Wells, Asplund, win 43rd IHBC

By Herald Staff Report

Saturday, May 24, 2014 2:18 AM Updated Saturday, May. 24, 2014 4:01 AM

Troy Wells and Ned Overend finish 1-2, while Asplund makes it an all-Durango championship

Troy Wells crosses the finish line on Saturday at Durango Mountain Resort.

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald

Marissa Asplund crosses the finish line on Saturday at Durango Mountain Resort.

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald

Ned Overend, right, and Wells sprint to the finish line on Saturday at Durango Mountain Resort.

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald

Pro men and women leave the start line in Durango.

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald

Troy Wells crosses the finish line, winning the 2014 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic road race with Ned Overend behind him, placing second at Durango Mountain Resort on Saturday morning.

JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald

Pro men and women leave the start line in Durango. STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald

Gary Derck, CEO of Durango Mountain Resort, directs riders to the plaza area at DMR after they finished the race at DMR on Saturday morning. JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald

Ned Overend, right, and Wells sprint to the finish line on Saturday at Durango Mountain Resort. JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald

Troy Wells crosses the finish line to win the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic mens road race with Ned Overend coming in second place at Durango Mountain Resort on Saturday morning. JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald

Troy Wells crosses the finish line on Saturday at Durango Mountain Resort. STEVE LEWIS/Durango Heral

A late Friday afternoon snow storm helped race officials decide to shorten the Iron Horse Bicycle Race. JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald

Iron Horse Bicycle Classic race fans cheer on riders as they make their way up the hill towards the finish line at Durango Mountain Resort on Saturday morning. JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald

Riders in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic cross the finish line and make their way to the plaza at Durango Mountain Resort on Saturday morning. JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald

Iron Horse Bicycle Classic race fans cheer on riders as they make their way up the hill towards the finish line at Durango Mountain Resort on Saturday morning. JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald

Riders in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic cross the finish line and make their way to the plaza at Durango Mountain Resort on Saturday morning. JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald

Riders in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic make their way up the hill towards the finish line at Durango Mountain Resort on Saturday morning. JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald

Iron Horse Bicycle Classic race fans from left, Margaret Pulley, Sebastian Gibson, Shelby Creasha, and Heather Benton, cheer on riders as they make their way up the hill towards the finish line at Durango Mountain Resort on Saturday morning. JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald

Riders in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic cross the finish line and make their way to the plaza at Durango Mountain Resort on Saturday morning. JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Brianne Marshall, who competed in the pro womens division, helps a friend with her number before the start of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic on Saturday morning in Durango.

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - The Iron Horse Bicycle Classic gets under way on Saturday morning in Durango.

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Spencer Compton takes an early lead during the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic on Saturday morning in Durango.

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Riders in the pro mens and pro womens divisions head up U.S. Highway 550 during the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic on Saturday morning.

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Lots of cycling fans stationed themselves along U.S. Highway 550 on Saturday morning to cheer on the riders in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic.

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Cycling fans waiting along U.S. Highway 550 on Saturday morning cheer on the riders in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic.

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Ivie Crawford and other riders in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic head up U.S. Highway 550 on Saturday morning.

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Ivie Crawford, far left in white, and Marisa Asplund, left, and other riders in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic cross over Hermosa Creek on Saturday morning.

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Troy Wells, right, begins to pull ahead of Gage Hecht, center, and Ned Overend, left, during the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic on Saturday morning in the Animas Valley.

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald -Troy Wells checks on the competition while cycling through the Animas Valley during the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic on Saturday morning.

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - A few riders who broke away from the peloton head up U.S. Highway 550 during the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic on Saturday morning.

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Troy Wells, left, and Ned Overend sprint to the finish of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic on Saturday morning at Durango Mountain Resort.

STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Marisa Asplund was the first woman to cross the finish line during the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic on Saturday morning at Durango Mountain Resort.

One year ago, nobody knew who Kip Taylor was.

So, the peloton let the little-known cyclist race away from the pack.

Taylor won the 42nd Iron Horse Bicycle Classic in 2013.

This year, they know who Kip Taylor is, and they weren’t about to let the New Mexico rider pull away without a fight.

Troy Wells, with some help from fellow Durangoans and Specialized teammates Ned Overend and older brother Todd Wells, won the 43rd Iron Horse Bicycle Classic in 2014 in 1 hour, 19 minutes, 13 seconds. He beat IHBC record-holder Overend by a wheel’s length to the finish.

Wells was first to the abbreviated finish line at Durango Mountain Resort in Saturday’s signature road race, while Overend’s dash for a sixth title just fell short.

The rest of the pack, including Taylor and Todd Wells, finished close behind.

Marisa Asplund, thrice a runner-up to Mara Abbott’s women’s record four road race titles, finally earned a victory without Abbott in the field. The Durangoan won the women’s race with an unofficial time of 1 hour, 26 minutes, 52 minutes. She was followed by Sheena Carswell in 1:27.01 and Maria Santiago in 1:33.09.

The race was shortened from its original 47 miles to Silverton to 27 to DMR when snow started falling on the passes Friday night. Rather than take any unnecessary risks, race organizers cut the event in half Friday night, marking the second time in the Classic’s 43-year history that the finish line wasn’t in Silverton but rather at the ski resort.

The race has been canceled once because of snow.

heraldsports@durangoherald.com