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Durango’s Christopher Blevins wins USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championship

7 in a row for Durango phenom

Durango’s Christopher Blevins won his seventh consecutive national championship Friday morning at USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships at Mammoth Mountain, California.

After winning the 2015 Cross-Country Men Junior 17-18 Category 1/2 title as a 17-year-old, the 2016 Durango High School graduate blew past the other 88 riders Friday and asserted himself once again as the top mountain bike rider in his age group. His time of 1:11:09 was just under a minute better than second place rider Connor Patten of Park City, Utah.

“It was a hard course, always pitching up, and the elevation played a big role,” Blevins said in an interview after the win. “Connor Patten had a great ride and it was tough the whole time.”

The win is another in what has been an incredible 2016 already for the Durango prodigy. He’s now won six races this year including a UCI Junior Series Cross Country race in Germany and a road cycling win at the Peace Race in the Czech Republic before adding another national title to a very crowded trophy case. He also has a win in Missoula, Montana and, with Friday’s win, five titles this year in California.

Blevins also nearly won the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic’s coveted Coca-Cola Road Race this year. One day after graduating high school, he was in a five-rider sprint in the final meters before an ugly crash sent him to the pavement just shy of the finish line.

Obviously, it hasn’t slowed him down, and there’s plenty more to be expected in the coming years from one of Durango’s most promising athletes.

Durango was well-represented in a multitude of categories Friday at nationals. Behind Blevins in the 17-18 age group was DEVO’s Keiran Eagen, who finished ninth with a time of 1:17:03. Durango’s Lucas Robbins was 19th after posting a time of 1:19.42 and Austin Munroe finished 79th.

In the Cross-Country Men Junior 15-16 race, Quinn Simmons’ 1:16:53 was good enough for third place and a spot on the podium. DEVO had another third-place finish as Katja Freeburn finished third in the 17-18 Women’s Cross-Country Category 1/2 race. Durango also had a nice showing from Fort Lewis College team rider Levi Kurlander who finished fifth in the Cross-Country Men’s U23 race with a time of 1:32:27. Cody Cupp (1:39:49) finished 22nd and FLC’s Stephan Davoust’s 1:45:26 time was 34th.

jfries@durangoherald.com

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