Vail was buzzing with activity this past weekend as the GoPro Games took place with mountain bikers, kayakers, rafters, runners, disc golfers and many more athletes competing for some top prize money.
Numerous Durangoans competed in the mountain bike cross-country (XC) race and the mountain biking XC short track race.
Ellen Campbell, Howard Grotts and Cobe Freeburn each finished in the top three of both the XC race and the XC short track race.
On Friday, Freeburn finished first out of six riders in the men’s pro elite open short track race with a time of 21 minutes, 16.9 seconds to win the $1,000 first-place prize.
Riders did 12 laps that took around two minutes each before crossing the finish line.
“It was good,” Freeburn said. “I played my cards right in the front group and then hit it pretty hard last lap. Then Howard and I sprinted and I got him there.”
Freeburn enjoyed the atmosphere at GoPro Games and watching the kayaking, climbing and running along with the dog events. The 22-year-old said it was a unique experience you don’t see every day to see all the different athletes brought together by GoPro.
The short track field was noticeably smaller than the XC field because a lot of the XC riders didn’t know about the short track race or they chose not to participate, according to Freeburn.
Grotts finished second in the short track race with a time of 21:17.2. He said he was happy with the result but being a racer he always looks back and thinks he could’ve taken one more risk in the short track race to get past Freeburn, but Grotts acknowledged Freeburn’s strong punch.
The 31-year-old said he hadn’t been to GoPro Games in over 10 years but he was enticed by the prize purse and how close it is to Durango.
Also in the men’s pro open field was Fort Lewis junior Beckett Ledger who finished sixth with a 22:14.1
Campbell finished second in the women’s pro elite open short track race with a 22:37.9, 19 seconds behind winner Erin Huck.
The short track was new this year at GoPro Games and Campbell said it was at the base area so people could watch. She also said it was very hard and thinks it will get more popular in the future.
“It was a cool event,” Campbell said about the short track race. “That's a good, spectator-friendly event and it fit right in with the rest of what they're doing there... I had a battle with one other gal for most of the race and we had a sprint finish.”
On Saturday in the XC men’s and women’s races, riders did three laps around a figure-eight configuration which was about five miles each lap up and down the ski resort. The total prize purse for both of the races was $19,000 total for the top six men and women finishers. Each winner got $3,000, second place earned $2,250 and third was $1,500.
Freeburn finished second in the men’s pro open race with a time of 1:11:51.1. Eric Brunner won the men’s pro open race with a 1:11:48.9.
“It was similar to a classic mountain cross-country course where it was up and down,” Freeburn said about the XC course. “But with the two loops, it made it so it was up then down and then up and then down, which was kind of nice, it split it up a bit. It was like the cross-country races I grew up racing so it was nice. But it was definitely different than how the course used to be.”
Freeburn said the course has changed since the last time he did GoPro Games about seven years ago. He said back then there one big climb and one big descent.
This year’s Iron Horse winner described the XC race as a group race where he, Grotts and Brunner were at the front on their own going into the last lap. Freeburn said it came down to the last bit of the race.
“I definitely made a little mistake on the last lap,” Freeburn said. “I got into the last single track first, which was good. Then we went up a tiny little climb at the very end, and then through this downhill tunnel. That's where Bruner got around me and passed me. I wasn't expecting it and probably should have punched it a bit more on the little hill before that to get a bit of a gap. But I didn't think about that part as much.”
Grotts was happy with his third place after dealing with saddle sores for the past few months. He enjoyed battling with Freeburn after missing the chance to do so in the Iron Horse and enjoyed the exciting finishes to both races.
Campbell also came home third with a 1:29:55.5 which was the identical time to second place Natasha Visnack. Erin Huck won the women’s pro open race with a 1:25:00.9.
“It was a good battle for me,” Campbell said. “I had a slower start to the race. My first lap, I was further back and these younger gals really made it hard right off the bat.”
Campbell was able to catch up to Visnack but Visnack got into the single-track close to the finish first and beat Campbell in the sprint finish.
She said she enjoyed the summer, playful and sporty outdoor vibe at GoPro Games.
Further down the standings in the men’s pro open XC race was Durango residence Ryan Standish who finished seventh with a 1:14:33.2.
“I was happy with it,” Standish said. “I haven’t done a whole lot of hour to 1:20 races in quite a while with the gravel stuff and more endurance stuff being the bigger focus for the past couple of years. So it was fun to get back to that cross-country racing.”
Standish said he hadn’t been to GoPro Games in about 10 years and his schedule opened up after not doing Unbound Gravel.
The Australian native said he was in the top group but fell back on the third climb of the race as he didn’t have the surge of the top guys.
Also in the men’s pro open XC race was Durango’s Jack Odron who finished ninth with a 1:15:37.4 and Ledger who finished 17th with a 1:21:44.3
Next up for Freeburn is Bighorn Gravel in Gypsum in two weeks. Grotts will be at Crusher in the Tushar, the third round of the Lifetime Grand Prix, in Beaver, Utah in a month as he wants to move up the standings after a disappointing Unbound Gravel race.
Campbell isn’t sure if she’ll go to Crusher or the Downieville Classic which are both on the same weekend. Standish is heading to Auburn, Alabama for the Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships this weekend.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
