The 53rd Iron Horse Bicycle Classic was nearly a week ago. Therefore, it’s a good time to reflect on how things went and what the next few years of the IHBC could be like.
There is no one better to break it all down than IHBC Race Director Ian Burnett.
“We got super fortunate with the weather, number one,” he said. “That was a pretty amazing weekend of weather. But overall, the weekend was great and went as planned. There were a couple of little hiccups here and there, but all things that we could face in the moment. We were really pleased about how it went, and it seemed like there was great feedback from the community.”
The main attraction for the 2025 IHBC was the return to racing in downtown. Mountain biking brought out plenty of fans with the start and finish in Buckley Park and the iconic run through Steamworks Brewing Co., returning for the first time in six years.
Burnett had a good feeling about Steamworks after talking with community members. He said the weather helped their cause and Skywalker Construction did a good job designing the ramp into Steamworks and that made it accessible and fun.
Riders told Burnett that they felt the mountain bike race would be pretty basic when they were riding the course pre-race. But, when it came to race time, the energy around Steamworks and throughout the community was fantastic, making the race dynamic and fun for the riders.
The plan is for the IHBC to have that downtown Durango presence for the next few years until the Durango Mesa Park project is complete, then IHBC may move some larger events up there.
The Durango Mesa Park project includes building a bike park, BMX race facility, dual slalom and downhill areas on 1,800 acres of land above Durango. The infrastructure needs to be completed up there so it can be a venue for the IHBC to potentially move events away from downtown.
Burnett said the goal is to keep the event schedule pretty consistent over the next few years, so that people from outside Durango can go home, tell their buddies and spread the good word.
However, there are always some things to improve. Burnett said they could’ve put some volunteers into different spots and had more volunteers on the courses as the mountain bike race returned to downtown. Burnett and his staff members recognize that they can make a few tweaks to make the mountain bike course a little more spectator-friendly.
“A lot of the fun things have made the Iron Horse pretty spectacular, from the straight rhythm that we did in front of Ninth Street and Main,” he said. “A lot of the exhibition things seem to be crowd favorite things that draw people in and just make it fun watching the high level of talent and Durango. This year, we definitely competed with a lot of other large races going on throughout that weekend, which took away from us a little bit, but our core and our community really came through.”
Burnett said exhibition events like the BMX straight rhythm at the 2018 IHBC could be replicated, but it would depend on what other big races were going on around the country at the same time. Other iterations, like a downhill, short track or a roost master event, have been discussed, but would also depend on the other big races going on and how many pros would get pulled away to other races.
A lot with the IHBC could change if Durango’s bid to host the UCI Mountain Bike World Championship in 2030 is approved. The decision about whether Durango gets the bid is expected to happen in June. If Durango’s bid is approved, then it will likely host a national mountain bike competition in 2028 and a UCI Mountain Bike World Cup event in 2029.
The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships will bring a lot of momentum to Durango and the IHBC, Burnett said. It will show world-renowned riders that there will be high-level racing in Durango and that should bring in some more sponsors, riders and energy from the community to IHBC.
Something that can always be improved is the purse for competitors in the IHBC races. Burnett is proud that the IHBC pays out equally to the men’s and women’s fields across the weekend. He’s very thankful for the local sponsors and knows the prize money draws the big names and draws the community.
“We’ve had awesome sponsors that have supported us for years, family-type businesses in town,” he said. “To get that sponsorship money to pay the athletes a good prize check is definitely to get national name brand sponsors and national outreach. To have some brand names that are associated, that become titles or event titles, those kinds of things would help draw the people.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
