A good course can make or break a bike race. Durango has long been known for putting together quality courses.
That is again the case for the Colorado Cycling League high school mountain bike state championship event held on private property at Durango Mesa. Racing will be held Saturday and Sunday with 843 riders from more than 80 schools set to roll through the dirt to close out the season.
“It’s a really good course here,” said Animas High junior Riley Amos, among the favorites to win the varsity boys race Sunday afternoon. “It has one of the most technical descents out of all the high school league races. It has loose, rocky corners that are also the most challenging out of other series events. It also has good climbs along with good flat sections you can work together with other riders on. It’s a great combo of everything, and having a figure-eight loop with a flyover bridge gives spectators a lot to watch, which is always good for a cross-country mountain bike course.”
A fitting challenge for a state championship event.
The Durango crew received positive feedback for its course last year. Sippy said the wet winter of a year ago created more vegetation that had to be cleared out in recent weeks. Because the course is on private property, it doesn’t see traffic throughout the year, and that has helped keep it firm despite a recent dry spell. Sippy knows that will change throughout the weekend with so many tires on the course, but a brief rain Friday morning will go a long way to help the course stay well packed.
The course has been shortened by more than a quarter mile, Sippy said. The start line will be placed in a different spot closer to the finish line, too.
“It being a new course, we didn’t know how long lap times were doing to take during a race environment last year,” Sippy said. “That’s part of the reason we shortened it a touch was to get lap times more in line with the league’s model of having between 20- to 28-minute lap times depending on the level. We’ve made it a little better this year.”
The Colorado Cycling League has certain parameters for its courses. There must be enough sections that allow for passing, and it needs to be ridable for the most elite riders as well as those fairly new to the sport.
The host crew at Durango believes the Durango course is the ideal blend of everything that makes cross-country mountain biking great.
“We are lucky to work closely with (Moira Montrose Compton) to get on the course and do trail work,” said Durango DEVO coach Levi Kurlander, who helps lead the Animas and Durango teams along with an army of coaching staff. “Helping out with the trail allows us the chance to ride on the course during practice some. Overall, the course is really great for racing with its mix of terrain.
“There are some decent, switchback climbs in there, some fast, berm descents in addition to technical terrain. From the perspective of a racer, it’s a really great course to promote a good, competitive race that allows enough passing to open it up and allow kids to move up the field.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
