PHOTO: An early morning rider prepares to head out for a lap around the 13-mile Falcon trail during the 24 Hours of Colorado Springs mountain bike race. photo by Ralph Clark

PHOTO (below right): Taylor Shelden won the 24 Hours of Colorado Springs solo men's race, then struggled to stay awake during the awards presentation. Nice work, Taylor! Larry DeWitt (left) placed second.

FULL RESULTS HERE
PHOTO GALLERY: Rob "UltraRob" Lucas photos
PHOTO GALLERY:Having fun on Saturday
PHOTO GALLERY: A few from Christian Murdock
PHOTO GALLERY: CrossFit goes the distance
PHOTO GALLERY: Click here for photographer Ralph Clark's great shots, and a lot more
VIDEO: Dirty Cranks women's team ready to rock.
VIDEO: The Ascent Cycling team makes the exchange
VIDEO: Some of the top cyclists in the area line up for the start ... no, wait..
VIDEO: Women's Mountain Biking Association of Colorado Springs wins team race

Boulder endurance cyclist Taylor Shelden did his best zombie impression on Sunday at the finish of the inaugural 24 Hours of Colorado Springs mountain bike race at the Air Force Academy.
The 23-year-old had just ridden about 165 miles around the Falcon Trail single track to win the solo men's division. He was ready for some sleep.
"I'm exhausted," Shelden said. "I'm happy to be off the bike."
Sheldon lead the race from the start, completing 14 laps before pulling into the finish area. And here is the surprise. The the 24 Hours of Colorado Springs was his first day-long race.
"I came in and I didn't really have any expectations," Shelden said. "I just tried to go hard and do my laps."
At some point during the night, he had built a lead of about an hour, then slowed himself down - a little.
"It wasn't like I just wanted to cruise," he said. "I tried to maintain my lead."
Larry DeWitt placed second, completing 12 laps in 21 hours, 46 minutes. Brad Baker was third.
Women's solo: Elizabeth Boesel of Fort Collins won the women's solo race, beating one other rider, Gloria Rios. Boesel, who has raced in several 24-hour events, completed five laps. She had good things to say about the 24 Hours of Colorado Springs.
"This is really a good course," Boesel said. "And the volunteers were amazing ... that makes all the difference."
Four-person team: The Women's Mountain Biking Association of Colorado Springs team of Mary Hoyle, Betty Gilbert, Melissa McMartin, and Stephanie Ward won the women's team title,making 15 laps in 22:43. It was the seventh fastest time among all of the 18 quad teams, including the men. WMBA had plenty of support with Allen Beauchamp and Blaine Hook, owner of Bike Pro-Mobile, covering the details.
"I was so worried that we wouldn't make it through the night," McMartin said. "But the support from Allen and Blaine was amazing."
The Dirty Cranks women's team of Connie Shaner, Jen Jacobucci, Jen Vaillancourt and Charlotte Miller finished second with 13 laps in 23:01.
The Ascent Cycling Men's team covered about 247 miles, far more than any other team in the race, to capture the four-person championship.
Single-speed: Nick Thalen proved that he is a tough rider, covering 12 laps to win the singlespeed division.
See full results of all divisions here
Tip of the hat: The CrossFit team of Corey Bieganek, Jason Buck, Tim Macnamara and Kevin Montford aren't the kind of guysto brag about their cycling abilities, but they produced a nice result in a ninth-place finish in the men's team division.
"I did a 24-hour race a long time ago, but I didn't train at all for this," said Montford. "I think I've ridden my bike about seven times this year."
Bieganek said riding through the night was tough.
"It was brutal," Bieganek said. "I had the 3:30 a.m. to 5 lap. It was cold and your physiological clock is at the bottom of its activity. I had to dig deep.
The Gorilla and the Chicken Man: You can't say Ascent Cycling's Clay Allison has no sense of humor. Allison, the race announcer, dressed up as a chicken, marched into the woods and surprised the late-night riders.
"I was riding along half-asleep and all of a sudden there is a giant chicken chasing me down the trail," said one rider. "Then he was gone and I thought to myself, 'maybe it's time to take a break.'"
There were also reports of somebody in a gorilla costume, but the identity of the gorilla remains a mystery.