Howard Grotts continues to prove he is the best mountain biker in the United States.
The Durango native backed up his cross country national championship win Friday with a come-from-behind victory Saturday in the short-track cross country race at the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships at Mammoth Mountain, California.
“I honestly didn’t know what to expect (Saturday); the course is unique.” Grotts said in a post-race interview. “I’ve been doing plenty of sprint training, so that has paid off a little.”
The sprint training more than paid off for Grotts. He was in fourth place going into the final stretch of the last lap but managed to sprint past fellow Durangoan Todd Wells for the win with a time of 24 minutes, 48.1 seconds. Wells crossed the line second in 24:50.1.
It was Grotts, Russell Finsterwald, Keegan Swenson and Wells who jumped out in the lead group. Between the four riders, each spent time leading with Wells commanding the early segment.
With Finsterwald, Swenson and Wells in front on the last stretch, Grotts came out of nowhere to speed by and win the race.
“I fortunately was able to sneak in front of Todd,” Grotts said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “I honestly didn’t know what everyone else had left in the tank. I must have had a little bit more, which is a pretty nice feeling after a hard race. To come away with a double win is pretty nice.”
Finsterwald took third in 24:50.2, while Swenson took fourth in 24:51.4.
Durangoan Stephan Davoust placed ninth in 25:44.3 while Troy Wells finished 10th in 25:47.5. Payson McElveen, a recent Fort Lewis graduate, took 12th in 26:28.3. Durango’s Levi Kurlander finished 18th, and another Durangoan Cody Cupp was 20th.
Friday’s cross country win was the second in a row for Grotts at only the age of 23. He will be the lone men’s mountain biker to represent the United States at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympic Games in August.
“There’s more nerves coming into that race than any other race this season,” Grotts said about the Olympics. “I’ll have to prepare the best I can and enjoy the experience.”
While Grotts remains the best around, it was an excellent week overall for Durango mountain bikers of all ages.
Christopher Blevins won another national title Friday in the Cross Country Men’s Junior 17-18 Category 1 race.
DEVO’s Quinn Simmons took home two medals after winning the title in the short-track cross county junior event and a third-place finish in the cross country men’s junior 15-16 competition. Keiran Eagen placed 17th in Saturday’s short track event, and Lucas Robbins was 21st.
In the men’s 17-18 downhill, DEVO’s Shane Ellis also finished 21st.
University of Colorado-Boulder and former DEVO rider Emily Schaldach finished fourth in Friday’s cross country U23 women’s race with a time of 1:33:06, and Ellen Campbell was fifth (1:33:56). DEVO’s Katja Freeburn took home a bronze medal in the women’s 17-18 Category 1 race, and Camryn Sippy placed 10th.
In the 15-16 women’s group, Madeline Robbins finished fourth, while Sadie Schafer crossed in ninth.
Duragoan Sarah Tescher took third place in the Enduro Women Master 40-49 category with a time of 51.53.7 seconds.
Also competing on the last day of Nationals was Shane Ellis who took 18th in the Enduro Men’s Junior 15-18 category with a time of 37:35.9.
Both Ellis and Tescher ride for Durango DEVO.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
