Two events into the season, and the local high school mountain biking teams already have three overall wins and one second-place finish.
Two of those wins came Saturday in Leadville. Animas High School took first place in the Division 1 race, with Durango High School right there with a gold in Division 2.
Ten teams competed in the Division 1 races, while 23 teams and more than 350 riders competed in the Division 2 category.
Leadville featured a 6½-mile course with different lap counts for each classification of rider. It started with a big climb in dirt roads and loose rock before a wild ride through speedy single track at an elevation of 10,200 feet.
“Leadville is one of the more technical courses of the series, which is more conducive to the team’s riding style,” said DEVO coach Garret Alexander in an email to The Durango Herald. “It’s a lot of tight corners through trees and, if you’re not on your game, you’re likely to clip one.”
After one lap of the varsity race, Durango’s Bryce Gordon was in second place, 30 seconds behind the leader. Gordon held on to his position before a flat tire on the fourth lap. He quickly repaired the tire and jammed to the finish line to get third.
“Leadville is definitely my favorite course,” Gordon said. “It has the longest, most sustained climbs and the best single track. You really have to be a well-rounded rider to succeed at Leadville.”
Kieran Eagen, a junior at Animas High, fought through two crashes to take sixth place, with teammate Keenan Desplanques coming in 12th.
Desplanques said he is still getting his high-altitude lungs back after a year abroad at sea level in Spain.
The varsity girls faced a three-lap challenge. Durango’s Katja Freeburn claimed second place, with Camryn Sippy and Ellen Campbell of Animas High finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.
Ava Hachmann of Durango finished eighth.
“Not only talented riders but they are class acts as well,” coach Ashley Carruth said of the varsity girls in the email. “They embody excellence in all ways, treating their teammates and competitors with respect and kindness at every turn.”
The junior varsity girls race was equally thrilling, with Animas High’s Maya Zarlingo dominating the field of 20 riders to claim first and maintain her overall season points lead. Her teammate Mikayla Wright had a strong race to finish 12th, while first-time racers Lillian Bisantz and Emily Vierling also finished strong.
The boys junior varsity race featured exciting group racing over 19.5 miles, led by Quinn Simmons of Durango in fourth place.
Durango’s Lucas Robbins took eighth; Animas’ Perrin Kileen was ninth; Durango’s Jimmy Pope was 10th, Animas’ Domi Frideger was 12th; Durango’s Andrew Middleton was 16th; and Animas’ George McQuinn took 18th.
“It was crazy,” Frideger said. “Even when Jimmy wiped out and impaled his leg on a branch, he managed to catch us again and stay with us the rest of the race,”
Durango’s Ty Sandoval came in 27th, while Animas’ Coleman Bader and Geoffrey Steiner finished 50th and 75th, respectively. There were 117 riders in the field.
The freshman boys completed two laps, and Andrew Munroe came in eighth out of 75 competitors. John White was right behind in ninth, while Durango’s Luke Nicholson finished 33rd.
During Friday’s pre-ride, freshman girl racer Sadie Schafer crashed and got a bruised rib and nasty road rash. But she ignored her bruises and claimed gold for Animas in the freshman girls race.
“As Sadie rounded the corner and flew up the last steep, loose hill to the finish line, Samantha Soriano of Salida and Alma Wolf of Animas were on hot on her trail,” Carruth said. “Schafer dug in to spring through the finish line, while Wolf dug deep and nearly caught Soriano within feet of the finish.
“Alma had a pure look of determination on her face.”
Animas rider Cecilia Compton then bolted up the hill for fourth place.
“This is a talented posse of freshman girls,” Carruth said. “I can’t wait to see them come up through the ranks.”
The next race is Sept. 26 in Eagle.
“The racing couldn’t have gone better,” Alexander said of Leadville. “We had some crashes and some mechanicals, but those riders persevered and pushed even harder for impressive results. Everyone was in high spirits and stoked to race on such a fun course and in a beautiful landscape.”
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
