Some areas produce talent, such as the Dominican Republic in baseball.
Others attract it, such as Lawrence, Kan., in basketball.
Durango has managed to do both for cycling.
From high school teams through Fort Lewis College and all the way up to the professional ranks, Durango knows how to train and develop talent.
It starts early with the Durango DEVO program, which eventually leads to high school racing.
Both Animas High School and Durango High School fielded teams this season, and both competed in four races from early September to middle October.
Animas finished fourth in the Division 1 team standings, 272 points behind first-place Boulder.
Durango won the Division 2 state title.
The Colorado High School Cycling League divides Division 1 and Division 2 based on how many participants a school has – not by the school’s size.
DHS’ Kaylee Blevins won the state championship race in 1 hour, 19 minutes, 44 seconds, followed two minutes later by AHS’ India Waller, who won the season-long individual points championship.
“The people here just genuinely have such a love for the sport that it’s really easy to find people who are motivating and so supportive,” Blevins said Wednesday night at Mountain Bike Specialists’ open house to honor its community’s most recent success. “That really will carry you into whatever aspect you want. There are always people willing to give you advice or go on a ride with you.”
That community extends to FLC, one of the most dominant cycling programs in the country. The Skyhawks boast 19 total national championships and won their ninth consecutive mountain bike title Sunday in Beech Mountain, N.C.
Sofia Gomez Villafane won the individual omnium, which combines points from all mountain biking disciplines, just beating teammate Brittany Clawson.
Clawson also won the women’s dual slalom individual title.
Rebecca Gardner won the women’s downhill title, while Lauren Catlin finished with three silver medals.
Catlin was unable to defend her national championships in the cross country and short track events but still was satisfied with the team title.
“You don’t want to be on that team that didn’t extend the winning streak,” Catlin said.
FLC lured Catlin away from larger schools in California with a homey feel and its top-ranked cycling program.
“It seemed easier to get involved in the community,” she said.
Durango also knows how to keep its own talent in the fold.
FLC freshman Stephan Davoust grew up in Durango and decided to attend FLC and compete for the Skyhawks. He finished fifth in the short track and 13th in the cross country at the national championships.
“There’s such good cycling around Durango,” Davoust said. “They’ve got such good support for their riders.”
FLC also finished second at the USA Cycling Collegiate Track National Championships in September, which felt like a win for the Skyhawks because their closest velodrome is six hours away in Colorado Springs and the winner, Marian, has a velodrome on its campus.
“You couldn’t expect any better,” FLC cycling director Dave Hagen said. “Someday, in our hearts, we’d like to win track nationals, but that’s a tough call because we don’t live near a velodrome, and it’s hard to attract kids that are truly gifted to track riding.”
There’s also a community of riders that all support each other and offer advice.
Local professionals speak at FLC’s Tuesday meetings, and according to Catlin, “every day there’s a different team ride” to help with training.
Though none of it would have happened without the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, according to Hagen.
“If the Iron Horse wasn’t here, Durango wouldn’t be what it is as far as cycling goes, truly,” Hagen said of the IHBC, which announced Jeff Frost as its new race director at Wednesday night’s event. “They set the tone, and organizations like Trails 2000 came along, Wheel Club’s been here forever. But it wouldn’t be as thriving as it is without that basis laid down.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
