To race at the speeds that Durango’s Asa Vermette does in men’s downhill mountain biking, you have to be on the edge, but the 19-year-old has crossed over that line with two crashes in the last two World Cups.
Vermette won his first men’s elite downhill World Cup start in South Korea to begin May, but crashed in France at the end of May. His latest crash was on Saturday in the third round of the UCI Downhill World Cup in Saalfelden-Leogang, Salzburgerland, Austria.
The Durango downhill dude got through the first two splits of the 2.1-kilometer track in the top six. In Split 3, Vermette was flying through a bike park section of the course, reaching speeds of over 60 km per hour. He hit a jump and got so much air with his speed that he overshot the landing, losing control of his bike and crashing after landing.
Vermette stayed down for a little bit before getting up on his own, gathering himself and eventually finishing the run. He finished last in 30th in four minutes and 25.660 seconds, over a minute behind Finn Iles in first.
Despite crashing in the last two World Cups, Vermette is sixth in the men’s elite downhill standings.
The third round of the UCI Cross Country World Cup was also in Leogang last weekend. Durango’s Riley Amos bounced back from a tough men’s elite cross-country short track race (XCC) to finish 12th in the men’s elite cross-country Olympic race (XCO) on Sunday.
Amos finished the 3.6 km start loop and the six laps around the 3.95 km course in 1:23:42. Adrien Boichis finished first in 1:21:09, with Luca Martin in second in 1:21:27 and Bjorn Riley in third in 1:21:54.
The Trek Factory Racing rider from Durango had a memorable finish. He suffered a tire failure with his rear tire, forcing him to pick up his bike and run across the finish line for 12th.
“It was such a good day,” Amos said. “I’ve been struggling a lot with my body the last couple of races, and I was pretty nervous today. I had a pretty bad blowup in the back in short track. I just tried to keep calm and put a smile on no matter what happened today. I gave it everything. I kept it pretty chill at the start. I was nervous about overdoing it, and I got confident lap-by-lap … I had such a special race getting to push 100%.”
On Friday, Amos finished 25th in the men’s elite XCC race, finishing the 11 laps around the 900-meter track in muddy and wet conditions in 23:40. Simon Andreassen won in 22:35. Flippo Colombo was second in 22:41 and Martin was third in 22:43. Amos is 20th in the men’s elite standings.
On the women’s elite side, Durango resident Gwendalyn Gibson finished 11th in the muddy and wet XCC race on Friday in 20:11 after eight laps around the short-track circuit. Sina Frei won the race in 19:15, followed by Jenny Rissveds in second in 19:19 and Alessandra Keller in third in 19:22. Former Fort Lewis College cyclist Savilia Blunk finished sixth in 19:52.
The women’s elite riders competed in the XCO race on Sunday in the drier conditions, with Blunk finishing fifth in 1:27:32 and Gibson in seventh in 1:28:59 after the start loop and five laps around the cross-country course. Gibson’s seventh was her best result in a women’s elite World Cup XCO race. Rissveds won the race in 1:25:29. Puck Pieterse finished second in 1:26:25 and Keller was third in 1:26:43.
“I’m so proud of this ride for a number of reasons and really thankful for the team I have behind me,” Gibson wrote on Instagram. “There’s always highs and lows in this sport so I’m happy to get to celebrate some big progress and appreciating the good moments more than ever.”
Durango’s Bailey Cioppa had a tough time in the women’s U-23 category in Leogang. She finished 26th in the XCC race and 34th in the XCO race.
This weekend is Round 4 of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. It’s also the return of Durango star Christopher Blevins to action. Blevins broke his collarbone during a practice session in Round 1 in South Korea from May 1-3. The reigning World Cup champion got surgery and is ready to race.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
