Bailey Cioppa of Durango High School is now a state champion varsity mountain biker. Cioppa scored a first-place finish Sunday in the varsity girls championship race at Durango Mesa, winning by more than 40 seconds in 1 hour, 29 minutes and 33.34 seconds.
She said the title feels, “so good.”
“When I was a freshman I was definitely not the strongest,” Cioppa said, adding that she didn’t even remember what she placed that year; she finished 10th in the freshman girls race behind two of her teammates but has taken big strides since then.
“It’s been a long season, but I’m excited to end it on a high note,” Cioppa said.
Cioppa hung with the lead pack for the first of three 6.5 mile laps on Sunday. In the second lap, she started to pull away.
“I knew those girls would want to go with me if I attacked,” Cioppa said. “The first lap I was definitely analyzing who who was stronger today and everybody’s strongest and weakest points.”
The descents are where she was able to put some distance between herself and the rest of the field.
“It was pretty hard to break away, but I knew I was a little stronger on the descents,” she said.
After the second lap, Cioppa had a lead of roughly one minute.
She never looked back.
“I was like, ‘I have to go for it,’” she said. “This is my last ever NICA race, so I might as well go out strong.”
After Cioppa crossed, Chloe Lutgring of Glenwood Springs finished second in 1:30:13.44. Isa Naschold of 7220 Laramie finished third in 1:30:18.55.
Maddy Glotfelty of Animas placed fourth, outracing Emma Barsness of the Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy to the finish line. Glotfelty ended up crossing 0.12 second ahead of Barsness in 1:33:02.13.
Two other Durango Devo riders scored top-three finishes on Sunday.
Liam Bezek crossed second in the sophomore boys race, finishing just .12 seconds behind Boulder’s Eli Deboom after a sprint to the finish. The two rode out front together almost the entire race, but Deboom was able to win the roughly 13-mile race in 53:09.75.
Bryan Hastey wasn’t too far back, placing seventh in 54:39.55 while Braden Amos finished 10th in 55:11.78 for Durango.
In the varsity boys race, Ivan Sippy of Durango finished third, 1.22 seconds behind the winner from Fairview, Liam Baartman. Boulder’s Johnny Stanzione finished second.
“It was not light competition,” said Durango’s Riley Jaber, who finished 21st in the varsity race. “There was all sorts of speed out there.”
Sippy was in the lead pack for the entire race and took the lead on the third lap after going through the underpass. Sippy, however, was in third going down the final series of bermed turns and was unable to move up on the final straightaway.
In the other race contested on Sunday, the sophomore girls competition, Haydn Hludzinski of Boulder claimed the crown in 1:03:40.46.
The championships kicked off Saturday with the freshman and junior varsity competitions.
Chase Connors had Durango’s best result on Saturday, finishing fourth in the freshman boys’ race in 55:49.23. Emmett McManus also cracked the top 10 with a ninth-place finish in 57:14.09. Jake McDill of Fort Collins’ Rocky Mountain won the race in 55:11.73.
Julia Glotfelty of Animas led the local contingent in the junior varsity girls race with a 16th-place finish in 1:06:18.89. Sage Hummon of Golden crossed first in 1:00:05.46.
In the junior varsity boys race, Jacob Huber finished 58th in 58:46.50 to lead Durango. Nico Konecny of Summit won the race in 50:21.42.
No Durango girls competed in the freshman race, which Lucy Perkins of VSSA won in 1:00:55.80.
As a team, Durango finished third in Division 1 with 6,561 points. Durango had six top-10 finishes and one champion.
Boulder, which had 12 top-10 finishes and two champions, won the state title with 7,162 points. Boulder-Fairview, which had one champion and six top-10 finishes, placed second with 6,791.
Golden placed fourth with 6,504 points, followed by Fort Collins’ Rocky Mountain (6,079), Colorado Rocky Mountain of Carbondale (5,765), Glenwood Springs (5,363), Cheyenne Mountain (5,325), Ralston Valley (5,104), Summit (5,074), Evergreen (4,814), Salida (4,779), Heritage (4,679), Lakewood (4,489), Chatfield (2,859), Conifer (2,824) and Silver Creek (1,587).
In Division 3, Animas fielded four bikers and finished in ninth place with 1,828 points. Laramie 7220 won the title with 2,188 points, followed by Leadville (2,210) and Crested Butte (2,095) in third.
High Desert Composite from Cortez had four bikers compete and finished 30th out of 41 teams in division 3. Sophie Eschallier placed 84th in the JV girls race in 1:22:32.64. Spencer Eschallier finished 54th in the freshman boys race in 1:03:08.56. Farrar Desloge finished 62nd in the sophomore boys race in 1:01:29.89. Max Johnson competed in the JV boys race, but did not finish.
The Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy won the division two title with 4,688 points, followed by Steamboat (3,937) and Eagle Valley (3,799).
Complete results are available at https://my.raceresult.com/184771/
The Durango Devo riders, however, will remember more than the final results.
“For me in my race, like eight of my best friends were out there with me,” Jaber said. “We’ve all grown up in the Devo program, and it’s become something bigger than where we finish; it’s become a true love for the sport. The team bond is definitely something I’ll miss. It’s been a special ride being part of this family.”
Top-five and Durango results
Varsity girls
1. Bailey Cioppa, Durango 1:29:33.34
2. Chloe Lutgring, Glenwood Springs 1:30:13.44
3. Isa Naschold, 7220 Laramie 1:30:18.44
4. Maddy Glotfelty, Animas 1:33:02.13
5. Emma Barsness, VSSA 1:33:02.25
22. Ellie Mclean, Durango 1:40:10.19
45. Hannah Garvey, Durango DNF
Varsity boys
1. Liam Baartman, Fairview 1:16:06.04
2. Johnny Stanzione, Boulder 1:16:06.94
3. Ivan Sippy, Durango 1:16:07.26
4. Kade Kreikemeier, Independant-North 1:16:10.58
5. Vin Hludzinski, Boulder 1:16:16.74
18. Jesus Vargas, Animas 1:20:21.12
21. Riley Jaber, Durango 1:21:40.92
22. Jack Lootens, Durango 1:22:03.96
49. Ben Mackenzie, Durango 1:25:21.39
63. Nicholas Elliott, Durango 1:26:56.16
Junior varsity boys
1. Nico Konecny, Summit 50:21.42
2. Aidan Haak, Steamboat 51:41.25
3. Ben Bravman, Golden 52:15.85
4. Reiner Schmidt, VSSA 52:21.27
5. Fisk Johansson, Kelly Walsh (WY) 52:57.43
58. Jacob Huber, Durango 58:46.50
149. Orrin Bleth, Durango 1:10:26.72
Junior varsity girls
1. Sage Hummon, Golden 1:00:05.46
2. Rose Horning, Leadville 1:01:36.72
3. Riley Huston, Golden 1:03:11.51
4. Mary Alyce Collins, Rocky Mountain 1:03:20.43
5. Hayden Bevington, Salida 1:03:21.06
16. Julia Glotfelty, Animas 1:06:18.89
Sophomore boys
1. Eli Deboom, Boulder 53:09.75
2. Liam Bezek, Durango 53:09.87
3. Emil Kjellsen, Golden 53:40.04
4. Cole McGinnis, Rocky Mountain 53:40.34
5. Stanley Buzek, Summit 54:20.66
7. Bryan Hastey, Durango 54:39.55
10. Braden Amos, Durango 55:11.78
15. Brayden Harms, Animas 55:23.82
20. Chase Groom, Durango 56:17.57
89. Leith Davis, Durango 1:03:30.92
136. George Hudson 1:09:28.15
Sophomore girls
1. Haydn Hludsinski, Boulder 1:03:40.46
2. Raegan Agrimson, Air Academy 1:03:48.87
3. Samantha Meskin, Glenwood Springs 1:04:44.51
4. Stella Sanders, Eagle Valley, 1:04:44.65
5. Danica Wehr, Conifer 1:05:02.71
55. Lauryn Christensen, Durango 1:25:43.91
62. Manhattan Adams, Durango 1:28:46.71
Freshman boys
1. Jake McDill, Rocky Mountain 55:11.73
2. Canyon Cherney, Colorado Rocky Mountain, 55:21.02
3. Carter Kirkpatrick, Fairview 55:47.63
4. Chase Connors, Durango 55:49.23
5. Thayer Ask, Boulder 56:06.76
9. Emmett McManus, Durango 57:14.09
14. Kai Lokey, Durango 57:40.95
38. Cedar Bremner, Durango 1:01:40.76
41. James Garvey, Durango 1:01:54.78
49. Dylan Timmerman, Durango 1:02:44.28
86. Wyatt Johnson, Durango 1:06:16.81
106. Quentin Deluca, Durango 1:08:59.31
DNF. Zach Oliver, Durango DNF
Freshman girls
1. Lucy Pekins, VSSA 1:00:55.80
2. Scarlett Hardie, Grand Junction 1:04:03.91
3. Sofia Harcek, Golden 1:04:23.31
4. Nina Villafranco, Colorado Rocky Mountain 1:05:26.57
5. Laila Waldron, Nederland 1:05:27.69
