Howard Grotts is once again the USA Mountain Bike Cross-Country champion.
Grotts was all alone as he cruised passed the finish line at the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championship at Mammoth Mountain, California, to claim the 2016 title in the Men’s Pro 1-2 category for the second year in a row.
The Durango native is amidst an incredible 2016 season, making this win his sixth overall victory of the year.
Park City’s Keegan Swenson out-sprinted Russell Finsterwald for second place.
Full results and times were unavailable.
“It was super tough. Keegan (Swenson) and I went out unbelievably hard and I think we both kind of suffered from it,” said Grotts after the race. “It was just a matter of who can hold on and time trial the best after that. I think our first lap was probably a minute faster than any other lap. But luckily, I held it together and it was just a solid ride.”
Grotts made his pro debut last year at this very same event and course.
Both Grotts and Swenson began in front, leaving a gap between them and the rest of the racers. When Swenson began to drop back, Grotts turned on the gas and separated himself from the rest of the pack. From then on, it became a time trial for Grotts who remained on his own for the rest of the race.
“It’s obviously nice to repeat,” said Grotts. “I get to wear the national champion jersey for another year. Today I felt more pressure than last year. Russell and Keegan are stronger, especially Russell.”
At 8,500 feet, the course at Mammoth Mountain was exactly the same as last year. The weather was at a cool mid-70s, but since it hadn’t rained in sometime, the dirt was dusty. The course location changes every two years, and with this being the second year at Mammoth, next year will be in West Virginia.
Todd Wells had an eventful day. Wells overcame a flat tire on his second lap, but made up enough time to finish fourth overall. To help riders out, there are tech-zones to help with flats and broken parts. After his flat, Wells pulled into a tech-zone and tried to pump his tire up with a CO2 cartridge, but when that didn’t work, he swapped out for a whole new tire.
The whole ordeal cost Wells about 90 seconds, but the veteran rider wasn’t to be counted out.
“It wasn’t so much that I made up time, the gap stayed close,” said Wells. “It’s not that I went faster, but they slowed down and I came back.”
Wells admitted that he should have swapped out his tire at first rather than trying to re pump with a CO2 cartridge. He added that he still wouldn’t have caught Grotts.
“Howard is so good on this course,” said Wells. “It would have taken a special day to fight with Howie in Mammoth. It wasn’t a bad day, you never know how things will play out.”
Nationals continues Saturday with the Cross-Country Short Track National Championships, which will play into Wells’ strengths.
“It’ll be a better course for me,” said Wells. “There’s not much climbing and I’m a power guy. I’m pretty good on the second day, but you never know with all these riders riding really strong. We will have to wait and see.”
Durango’s Christopher Blevins won his seventh consecutive national championship Friday morning at USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships at Mammoth Mountain, California.
After winning the 2015 Cross-Country Men Junior 17-18 Category 1-2 title as a 17-year-old, the 2016 Durango High School graduate blew past the other 88 riders Friday and asserted himself once again as the top mountain bike rider in his age group. His time of 1:11:09 was just under a minute better than second place rider Connor Patten of Park City, Utah.
“It was a hard course, always pitching up, and the elevation played a big role,” Blevins said in an interview after the win. “Connor Patten had a great ride and it was tough the whole time.”
The win is another in what has been an incredible 2016 already for the Durango prodigy. He’s now won six races this year including a UCI Junior Series Cross Country race in Germany and a road cycling win at the Peace Race in the Czech Republic before adding another national title to a very crowded trophy case. He also has a win in Missoula, Montana and, with Friday’s win, five titles this year in California.
Blevins also nearly won the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic’s coveted Coca-Cola Road Race this year. One day after graduating high school, he was in a five-rider sprint in the final meters before an ugly crash sent him to the pavement just shy of the finish line.
Obviously, it hasn’t slowed him down, and there’s plenty more to be expected in the coming years from one of Durango’s most promising athletes.
Durango was well-represented in a multitude of categories Friday at nationals. Behind Blevins in the 17-18 age group was DEVO’s Keiran Eagen, who finished ninth with a time of 1:17:03. Durango’s Lucas Robbins was 19th after posting a time of 1:19.42 and Austin Munroe finished 79th.
In the Cross-Country Men Junior 15-16 race, Quinn Simmons’ 1:16:53 was good enough for third place and a spot on the podium. DEVO had another third-place finish as Katja Freeburn finished third in the 17-18 Women’s Cross-Country Category 1/2 race. Durango also had a nice showing from Fort Lewis College team rider Levi Kurlander who finished fifth in the Cross-Country Men’s U23 race with a time of 1:32:27. Cody Cupp (1:39:49) finished 22nd and FLC’s Stephan Davoust’s 1:45:26 time was 34th.
heraldsports@ durangoherald.com
