Not far from home, Durango’s Howard Grotts felt more than comfortable on the trails and podium Sunday in Grand Junction.
Grotts, 25, won for the second consecutive year at the Epic Rides series Grand Junction Off-Road 40-mile backcountry mountain bike race. The Specialized Racing team rider finished in 3 hours, 11 minutes, 16 seconds to gain a strong gap ahead of Team Clif Bar’s Russell Finsterwald of Colorado Springs. Finsterwald was second in 3:13:54. Fernando Riveros Paez of Colombia was third in 3:15:57, Salt Lake City’s Alex Grant was fourth in 3:16:30, and Jeremiah Bishop of Virginia was fifth in 3:16:41.
“This was only my second year there, and they added a little more singletrack that made it a little longer than last year by 15 minutes or so,” Grotts said. “It was a group of five all the way to the base of the main climb. (Geoff) Kabush and Finsterwald both were pushing the pace a little on the Butterknife descent leading into the climb to put me under pressure, but I was able to hang on and just follow their line. And then, yeah, I did my job on Windmill like last year.”
Grotts said the course featured two climbs, one that took roughly 20 to 30 minutes, while Windmill comes halfway into the race and is an hour-long ascent with a small descent in the middle of it. The top mountain bike climber in the country won the race there.
The four-race series will continue June 17 in Carson City, Nevada. That used to be the finale when it was a three-race series, but this year there is a fourth stop Oct. 7 in Bentonville, Arkansas. While the first three stops, including the Whiskey Off-Road held April 28 in Prescott, Arizona, feature big climbs, the route in Arkansas is more of a rolling course without substantial climbs. That will favor some other riders who will hope to catch Grotts. He estimated he had a four- or five-minute lead in the series on Finsterwald.
One of the riders the Arkansas race will favor is two-time defending marathon national champion Payson McElveen, but the Durangoan by way of Texas won’t be able to contend for the series overall championship after he was unable to start Sunday’s race in Grand Junction because of health reasons.
There was plenty of other Durango talent in Grand Junction, though. Benjamin Sonntag, Finsterwald’s Clif Bar teammate, finished sixth in 3:17:03. Sonntag, originally of Germany, has had allergies much of the season and dealt with them again Sunday.
“I had my own battle with that,” Sonntag said. “I went to battle for positioning early but felt crappy because I couldn’t breathe. I had a mental shutdown for five minutes but collected myself. By that time, we went into the main technical singletrack. It was hard to pass for 30 minutes. In the first hour of my race, the chance at a really good result was ruined. After that, I feel like it was evenly matched. I didn’t lose much time on anyone except for Howard, which makes it more bittersweet. I’m heading in the right direction, I just have to be patient.
“I’m still motivated and have really good form. I’m hoping by Carson City I will feel much better.”
Kabush of Canada finished seventh in 3:19:39. Former Fort Lewis College rider Ryan Standish of Australia placed eighth in 3:19:54. FLC’s Richard Cypress Gorry was ninth in 3:22:12 and fellow Skyhawk Stephan Davoust of Durango was 11th in 3:24:35. FLC’s Nash Dory was 16th in 3:29:26.
Former Durangoan Nick Gould was 33rd in 3:40:33. Durango’s Lucas Rowton was 37th in 3:44:35, Harrison Buckley was 45th in 3:50:18 and Jorge Munoz Jr. was 54th in 4:07:30.
Grotts, the short-track and cross-country mountain bike national champion, also placed third in Friday night’s fat-tire criterium race in downtown Grand Junction. Cyclocross star Stephen Hyde of Massachusetts won, while Kabush was second. Sonntag placed sixth, and FLC’s Henry Nadell was 10th.
It was a day of carnage with several big crashes. Durango Devo director Levi Kurlander was injured in a crash and had to pull out of Sunday’s backcountry race after struggling with a vertebrate injury. Several riders were sent to the pavement and required stitches while others were flung into trees and bushes.
“It was a little hectic,” Grotts said. “I stayed as near to the front as possible, and that extra work paid off because I wasn’t near crashes.”
Sonntag said the criterium course in Grand Junction is always sketchy because it is relatively flat and allows some less experienced riders a chance to ride toward the front in the peloton.
“This year was especially sketchy,” he said. “It is pancake flat on the course, and it was also pretty windy this year. That neutralized the attacks, and the pace was easy to follow and you get people riding at the front trying to move up. I don’t know how many crashes we had, but it was one after another.”
California’s Katerina Nash won her second consecutive GJ Off-Road women’s professional race. Another Clif Bar rider, Nash finished in 3:56:20. Utah’s Evelyn Dong was second in 3:57:39, and California’s Crystal Anthony was third in 4:01:58. Amy Beisel of Colorado Springs was fourth in 4:01:59, and Grand Junction’s Alexis Skarda was fifth in 4:05:12 to round out the podium.
Former FLC rider Sofia Gomez-Villafañe of Utah by way of Argentina was eighth in 4:12:35. Durango’s Ellen Campbell, a current FLC Skyhawk, was 11th in 4:27:40. Dolores’ Ashley Carelock was 18th in 4:48:19.
Nash also won the women’s crit race, followed by Anthony and Skarda. Gomez-Villafañe was fifth, Campbell was eighth and Carelock was 16th.
Up next for many of the Durangoans, including Grotts, is the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. Grotts, who was third in the pro men’s road race last year, will look to defend his King of the Mountain status, as he will compete in the road and mountain bike races once again. Sonntag also will be a contender in both races.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
