Cyclists quickly discover what courses suit their talents, and as a superb climber, Mara Abbott found a match in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic.

The Boulder native, who now lives in Buffalo, Wyoming, has won the Iron Horse women’s road race a record six times, the last coming in 2016. A competitive swimmer as a youth, Abbott started cycling while getting an economics degree at Whitman University in Walla Walla, Washington.

In 2006, Mike Engleman, USA Cycling women’s development director who had been living in the Durango area, persuaded Abbott to compete at the Iron Horse. He promoted Durango and made sure Abbott had a good experience.

“It’s a pretty easy sell,” Abbott said. “That is one of the most fun events.”

The post-race celebration in Silverton was always enjoyable – not just when she won – as the “captive audience” of participants waited for the road to reopen. And sometimes it was a family affair, a unique aspect of the Iron Horse in which racers and citizen riders can complete the same course. Her father rode once, as did her brother.

“It’s just so special,” Abbott said. “And Durango is a great town. I always looked forward not only to the race, but getting to spend a weekend in Durango. A highlight of my year was spending that time there.”

Abbott was nipped at the line in 2006 by teammate Alison Powers, but she returned to win the next four races, in 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011, and missing out in the snow-canceled race of 2008. After a break from competitive cycling, she raced the Iron Horse in 2012 while attempting a comeback. She “cracked” midway through, still placed second, then was diagnosed with shingles.

“The hard mountain stages were my favorite kind of cycling,” she said. “That was something that came so natural to me. It just made perfect sense that it was the place to express my strengths.”

Women’s events were hard to come by, so finding a stage with steep climbs was rare. She began winning mountain stages in Europe, breaking through with a stage 3 win in 2009 at the Giro Donne, also known as Giro Rosa or Giro d’Italia Femminile. She won the Giro overall in both 2010 and 2013.

As a member of the Wiggle High5 professional team, she continued to compete in Durango when it fit her international schedule. She won the Iron Horse again in 2015 and 2016, passing Ned Overend for most Iron Horse road wins.

“It’s not every day you get to take a record from Ned Overend,” she said.

Then came the 2016 Olympics in Rio, the final race of her career. She had competed at the highest level of women’s cycling for nearly a decade, but in relative obscurity. Even friends and family who followed her career often couldn’t find results. So the Olympics would be a huge stage, on a climber’s course. Abbott was ready.

Then, spectacular weirdness.

“It’s still one of those things in life that you look back on and it’s like, what the heck was that?” The race was exhilarating, heartbreaking. “It was so unnecessarily dramatic.”

For those who don’t know, here’s what happened:

After leader Annemiek van Vleuten’s horrifying head-first crash on the descent took her out and cracked three vertebrae, Abbott assumed the lead and went on a solo breakaway. Three women in a chase pack struggled to catch her at the finish, and Abbott gave it her all to hold them off. All three passed her 150 meters from the finish, robbing Abbott of a medal. It was a gripping and memorable finish. While Abbott is proud to conclude her career with an excellent race on a big stage, the pain of losing out on a medal was intense.

“It hurts so much to not have that result,” Abbott said.

There’s a great irony in putting together a long career with many wins and top results, and the race where she was dramatically nipped at the end is the one everyone watched.

“In some ways, you just have to laugh at it,” she said.

Abbott wrote about her experience for the Wall Street Journal and presented a gripping and heartfelt TEDx Talk. She now works as communications manager on climate and energy for Ceres, a Boston-based nonprofit that works with business concerns to emphasize sustainability issues. Ceres CEO Mindy Lubber recently received a “Champions of the Earth” award from the U.N.

Some of the world knows her as the woman whose heart was broken in Rio. Those in Southwest Colorado are fortunate to know her as a true champion.

6 wins

Mara Abbott (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016)

3 wins

Mary Lee Atkins (1972, 1973, 1974)

Juliana Furtado (1993, 1994, 1995)

Karen Bockel (2002, 2003, 2005)

2 wins

Margaret Nettles (1978, 1980)

Louella Holter (1979, 1981)

Jane Marshall (1985, 1986)

Darien Raistrick (1987, 1988)

Ruthie Matthes (1990, 1996)

Mindy Caruso (2012, 2017)