride Rock Creek for 2024.
Here's how the action unfolded for Team Monster Energy in the Carolina mountains:
Downhill Mountain Bike Racing: Luca Shaw is the New U.S. Champion in the Elite Men Division
In the Elite Men's Downhill division event, the race could not have been any closer. Less than one second separated the top three finishers. When the dust settled, Luca Shaw took first place in the 2023 USA Gravity Mountain Bike National Championships with a total time of 02:05:10.
This marks the first career U.S. National Championship for the 26-year-old from Hendersonville, North Carolina.
"I'm super pumped to take the win. My first national championship and pretty much my home track, so it's a super cool moment and really stoked that I could make it happen," said Monster Energy's Shaw upon taking the win in the U.S. National Mountain Bike Championships, adding: "I'm looking forward to World Champs here in three weeks and hope to keep the momentum going and get on the box there, that would be a nice cap."
Shaw was joined on the podium by 21-year-old Monster Army rider Austin Dooley from Riverside, California, in second place with a total time of 02:05:32, a mere 22 milliseconds behind Shaw. And following in close pursuit, third place went to 20-year-old Dante Silva from San Diego, California with a finish time of 02:05:70. Talk about a close race!
"We had a great weekend out here at National Champs in Rock Creek and I came out in third place right behind Austin Dooley and Luca Shaw. Super stoked for my boy Luca Shaw on the top step and had a good run and stoked to take this momentum into the rest of the world cups this year," said Monster Army's Dooley.
In the Junior Men's Division Downhill MTB Championships, 18-year-old Monster Army rider Ryan Pinkerton from Aliso Viejo, California, took the win with a total time of 2:06:30.
Pinkerton was joined on the Downhill MTB podium by 17-year-old Nate Kitchen from Bakersfield, California, in third place with a finish time of 02:11:01.
The Junior Women's Division Downhill MTB Championships saw Monster Army's Kale Cushman claim the national title with a finish time of 02:29:05.
In the Elite Women Downhill MTB Championships, 22-year-old Monster Army rider Kailey Skelton from San Diego earned a strong second-place finish with a total time of 02:29:08.
Dual Slalom Mountain Bike Racing: Mitch Ropelato Takes the Win Amid Severe Weather Conditions
In the MTB Dual Slalom race, heavy rain during the day created challenging track conditions for the finals. The slick track left no room for errors in the head-to-head race for the National Championship titles.
When the time arrived for the Elite Men's MTB Dual Slalom competition, 31-year-old Mitch Ropelato from Ogden, Utah, proved his resilience and race IQ. Not losing a single run throughout the entire day, Ropelato emerged victorious from the big final battle against Christopher Herndon to claim the win.
The wins kept coming in the Elite Women's Dual Slalom Championship: 16-year-old Monster Army rider Kale Cushman from Old Town, Maine, emerged victorious from the final battle against reigning Junior Dual Slalom National Champion Brooke Anderson from Oregon to become the new Elite Women's Dual Slalom National Champion.
In the Junior Men's Division Dual Slalom MTB Championships, Monster Army's Nate Kitchen took the win in the final round against Lucas Dedora from New York State.
Congratulations to the Monster Energy MTB team on these great results from Rock Creek. All Elite division winners from this weekend's championship represent the United States as the National Champions for the next year by wearing a stars and stripes sleeve at events both domestic and international.
Next on the MTB Calendar, watch out for the UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Championships in Fort William, Scotland, from August 3-5, 2023. Also, tune in for the next race in the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup season at Pal Arinsal, Andorra, from August 24-27.
For more on Luca Shaw, Mitch Ropelato, Ryan Pinkerton, Kale Cushman, and our team of mountain bike athletes, visit http://www.monsterenergy.com. Also, follow Monster Energy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok for exclusive updates from our mountain bike pros.
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