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Wells brothers go 1-2 at IHBC mountain bike race

Three-time Olympian Todd Wells bests his brother, road race winner

Steamworks Brewing Company served up its finest Wells on Sunday, and it wasn’t cheap alcohol.

Todd Wells was all smiles Sunday after he cruised to victory through streets filled with spectators in the town he calls home. The three-time Olympian won the Mountain Bike Specialists Cross Country race in a time of 1 hour, 17 minutes, 42 seconds. It was his second consecutive win at the IHBC mountain bike race and added to an already stellar season fro the SRAM/Troy Lee Designs/Scott team rider.

“The Iron Horse is such a great weekend to cycle in Durango,” said Wells, who calmly sat with his son Coop in his arms. “Durango is known as a mountain bike town, so it’s cool that we have a race to showcase that again. (The race) was good and similar to last year. It was fun. We had some rain earlier in the week, so the trails were in great condition. We finally got some nice sunny weather, so it was a perfect day for a race.”

Wells’ time was good enough to beat younger brother Troy Wells, who came in second in 1:18:28.4. As Troy Wells crossed the finish, Saturday’s Coca-Cola Road Race winner Payson McElveen wasn’t far behind for a third-place finish. McElveen’s time was 1:18:42.4.

This is Wells’ second win in a row in the MBS as he took first last year with a time of 1:15:24.2. On Saturday, Wells took fourth in the men’s professional road race from Durango to Silverton.

Todd Wells found spacing when he punched it at the top of Nature Trail on the very first lap. By the time riders began to climb Lions Den near Hillcrest Golf Club, Wells got a small gap pulled away.

According to Todd, the toughest part of the race was the lap traffic on the second and third laps when the front riders were catching other racers, as criterium races were also roaring through Durango’s downtown streets.

“A part of what makes the course so fun is all the single track, which makes it hard to pass people, so that was the toughest part,” Todd said. “This is a long road section before the single track with some headwind uphill, so it’s good to be in the group with a couple guys back.”

With both the start and finish lines at Main Avenue and 9th Street, the unique race took mountain bike racers on a 6-mile loop up Chapman Hill, then traced Fort Lewis College only to reconnect back to downtown as competitors perused through Steamworks before heading back to the finish line. In the pro/open category, racers had to complete three laps.

“It’s great; you rip into Steamworks and its bright outside, your adrenaline is going and eyes are wide open,” Todd said. “Then you go in and you’re blind. You make that right-hand corner and barely squeeze through the doors because, as the years go on, the mountain bike handlebars seem to get wider and doors stay the same size. So you squeak out there and, just when you’re starting to see in the dark, you pop back in the light and you’re down and out of there. The atmosphere in there is awesome with everyone cheering and having a good time. It’s very unique, no other race do we rides through an active bar.”

Troy Wells echoed his brother’s sentiments about the rare race and added that the trails were in prime condition. With a storm that hit a few days prior to the 45th Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, rain soaked up the dirt to make single track tacky, which is preferred for mountain bikers.

“The trails were awesome, people were just walking up from their houses,” Troy Wells said. “The trails will be amazing for the next two or three days.”

Troy Wells tried to keep up with his older brother but knows better than anyone that it’s hard to catch Todd once he gets ahead. So Troy joined Team Clif Bar teammate to work together against McElveen. Sonntag, who took second to McElveen in a photo finish at Saturday’s road race, finished fourth.

“It’s always good when you race, and of course you want to win,” Troy Wells said. “But if you don’t win, it’s great to have your brother win.”

After taking Saturday’s IHBC Coca-Cola Road Race and finishing third in Sunday’s event, McElveen was surprisingly fresh after the race. This was McElveen’s third time competing in the race, and he usually trains in Pennsylvania this time of year.

“This is one of the tougher races because there’s very little recovery from Saturday’s race,” McElveen said. “It’s fast and not a lot of technicality to break it up. The course was riding well, though.”

McElveen added that Saturday’s IHBC road win was more of a surprise of the weekend since mountain biking is his forte.

“I was feeling good (Sunday); I’ve been feeling good all weekend,” he said. “(Friday) was more of the wild card. It was a fun weekend.”

Both McElveen and Todd Wells will compete in the 2016 USA Cycling Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships next Saturday in Columbia County, Georgia.

The top-seven finishers were either from Bayfield or Durango. Sonntag took fourth in 1:19:59.6, Mike Sampson finished fifth in 1:21:08.0, Bayfield’s Caleb Thompson placed sixth in 1:21:08.8, and Levi Kurlander rode to seventh in 1:21:08.9.

Thompson momentarily held the lead in Saturday’s road race before finishing 24th with a time of 2:40:40.5.

jmentzer@durangoherald.com

May 29, 2016
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May 29, 2016
Fort Lewis College’s Cormac McGeough wins IHBC men’s circuit race


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