Durango took a small army of cyclists to contest the Chile Challenge at Angel Fire, New Mexico.
The pro cross-country, short-track and downhill events brought in a big crowd for the UCI Category 1 points races, but the other age categories also were stacked with some of Durango’s finest racers.
Fort Lewis College alum Keegan Swenson, who calls Park City, Utah, home, finished first in the pro men’s cross country and short-track races. He won the cross country race in 1 hour, 34 minutes, 52.3 seconds to edge Richard Cypress Gory of North Carolina. Cypress Gory finished in 1:37:27.3. Durango’s Payson McElveen, another FLC alum and former teammate of Swenson, was third in 1:38:16.0.
Swenson also won the short-track in 30:20.2. McElveen was second in that race in 30:28.3, and Tucson, Arizona’s Kyle Trudeau was third in 30:40.3.
“Oh so close!,” McElveen said on Instagram. “Good battle out there with (Swenson). Thought I might have the edge to break his ProXCT win streak, but he threw a well-timed sneak attack, and we drag raced a 5 second gap for the last lap.”
McElveen was thrilled with his two performances at high altitude, with the races taking place at 8,500 feet of elevation.
“Great to wrap up a confidence-inspiring weekend,” he said.
Durango’s Stephan Davoust finished eighth in the cross country race in 1:41:33, and Durango’s Andre Bos was 18th in 1:46:37.4. Both are FLC alums.
FLC’s Henry Nadell was 12th in the cross country race in 1:42:29.3, and he also was fourth in the short-track. Davoust finished sixth in short-track, while Cole Paton finished 12th and Bos was 27th.
The professional women’s cross-country race was won by Boulder’s Erin Huck. She finished in 1:33:53.3. Amy Beisel of Colorado Springs was second in 1:37:10.2, and Grand Junction’s Alexis Skarda was third in 1:39:39.1. FLC alumna Sofia Gomez-Villafañe was fourth in 1:40:06.6 to continue her strong summer season.
Gomez-Villafañe took second in the short-track race in 24:48.2. Beisel won that race in 24:27.0. Washington’s Hannah Finchamp was third in 25:42.5.
Durango’s Quinn Simmons turned in two first-place finishes in the junior men’s 15-16 races. He won the cross country race in 1:08:59 to beat Park City’s Skylar Patten (1:10:26.4). Durango’s Cobe Freeburn was fifth in that race, and Simon Donnaway was seventh.
Simmons, who is the junior national champion in short-track, won the short-track race in 24:56.3 to beat Caleb Swartz (24:59.4) of Madison, Wisconsin. Riley Amos of Durango was 12th, Lucas Robbins was 14th, Cobe Freeburn was 18th, Donnaway placed 21st and Miles bronson was 33rd.
In the junior women’s short-track race, Durango’s Madeline Robbins was first in 21:31.1, and Katja Freeburn was second for Durango in 21:48.4.
Durango DEVO coach Chad Cheeney placed ninth in the men’s Category 1-3 short-track race and was seventh in his category.
In the cross-country races, Ruth Holcomb of Durango was first in the 10-14 women’s category. She finished in 1:04:57.6 to beat Breckenridge’s Tai Lee Smith by nearly 2½ minutes.
Maddie Robbins was second in the women’s 15-16 Category 1 race. Sage Davis was second in the 15-16 women’s Category 2 race. Katja Freeburn claimed first in the women’s 18-and-under race in 1:05:55.4. In the women’s 19-29 Category 1 race, Jenna Emerick was third.
In the men’s 14-and-under Category 2 race, Durango’s Colby Simmons won in 1:20:03.4. In Category 3 in 14-and-under, Durango’s Ian Kutzleb was first in 59:07.3. Ivan Sippy was second in 1:02:32, and Toby Scarpella was third in 1:03:20.3 to give Durango a podium sweep. Leit Schafter of Hesperus was sixth, Durango’s Barron Bronson was seventh and Holden Bronson placed eighth.
Miles Bronson was fifth in the 15-16 Category 2 race. In the 18-and-under race, Durango’s Lucas Robbins was 24th in 1:25:16.2. Field Blevins won the men’s 50-59 race in 1:43:35.4.
Downhill
Durango’s downhillers also stormed down the mountain at Angel Fire.
In the pro men’s race, California’s Bruce Klein won in 4:45.190. Durango’s Zach Graveson was 18th in 5:08.584; Durango’s Brian White was 21st in 5:11.652; Durango’s Max Lowenstein placed 29th in 5:18.366; Rob Nichols took 33rd in 5:25.705 and Lucas Lemaire placed 34th in 5:28.489.
In the women’s 19-29 Category 3 downhill race, Tina Hott of Durango was first in 3:48.355.
Among the 14-and-under Category 3 men, Gunnar Ensign was second in 3:37.79-. In the Category 2 race for riders 15-18, Durango’s Andrew Papineau was seventh in 3:53.655. Cale Adams rounded out the Durango results with a fourth-place time of 5:28.999 in the men’s 19-19 Category 1 downhill.
Several mountain bikers will return to the saddle Tuesday at the Firecracker 50 race in Breckenridge to celebrate the Fourth of July.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
