On July 20th through the 22nd, the Mount Snow resort in West Dover, Vermont was the host of USA Cycling’s mountain bike national champion weekend. Mount Snow has long been a host of world-class mountain bike racing, but this is the first time the national championships have taken place at the notoriously challenging venue.
While the event was a first for Mount Snow, it was like old hat for Team Kenda-Seven pro Mary McConneloug. Mary earned her third cross-country national championship title on Friday and then topped it off on Sunday with a win in the short-track race, giving her the unique distinction of being the U.S. National Champion for both racing disciplines.
“This was the focus of my year; it’s what I wanted to do,” McConneloug said. “Getting the national championship title back was my season goal, and it feels great to be able to come here and race.”
McConneloug’s victory earns her an automatic spot on the US National team for the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Fort William, Scotland.
But Mary wasn’t the only Kenda-Seven racer to make the podium this weekend. Mike Broderick road to a career-best third place finish to earn the bronze and round out the top three in the pro men’s cross-country. And as if that wasn’t enough racing for the technically masterful Broderick, Mike also went on to finish fifth in the Super-D competition and 10th in the short-track.
All in all, the dynamic duo of McConneloug and Broderick brought home two national championship titles and four podium spots. Not a bad weekend.