Students are back on campus on Fort Lewis College and that means its time for some of the best collegiate cyclists around to put on the Skyhawks jersey again.
FLC cycling has a large and talented roster with a lot of depth.
“We’re excited to bring in a big freshman class of right around 50 riders, which is a big class for us and some good talent,” FLC cycling director Ian Burnett said. “We’re excited to see what they can do as we start racing this weekend right out of the gate. We’ll see how they handle the altitude, because we go to Powderhorn at 8,000 feet right out of the gate, which is always interesting. But, it is also where national championships are this year so it should be a good tester right away.”
On the men’s side, the Skyhawks bring back some fast and experienced riders like Toby Hassett, Isaac Allred, Dane Grey and Carson Beard.
The best Skyhawks might run into a problem late in the season because of their talent. The UCI Mountain Bike World Cup finishes in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada, the same weekend as the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Nationals in Powederhorn.
Burnett expects a few of the Skyhawks top mountain bikers, Hassett, Grey, Landen Stovall and Owen Deale, to miss nationals for the World Cup. On the positive side, he knows a lot of the top schools will be in the same boat as FLC with their top riders missing.
Sophomore Nate Meister has also stepped up and won the team’s first inter-squad scrimmage.
FLC lost some talented riders from last year on the women’s side. Michaela Thompson isn’t racing with the Skyhawks this fall as she does online school. Thompson won the mountain bike cross-country short track national championship last year.
Durango’s Bailey Cioppa will return to FLC to compete for the Skyhawks in cross-country mountain bike, according to Burnett, as she balances her U-23 World Cup schedule with Bear National Team. Burnett also expects Oona Nelson to step up for the women in her sophomore year.
Two other Durango riders who should make an impact this year are junior Maddy Glotfelty and freshman Emmett McManus. Glotfelty finished second in downhill at mountain bike nationals last season. McManus won the mountain bike state championship last fall for Durango and was one of the fastest riders in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic weekend in May.
“I think he's motivated to show the freshman class what a Durango kid can do,” Burnett said about McManus. “He's got that fight to him right now, that he wants to kind of show off his own town and get enjoy that. So I'm excited to see he's motivated. He's ready to do some mountain bike racing and hopefully he'll get to show that off quickly here at Powderhorn.”
Burnett expects to see some tough competition this weekend at Powderhorn and at the Crested Butte Race on Sept. 13-14. After that, FLC will do the Mines Race on Sept. 20-21 before the FLC home race on Sept. 27-28.
The FLC home race weekend will include the Ride, Sip and Rip Fundraising Event at the FLC clock tower on Sept. 27. It’s a new event with the Durango Mesa closed this year and Burnett hopes it’ll engage the community and supporters.
There will be a short track rides on campus, a morning ride with some of the student-athletes and plenty of drinks and appetizers, according to Burnett.
Along with the riders, there’s plenty to celebrate with the Skyhawks coaching staff. Brittany Cowan begins her first year as head women’s coach and Chad Cheeney returns as head men’s coach. Cole Fiene returns as FLC’s gravity coach and Fiona Dougherty joins the staff as women’s gravity head coach. Dougherty is a FLC alumni and joins an all-alumni staff. Dougherty won national championships at FLC and has raced at the top level, according to Burnett.
After the FLC home race weekend, the Skyhawks go to the Road Apple Valley on Oct. 4 in Farmington before returning to Powderhorn for the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Nationals on Oct. 8-12.
“I feel pretty good about it and I feel like we have a deep team,” Burnett said. “I definitely think that's what we're going to rely on this year; a deep, committed team that's excited to race for each other and race at altitude. I think that's definitely something that motivates our local kids a lot and gets them excited … So I think they're excited to … get after it hopefully take it to Colorado Mesa.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
