Making his first year on the UCI Mountain Bike Marathon Series an impactful one, local professional mountain biker Howard Grotts has been making a splash as of late.
As the 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships came to a close Sunday in Nové Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic, Grotts continued his recent momentum by taking 21st in the 17-mile Cross-Country Elite Men’s race. Grotts finished the race with a time of 1 hour, 33 minutes, 5 seconds.
“I rode alright,” said Grotts on his Twitter page. “Faster than some, but much slower than others! This game is tough. But I guess it can’t get tougher!”
Coming in first Sunday was Nino Schurter of Switzerland with a time of 1:28:20. Jaroslav Kulhavy of the Czech Republic came in second with 1:28:37. Taking third place was Julien Absalon of France with a time of 1:28:50.
Grotts, who rides for Specialized Racing, took ninth in the UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championships last weekend in Laissac, France, with a time of 4:06:23, which was his first top-10 international finish.
The top-10 finish in France and another strong finish in the Czech Republic caps off a big week for Grotts. Earlier in the week, Grotts was named to the U.S. Olympic Mountain Bike team to compete in the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil later this summer.
Grotts was the first of two Americans to cross the finish line on Sunday. Stephen Ettinger of Washington State took 50th with a time of 1:37:34.
Up next for Grotts is the Volkswagen U.S. Cycling Mountain Bike Nationals in Mammoth Mountain, California July 13-17. Grotts is the defending champion in the Cross-Country event when he won with a time of 1:42:13.8. Fellow Durango rider Todd Wells, who rides for SRAM/Troy Lee Designs/Scott, took sixth at Nationals last year with a time of 1:46:34.6. Troy Wells, who rides for Team Clif Bar, took 15th with 1:53:19.6.
Local rider Sepp Kuss had a tough weekend at the U.S. Cycling Road National Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, as he finished 42nd in the Road Race in the U23 Pro 1-2 category.
Later on in the weekend, Kuss did not finish in the Criterium race.
Geoffrey Curran edged out fellow Californian Neilson Powless to win the Road Race with a time of 4:22:16. It was a photo finish as Powless finished with the exact same time.
Fellow local Durango rider, Lucas Wardein took 26th in the Criterium race in the U23 Pro 1-2 category with a time of 1:11:07.
There was a three-way finish in the Criterium race as Curtis White of New York came out on top to beat Michael Hernandez of Florida and Nathaniel Morse of Massachusetts. All three riders finished with 1:11:03.
Rounding out the area’s local riders, Emily Jordan took fifth place in the Wheels of Thunder at Flatrock.
Jordan, who rides for Thump Cycling p/b Denver Fit Loft, recently made the jump to the Women’s Pro 1-2 category.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
