The Pagosa Springs Mountain Bike Team (DUST2) had its second race of the season in Eagle, Colo., on Sept. 6.
The course is a 6-mile out-and-back loop with a long grassy start and a fun downhill corkscrew down to the finish. The course has 600 feet of tight switchback climbing per lap, and a lot of smooth berms and great features that make Eagle one of the athletes’ favorite races.
Most athletes have to complete two laps totaling 12 miles, while varsity athletes complete three laps for a total of 18 miles.
On other courses, after the start, riders are usually not visible until a lap through, but on this course the riders are visible during a long start and again on the long downhill corkscrew through to the end. This makes it great for spectators to see how the riders are doing, and for taking pictures.
Rainstorms kept the course from being as dusty as years past — one of the main complaints from the riders about the course in past years.
The first athletes to race were Kaylee Hensle, Gianna Shaeffer and Quinn Howard in the JV, sophomore, and freshmen categories.
The girls started at 8:30 a.m., 8:35 a.m. and 8:40 a.m. All three girls’ categories were stopped on course because of a bad wreck that needed medical attention.
Hensle finished 23rd in JV with a time of 1:40:32. Shaeffer finished sixth in the sophomore girls’ division with a time of 1:34:48. And, Howard finished 13th in the freshman girls’ division with a time of 1:39:11. The girls’ times reflect the added time they were stopped on course because of the crash. All later races were pushed back 30 minutes.
Next was the JV boys. Eric Smith, Justin Sewell, Aaron Sowle, Jackson Chaney, Van Halterman and Heath Leentjes are all in the JV boy category.
The boys started at 10:30 a.m. Smith finished seventh with a time of 53:37, Sewell finished 11th with a time of 54:46, Sowle finished 34th with a time of 57:35, Chaney finished 38th with a time of 58:09, Halterman finished 67th with a time of 1:02:32, and Leentjes finished 72nd with a time of 1:03:28, improving 44 positions. The category has more than 100 athletes competing and is one of the most difficult to compete in.
After the JV boys was varsity. The team has two varsity athletes, Weston Philips and Adelyn Hittle. The varsity boys started at 11:50 a.m., and the girls at 11:55 a.m. Philips finished 27th with a time of 1:24:10 in the varsity boys’ category. Hittle finished 11th with a time of 1:34:43 in the varsity girls’ category.
It is very difficult to earn a spot on the varsity team. These riders have to complete a third lap, which turns these into very grueling races.
After lunch was the freshmen boys’ race. Amon Philips, Ward Halterman, Max Roukema and Drake Anderson raced in the category. The freshmen started at 1:35 p.m. The later start meant the boys were dealing with the heat and dust of the afternoon.
Ward Halterman finished 37th with a time of 1:04:33 and Amon Philips finished 38th with a time of 1:04:46 — a very short gap between the two of them. Roukema finished 39th with a time of 1:05:22 — also very close. Anderson finished 63rd with a time of 1:23:28, finishing off all our racers for the day.
Points wise, Hittle led the team with 495 points, followed closely by Smith with 488. Sewell scored 460 points, just ahead of Shaeffer, who tallied 456. Weston Philips earned 415 points, while Howard contributed 408. Hensle added 396 points, with Sowle close behind at 357. Chaney scored 346, and Van Halterman finished with 309. Ward Halterman and Amon Philips scored nearly the same, with 308 and 306 points, while Leentjes and Roukema both achieved 304. Notably, Leentjes, Roukema, Amon Philips and Ward Halterman scored within four points of each other. Lastly, Anderson scored 273 points.
The team placed sixth in our division with 4,130 points overall, putting our season total at 8,123.
Even though there was some ominous weather and minor crashes, DUST2 had a great time at the Haymaker Classic in Eagle. Most riders met and exceeded their goals for the race and are excited to race at Leadville in two weeks.
>