That’s a wrap. The 112th edition of the Tour de France concluded in Paris on July 27, and two of the five American riders in this prestigious 21-stage race hail from our own Durango: Sepp Kuss and Quinn Simmons. It was a memorable finish, especially for Simmons, who proposed to his girlfriend, Sydney Berry, on the iconic Champs-Élysées. “I don’t think anything will ever top this,” he said. “I asked my girlfriend if she wanted to marry me and she said ‘yes’” (Herald, July 30). A fitting finale against the Arc de Triomphe backdrop – perhaps a Tour first.
Durango has long been a hotbed for cycling, and this year’s Tour once again affirmed our town’s outsized presence on the world stage. With high altitude, rugged terrain, and a passionate cycling culture spanning road, mountain, gravel, and even townie bikes, Durango has nurtured extraordinary talent. The Herald editorial board recognizes the accomplishments of Simmons and Kuss – and the community that helped raise them (Herald, July 24). It truly does take a village.
We caught up this week with Gaige Sippy, former 18-year race director of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, who noted the improbability of two riders from a town of 18,000 making it to the Tour. Sippy credited Durango’s cycling roots to local legend Ned Overend, who inspired a generation beginning in the 1980s. Overend, who won the first-ever UCI Mountain Bike World Championship in 1990 in Durango, remains a force – finishing 20th in this year’s Iron Horse at age 69. He crossed the line just 13 minutes behind winner Cobe Freeburn, 23, also of Durango.
According to Sippy, the legacy built by Overend, the Fort Lewis College cycling team, and Durango Devo has created a deep and lasting infrastructure for youth development. His son Ivan, a U23 national runner-up, is training with peers who now come to Durango for its altitude and elite competition before the mountain bike season.
And now, the world may soon return to Durango. This week, Sippy signed an agreement to host the 2030 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships – pending a final vote by the UCI Congress on Sept. 25 (Herald, Nov. 28, Dec. 5, 2024). If approved, the event would mark another historic milestone for our town.
Congratulations to the organizers, the city of Durango, Purgatory Resort, all the bike shops and organizations, bike lovers and supporters that continue to make this community a global cycling destination. The wheels keep turning – and the future keeps getting brighter.
