After finishing third in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic’s short track race on Friday and second in the road race on Saturday, Howard Grotts dominated the pro men’s mountain bike race on Sunday to finish with a win.
“I knew this was probably my best shot at a win,” Grotts said. “It’s sweet. It always feel great to come out here and perform.”
Grotts said the climb up Lion’s Den was harder than he thought it would be since he normally rides it slow, but that is where he won the race.
Grotts was in fourth after the first of five 5-mile laps, behind Jack Spranger, Ivan Sippy and Todd Wells and just ahead of Dane Grey and Toby Hassett.
Grotts then took over. “I went all in on Lion’s Den and redlined there because it plays to my strengths,” Grotts said. “From there it was just damage control.”
By the time Grotts rolled through Chapman Hill to finish his second lap, he had the lead with only Grey and Sippy keeping him in their sights. Grotts kept the gas on and led by 1:36 after three laps and had a 2:06 lead heading into the final lap. Grotts ended up winning the race by 3 minutes in 1 hour, 41 minutes and 26.8 seconds.
Hassett, the short-track winner, finished second in 1:44:26.9 and Sippy crossed third in 1:45:20.5.
“I went all in,” Grotts said. “I wanted to put on a show.”
In the pro women’s mountain bike race, Michaela Thompson rallied to pick up her second win and third podium finish of the weekend. Thompson also won the short-track race and finished third in the road race. “I woke up this morning feeling really tired and pretty flat in my legs, but the excitement and the trails and the home crowd kept me going,” she said.
Lauren Aggeler was only about 10 yards behind Thompson after the first lap, but then Thompson extended her lead to three minutes after the second of four laps and never relinquished. “My goal was to ride my own race,” she said. “Just hold a steady pace.”
Thompson ended up winning the race in 1:35:16.9. Aggeler finished second in 1:40:03.7 while Erin Osborne crossed third in 1:43:15.3.
Grotts and Thompson also won the IHBC omnium titles of king and queen of the mountain, which included the road race and mountain bike race.
The La Strada La Plata Gravel Race also began at Chapman Hill on Sunday. Sarah Sturm finished the IHBC on a positive note with a first-place finish after crossing second in the road race. “I was frustrated after yesterday, but I’m stoked because I felt good the whole day and wasn’t too fatigued,” Sturm said.
Sturm not only won the women’s race in 5:06:37.9, she finished ahead of every man except the top-five.
The men’s long course race ended in a sprint to the finish, and Guy Leshem edged Jess Clapier by just .5 seconds to take the win in 4:50:49.1. Tyler Lock crossed third in 4:52:22.5.
Sturm’s teammate, Ellen Campbell, finished second in 5:42:54.7 and Terry Casey finished third in 5:57:22.7.
See Wednesday’s edition of the Durango Herald for more Iron Horse coverage.
