Durango’s Riley Amos and Savilia Blunk showed their World Cup speed in the States last weekend.
Amos and Blunk competed in the 2025 Whiskey Off Road in Prescott, Arizona, and came out on top. Amos won the 50-mile pro men’s backcountry race and Blunk won the 50-mile pro women’s backcountry race on Sunday.
Away from the challenges of his first men’s elite World Cup season, Amos finished first in the pro men’s backcountry race in three hours, six minutes and nine seconds. Behind him was Bradyn Lange in second in 3:06:09 and Durango resident Cole Paton in third in 3:06:47.
“It was a pretty awesome weekend,” Amos said. “I’ve only ever been to Prescott one other time and I just got to ride a little bit of the trails. So it was sweet to check out the event because it’s steadily become a bigger and bigger event in North America … the backcountry race was awesome. I felt super good.”
Amos attacked on the first climb of the race into the first downhill and put a little gap on Lange and Paton, before the two caught up to Amos before the iconic hourlong Skull Valley Climb. Amos said the three of them did a good job taking turns at the front during the Skull Valley Climb.
At the top of Skull Valley, Amos once again put a small gap on Lange and Paton. Lange and Paton recovered in a single-track section, but Amos, going all out, held them off in the end for the victory. Amos took home a $ 5,000 prize for winning the backcountry race.
Amos really enjoyed the atmosphere at Whiskey Off-Road. He said races like the Whiskey Off-Road are great for America as they are amateur-focused races. Amos felt more in touch with America’s national cycling scene and felt like a cycling superstar with the community support.
Blunk dominated the pro women’s backcountry race, winning in 3:40:26. Alexis Skarda finished second in 3:47:50 and Hannah Otto was third in 3:51:33.
“It was so much fun; I decided to do the Whiskey 50 last minute,” Blunk said. “I have this break between the World Cups, about a five-week break and I'm just trying to maximize the time I get to spend with Cole (Paton). So the Whiskey was one of his events on his calendar … So that was pretty nice. I've been to Whiskey a few years, but I've never raced it. So I always have FOMO, watching the Fat Tire Crit and the backcountry, so super fun to be part of it.”
Blunk’s goal last weekend was to have fun in Prescott, but she knew a good opportunity when she saw one. In the pro men’s and women’s backcountry races, there was a $ 1,000 prize for entering the single-track section first.
She entered the single-track first, then sat up to recover, but still had a gap on the field. Skarda and Otto then caught up to Blunk on the Skull Valley Climb. While descending Skull Valley, Blunk really picked up the pace and had a 10-second gap on Skarda. She went all out to increase her gap and was on her own for the last two hours of the race. Blunk took home $6,000 in prize money.
The Whiskey backcountry races were a change for Amos and Blunk, who are used to racing 90-minute cross-country Olympic World Cup races.
“I wasn't sure how it would feel, because I've done some marathon events in the past and those have been four plus hours, and in those areas I definitely feel it,” Blunk said. “It's a different feeling; the start isn't as hard and the pace during the race is never as intense as a cross-country race. But holding that slightly intense pace for four hours wears on you. I didn't know really what to expect and that's why I wasn't going for it from the start. I wanted to see how it felt on Skull Valley but I felt the pace was super manageable and I was feeling good.”
Blunk said a key for her was spending the night before planning out when she’d fuel. It’s something she doesn’t have to worry about as much in a 90-minute World Cup race.
The course conditions were super dry, according to Blunk. She said the course was very loose with granite rock, so traction was something to focus on.
Paton bounced back after a tough crash at Sea Otter to finish third in the pro men’s backcountry race. He spent a lot of time recovering from the Sea Otter crash and therefore didn’t prepare for the pro men’s backcountry race as much as he wanted to.
“It's such a privilege for me these days to race like a true backcountry mountain bike race,” Paton said. “It kind of feels like the purest form of mountain bike racing because it's what we're designed to do with our mountain bikes, just a big old loop in the mountains.”
Paton said Skull Valley is where the race separated. Amos eventually dropped Paton and Lange so Paton and Lange raced together until the end.
Although the course was looser than previous years, Paton actually had a faster time than last year. He loves the event and wishes there could be more like this one.
Durango’s Ellen Campbell had a solid race in Prescott, finishing sixth in the pro women’s backcountry race in 4:00:03.
“This was my third or fourth time doing it; I know what to expect, felt really good and strong,” Campbell said. “I had good legs but spent most of the day solo; I spent 25 miles of the day by myself. It’s hard mentally … being alone in that (single-track) can be hard to keep pushing, keep the pace up and keep the mind in race-mode. But I’m proud of myself.”
Durango’s Ruth Holcomb finished 11th out of 14 riders in the pro women’s backcountry race in 4:13:40. Fort Lewis College’s Toby Hassett finished eighth in the pro men’s backcountry race in 3:12:04. Hassett won the $ 1,000 prize for being the first in the pro men’s backcountry race to hit the single-track.
In the pro men’s backcountry race, Durango’s Ryan Standish finished 15th out of 43 riders in 3:17:47 and Cody Cupp finished 25th in 3:24:01.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
