Durango Mesa Park challenged cyclocross riders with loose dirt, flat and off-camber turns, plenty of climbing and a tricky set of turns that forced the riders to jump off their bikes and run with their transportation slung over their shoulders on Saturday. The race was the third of five in the Zia Taqueria Cyclocross series.
“We must again thank the Durango Mesa Foundation for letting us play bikes on the property,” said race director Dave Hagan. “There is a great variety of terrain to choose from and the dryness (sadly) made every turn an adventure.”
Natalie Quinn of Fort Lewis College won the Open Women’s race, besting her FLC teammate and runner-up Ruth Holcomb, as well as the rest of the field.
In the Open Men’s race, Cody Cupp held off Todd Wells and 20 other competitors to score a first-place finish.
Cooper Wells, 7, won the Junior 14-and-under competition, giving him a third win in as many races.
Joe Shults of Ophir also picked up his third consecutive victory in the 50-plus division.
The series will conclude this weekend with a doubleheader Saturday and Sunday at Fort Lewis College’s Ray Dennison Memorial Field. The course will run counterclockwise Saturday and clockwise Sunday.
“The Ray Dennison course is dominated by the steep banks of the stadium and the long grass sections in between,” Hagan said. “There are also other technical sections on the practice fields and behind the Athletics building. Any of these technical bits could be the difference maker, but the long grass sections that take a lot of power can be a determining factor also. The grass in some of the tight corners on the stadium hillside will become very slippery as more and more racers go over it, so some mistakes will happen there – and that’s all you need in a CX race. One 15- to 20-second mistake or a handful of 3- to 5-second mistakes can make the difference.”
With several riders who have been racing in the series competing in bigger events this weekend, some of the division crowns will be up for grabs. Cupp will be in North Carolina for a UCI competition this weekend.
Alex Green, Cobe Freeburn, Guy Leshem, and Quinn and Madelyn Roberson will race in Louisville in the Colorado State Cyclocross Championships. That race is doubling as the Rocky Mountain Regional’s collegiate cyclocross conference championships, meaning the men and women winners will earn a front-row call-up at the cyclocross nationals Dec. 6-12 near Chicago.
Todd Wells, Troy Wells , Kolben Preble, George Piepgras and Rotem Ishay, however, have done well in all the series races and will be in the battle for the overall title. Jen Gershbach has reached the open women’s podium in every race so far and has a chance to finish on top.
Durango Mesa Results
Open Women
1. Natalie Quinn
2. Ruth Holcomb
3. Jennifer Gersbach
4. Madelyn Roberson
5. Sabrina Hayes
6. Lauren Aggeler
8. Elizabeth L. Wallentine
9. Kim Bear
10. Martha Iverson
Open Men
1. Cody Cupp
2. Todd Wells
3. Troy Wells
4. Keiran Eagen
5. Rotem Ishay
6. Kolben Preble
7. Cobe Freeburn
8. Alex Green
9. Stephan Davoust
10. George Piepgras
11. Sam Vickery
12. Guy Leshem
13. Kye Cordes
14. Cooper Wiens
15. Henry Nelson
16. Jesus Vargas
17. Dylan Atkinson
18. Ian McPherson
19. Kobi Gyetvan
20. Nicholas Narraway
21. William Farmer
22. Nick Mohan
B Men
1. Tony Cady
2. Jacob Huber
3. Kai Lokey
4. Emmett McManus
5. Michael Hurst
6. Grant Bardow
7. Eric Hjermstad
8. Ryan Simonovich
9. Bill Stanley
Men 50+
1. Joseph Shults
2. Andy Fox
3. Vic Rudolph
4. Dave Hagen
5. Jan Bear
6. Jonathan DeLacey
7. Field Blevins
8. David Strobel
9. Jack McManus
10. Jon Suzuki
11. Rob Haggart
12. Richard Bagienski
13. Craig Campbell
14. Brett LeCompte
Junior 14-and-under
1. Cooper Wells
2. Patrick Matlock
3. Fielder LeCompte
4. Jack Stanley
5. Ivan Rundquist
6. Mysles Bowman
6. Ellis Bates
