Adding yet another awesome race to their resume, the Pagosa Springs DUST2 Cycling Team competed in Glenwood Springs, Colo., on Saturday, Sept. 26.
This was the third race of the season for the team, and 15 athletes represented DUST2 in the race.
With the rainy weather preventing the team from training outside much in the weeks leading up to the race, the athletes were eager to get out and ride some trails.
Each lap of the course was 4.3 miles long with 504 feet of climbing. Riders completed three laps of the course with the exception of varsity riders, who completed four laps. This format was new to the riders considering the fact that the race is usually two laps, or three for varsity, of a longer course. The course included thrilling bermed downhills, steady climbs and technical rocks, adding variety and excitement to the race course.
The theme of the race was disco, so the team wore their best 1970’s attire. Walking around the venue, you could spot afros, sparkly outfits, bell bottoms and groovy glasses. The team also added to the excitement by playing disco music at the pit zone.
The race morning started bright and early with the sophomore boys’ category at 8:30 a.m.
This category had four DUST2 athletes in it. Ward Halterman came in first for the team with a time of one hour, 12 minutes, placing 22nd out of 60 participants and earning 360 points for the team.
The next Pagosa athlete to cross the line was Drake Anderson, placing 26th with a time of 1:14 and scoring 344 points. Shortly after with a time of 1:16, Amon Phillips finished in 35th place, contributing 314 points. Max Roukema was next with a time of 1:24, placing 48th and adding 288 points for the team.
The next category to race was the junior varsity and sophomore girls.
Gianna Shaeffer (junior) was the only athlete from Pagosa Springs to compete in the JV girls’ category. Shaeffer completed the race with a time of 1:15, and she scored sixth out of 26 riders, contributing 496 points to the team total. Quinn Howard was the only sophomore girl to race for Pagosa. She placed 12th out of 25 riders with a time of 1:21 and scored 414 points for the team.
Next up to race was the JV boys’ category. This is the largest category, with 96 racers and five DUST2 athletes.
The first JV boy to finish for Pagosa was Jackson Chaney (senior, legacy), who completed the three laps in 1:09, scoring 31st and contributing 366 points. Next to ride across the line was Aaron Sowle (senior, legacy). Sowle finished 32nd with a time of 1:09 and earned 363 points. After, came John Grimes (junior), completing the race in 1:17, earning 60th place and 316 points. Henley Pickering (junior) came in shortly after with a time of 1:20, placing 68th and contributing 308 points. River Wilson finished next with a time of 1:33, scoring 289 points and placing 87th.
The varsity category was up next, with two racers from Pagosa Springs. Justin Sewell (senior, legacy) is the team’s only varsity boy. Sewell finished his four laps in one hour, 22 minutes, placing 18th out of 26 riders and adding 455 points to the team total. The team’s only varsity girl, Adelyn Hittle (senior, legacy), completed her four laps with a time of 1:30, placed seventh out of 13 riders, and contributed 523 points.
To finish off the amazing day of racing, the freshmen boys’ category raced next.
Elias Gorman crossed the line in 19th place with a time of 1:15 and gave the team 375 points. Next up was Rogan Almon, who finished in 1:30, contributed 34 points to the team total and placed 35th out of 46 racers.
At the end of the day, the team came home with 4,012 points in total, earning sixth place for their division.
Despite the changes in weather and the course format, the team brought their best performance to the Spring Valley Scramble in Glenwood Springs. The team is ready to continue training for their fourth race in two weeks in Nathrop, Colo.
>