The Iron Horse Road Race isn’t until Saturday morning but the weekend full of exciting events kicked off on Friday afternoon with the inaugural Hill Climb Challenge.

Riders took off from East 8th Avenue and peddled 0.63 miles as fast as they could up 238 feet of the hardest part of the Fort Lewis College front hill to the finish.

“It turned out really well,” Iron Horse Race Director Ian Burnett said. “We got really great feedback from the riders, seeing the people come out to watch. It put us in a good spot and it’s a good way to get our feet wet and see what it's all about. Trying a new event is always a challenge, but we're excited to be able to build on it and involve the community more.”

From 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., riders had the chance to qualify for the top 16 times in both the men’s and women’s fields. The eight-person finals for men and women took place after 6:30 p.m.

The women’s final was first and Kira Payer crossed the line to win followed by Erin Osborne in second and Michaela Thompson in third. Riley Huston was fourth and Sarah Sullivan finished fifth.

“It was interesting to see it was on the schedule this year,” Thompson said about the Hill Climb. “There was a short track last year. It's got the same vibe in terms of just having a bunch of the community come out together and watch and it's a short area. It's super fun and it adds some excitement to kick off the weekend.”

Thompson finished third despite riding in regular clothing because she didn’t think she would ride but changed her mind at the last minute. She found the climb more challenging than she expected with the steep start and the corner afterward.

The Skyhawks junior will be in the Women Pro/Open category of the road race tomorrow. It’s Thompson’s third Iron Horse road race and after finishing third last year, Thompson hopes to stay with the top pack.

“It's super special because Durango has its own super special biking community,” Thompson said about the Iron Horse. “This race along with Durango Derby, which last year was the first year, it really brings our community together and brings a lot of people from outside our community together. It shows what Durango holds in terms of trails, roads and community.”

The final race of the night was the men’s final which FLC junior Toby Hassett won with ease. Beckett Ledger finished second and Guy Leshem was third. Caleb Classen was fourth and Nate Schneider was fifth.

“It was super fun,” Hassett said. “I've never done a race like this before. The heats are really fun because it's like a ton of little races which is fun for me with a bunch of starts and a bunch of finishes. It’s a bit more unique than a waiting game, waiting game and just one winning attack on a day.”

Hassett, a mountain biker rider for FLC, thought the races were super fun, hard and entertaining with more tactics than he expected.

The FLC junior is racing in both the road race on Saturday and the mountain bike race on Sunday. Hassett wants to pace himself in the road race better than he did last year and he wants to get a podium in the mountain bike race on Sunday.

Hassett enjoys the community aspect of the road race and how his friends and family can come out and watch him.

Burnett and the Iron Horse staff chose East 8th Avenue because of its legendary status in town and the accessibility for fans.

The change from a short track in past years to the Hill Climb Challenge happened because Burnett and the Iron Horse staff wanted to do something more accessible. The short track was invite only whereas the Hill Climb Challenge was open to anyone to participate.

“It welcomes people,” Burnett said about the Hill Climb Challenge. “A lot of people show up early and they’re here. They want something to get a little energy out even if they're just going to come watch. So it's an important thing for that and then for our bigger cycling community.”

Individual rider times were unavailable at the time this article was published.

bkelly@durangoherald.com