Todd Wells likes to stay in a groove before his biggest events. He showed he is in peak form before the national championships with another win last weekend.
Wells, 39, claimed first place in the cross country mountain bike race at the UCI Boston Rebellion ProXCT tour on Saturday. The Specialized Factory Racing team rider finished the race in 1 hour, 35 minutes, 51 seconds and blew away the competition. Dan Timmerman was second in 1:36:40, and Tom Sampson was third in 1:37:46.
Wells has lived in Durango since his college days but is originally from Kingston, New York, and he was happy to race on the east coast again and in front of his parents.
“The Boston course at Adams Farm was the roughest I have ridden in a long time,” Wells wrote on his blog. “The trails were very similar to what I learned to ride on back in (New York). They are littered with rocks, roots and it seems that you never stop turning.
“There is hardly any elevation gain, so, when it does go uphill, you really have to hit it hard to try and gain time.”
Fellow Durangoan Benjamin Sonntag, originally from Germany, finished seventh in the event in 1:38:53.
Wells said the lap was nearly 4.35 miles and was squeezed into an area less than a square mile, making for tons of turns.
He jumped out of the start and was in front with Cole Oberman heading into the first woods and rock garden section, he said.
“I jumped around him midway though the first lap and set out to open a gap. By the end of lap one I had a twenty or thirty second gap that I would hold for most of the race and build on at the end,” Wells said. “I kept the rubber side down and avoided any mechanicals to roll in for the win. I tried to push myself whenever it opened up and take it careful through the many rock gardens to preserve the tires.”
Wells had spent the majority of the season at altitude gearing up for the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships, which will be held this week at Mammoth Mountain in California at an elevation of 8,300 feet.
Wells explained that spending the weekend in Boston at sea level won’t hurt his preparation for the high-altitude championships.
“I always like to race the weekend before a big race to stay in the groove,” Wells said. “I have been at altitude so long it’s nice to get a good power workout in now and then so you don’t lose that muscle and power. I don’t feel I lose any altitude adaptation in 40 hours of being at sea level after three weeks at high elevation.
“Whether or not this all works out is (to be determined).”
Wells is the defending cross country national champion and placed second in short-track cross country a year ago. He is a three-time cross country national champion. He will look to add to his marathon national championship he already earned this year.
Wells’ weekend will begin with the short-track cross country race at 5:15 p.m. Friday. That race is scheduled for a timed 20 minutes plus three laps.
The pro men’s downhill is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday, and the cross country men’s pro race is slated for 5:30 p.m. Saturday. The men’s pro action will conclude with the enduro at 9 a.m. Sunday.
Wells arrived in Mammoth last Sunday and will be cheered on by his family, including his wife, Meg, and son, Coop.
After a strong race in Boston, Wells is ready to roll in California.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
