Mara Abbott won her second race in two days and her second consecutive Iron Horse Bicycle Classic pro women’s circuit race Sunday in Durango.
Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Mara Abbott finished five minutes ahead of her closest competitor in Sunday’s pro women’s circuit race.
Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Marisa Rorabaugh, front, Emily Jordan, center, and Mindy Caruso, compete in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic women’s pro circuit race Sunday in Durango.
Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Riders compete in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic men’s-pro circuit race in Durango on Sunday. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Riders close in on the finish line in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic women’s-pro circuit race in Durango on Sunday. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Riders compete in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic men’s-pro circuit race in Durango on Sunday. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
A riders leans into a turn while competing in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic men’s-pro circuit race in Durango on Sunday. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Marisa Rorabaugh, front, Emily Jordan, center, and Mindy Caruso, compete in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic women’s-pro circuit race in Durango on Sunday. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Emily Jordan competes in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic women’s-pro circuit race in Durango on Sunday. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Fans cheer on riders during the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic women’s-pro circuit race in Durango on Sunday. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Riders take off at the start of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic men’s-pro circuit race in Durango on Sunday. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Cormac McGeough crosses the finish line winning the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic men’s-pro circuit race in Durango on Sunday. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Mara Abbott crosses the finish line winning the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic women’s-pro circuit race in Durango on Sunday. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
Mara Abbott competes in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic women’s-pro circuit race in Durango on Sunday. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald
It didn’t matter how many riders were entered in Sunday’s Women’s Pro/Open Morehart-Murphy Subaru Circuit Race. With Mara Abbott in the field, the real race was for second place.
When it was time for the professionals to start, a surprisingly small group of four riders lined up at the start line. Abbott took the lead right away after beating the others up the initial incline and was out of sight before the others reached top speed. They didn’t see her again until the 4½-mile, four-lap race through downtown Durango and the Fort Lewis College campus was over.
“These are really hard courses, and there’s so much good competition here,” Abbott said. “It’s really something I love to be a part of. I was surprised at the low turnouts of our race and the men’s circuit race, too, but I love this community and I’m always honored to be here.”
Abbott’s time of 53 minutes, 26 seconds was more than five minutes better than the rest of the field. The sprint for second place was thrilling, as the other riders were bunched up the entire race.
Boulder’s Marisa Rorabaugh was second-fastest to the line and won the big sprint. Her time of 58:36.0 beat third place Mindy Caruso (58:36.5) by half of a second. Emily Jordan finished in 58:37.2 for fourth place.
“It was actually really cool to come and race with Mara Abbott,” Rorabaugh said. “She’s top caliber and, hey, if the race goes uphill, you just watch Mara go.”
With Abbott long gone, Rorabaugh and the others were bunched up nearly the entire race. The finish for second place was so close that Caruso was was even announced as the second-place winner as the riders gathered at the podium. Upon later review, however, Rorabaugh was confirmed as yet another runner-up to Iron Horse legend Mara Abbott.
“I’ve done well here, but the Iron Horse is nobody’s show,” Abbott said. “For me, it’s just a place where I’m really happy to compete.”
Abbott will try to go three-for-three Monday morning in the weekend’s final event, the BP Time Trial.
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