Another year of a Montezuma County tradition closed out with plenty of excitement and fanfare on Saturday, as roughly 1,000 riders navigated the afternoon showers at Phil’s World trail system to post high-flying performances.
While the children’s races – which featured competitors 12 and under – zipped around the Montezuma County Fairground trails, the adult and adolescent races took full flight around the 16.4-mile loop on trails like Lemonhead and Stinking Springs, which are local favorites.
In the solo competitions, Wesley Sandoval of Leadville completed seven laps in 10 hours, 41 minutes, as he edged out Durango’s Kirby Bryant by just over a minute for the overall men’s title. Sandoval raced the most laps and the fastest time.
Martin Sandoval, also of Leadville, took third with seven laps in just over 11 hours.
Ignacio’s Cassidy Berry won the women’s solo competition, completing six laps in 11 hours, nine minutes. Lakewood’s Becky Edmiston was the other women’s solo competitor to complete six laps. Jamie Elkins of Cortez finished third, completing five laps in nine hours, 38 minutes.
In the “Geezer” field, Draper, Utah’s Matt Crowley took care of seven laps in just over 11 hours, while Salt Lake City’s Chris Hull completed six laps in 11 hours, 21 minutes. In the single-speed competition, Poncha Springs’ Kyle Quinn completed seven laps in just over 12 hours, and he was the only racer in the field to make the seventh circuit. Millard Allen of Draper took second, while Fruita’s Keith Benedetto finished third.
The most laps completed on the day came in the team competitions, where the 3-4 Male field saw Flow4Graham win their classification with nine laps completed in 11 hours, 22 minutes, topping HireLATAM by just under half an hour to complete the nine circuits.
In the 3-4 Female group, We Aim to Please and the Dirty Mamas both raced eight laps, with the former edging the latter by 24 minutes for the top podium spot. The 3-4 Co-Ed Team G won its class with eight laps in 11 hours, 40 minutes, while the Denim Dentists crossed nine minutes later.
In the 3-4 Family class, Racing for my Mom raced eight laps in 11 hours, 24 minutes, just two minutes better than the Crockett Rockets.
The 3-4 Geezer race had the tightest finish, however. Road House Market topped Pony Express by a single second after eight laps and 11 hours and 38 minutes of racing. Both teams boasted participants primarily from Montezuma and La Plata Counties.
In the Under-19 Grommet Co-Ed division, The Core 4 from Leadville raced eight laps in 11 hours, 54 minutes, while Shift Happens crossed 17 minutes later. In the Grommet Female division, Durango’s BERT team took first in 11 hours, 55 minutes, while the Dirt Divas from Utah placed second.
The top Grommet Male division team came from Utah, as Alta Alum-Almost raced eight laps in 11 hours, 29 minutes. Gangster Bicicleta took second.
Duo Male team Good Vibes from Salt Lake City earned the lone nine-lap title in the pair competitions, while Like Behind Bars took second. Duo Female Team Spanky won its group with seven laps in just over 12 hours, and the Duo Co-Ed pair Mayan Apocalypses took first with eight laps in 11 hours, 35 minutes. In the Duo Geezer race, Vintage Velocity won with eight laps in 11 hours, 40 minutes.
