Durangoan Howard Grotts showed he’s just as comfortable riding in the Italian Dolomites as the San Juan Mountains.

The 22-year-old Specialized rider finished 14th at the UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships on Saturday in Val Gardena in northern Italy.

The course traversed 54 miles and more than 15,000 feet of elevation changes.

Grotts was the top American in the race in his first open marathon world championships race.

He took third at the 2014 U23 world championships in Norway. Austria’s Alban Lakata won the title in 4 hours, 24 minutes, 26 seconds.

Grotts crossed the line 13 minutes, 5 seconds after Lakata.

“I was able to hang with the main chase group through the first half of the race, then flatted right after a tech zone and picked my way down the most technical descent of the day. That dropped me from 7th to 15th, and I basically stayed there, ending up 14th on the line,” Grotts posted on Facebook on Saturday. “Really impressed with the effort of the whole Specialized team; we had two support crew (members) for every racer today! Marathon races are truly a team effort.”

Michael Broderick from Chilmark, Massachusetts took 92nd, and Aliso Viejo, California’s Dana Weber rounded out the Americans in 94th.

Lea Davidson was the top American in the women’s race, taking ninth.

heraldsports@durangoherald.com