The Pagosa Springs Mountain Bike Team (DUST 2) had its first race of the season in Leadville, Colo., on Aug. 29.
The Cloud City Challenge being at 10,000 feet elevation makes it one of the harder courses.
The course has a 6.2-mile loop and 620 feet of climbing. Rocky descents and steep road climbs distinguish Leadville from other races.
Most athletes completed two laps, totaling 12.4 miles, while varsity riders completed three laps, totaling 18.6 miles.
At Leadville most families camp near the race venue, making it even more fun. Sitting around the campfire with your team telling stories is a great way to start off the weekend. The theme for the race was tattoos. The team captains, Adelyn Hittle and Justin Sewell, made custom tattoos with coaches’ faces on them to show spirit.
The first to race was the junior varsity (JV) boys.
Racers Jackson Chaney, Aaron Sowle, Heath Leentjes, Henley Pickering, Van Halterman, John Grimes and River Wilson make up the category for Pagosa.
In the cool morning air the boys started their race. Chaney finished 12th with a time of 1 hour, four minutes and 34 seconds. Sowle finished 20th with a time of 1:07:00, Leentjes finished 52nd with a time of 1:15:42, Grimes finished 62nd with a time of 1:18:58, Pickering finished 72nd with a time of 1:23:49, Halterman finished 76th with a time of 1:26:32, and Wilson finished 84th with a time of 1:34:05.
After the JV boys was varsity.
The team now has two riders, Sewell and Hittle.
Sewell finished 15th with a time of 1:32:50 in the varsity boys’ category. Hittle finished sixth with a time of 1:41:36 in the varsity girls’ category.
Hittle also competed in the Yeti Skills course and won the female category for the day.
Up next were Amon Phillips, Ward Halterman, Drake Anderson and Max Roukema in the sophomore boys’ category.
Phillips finished 23rd in with a time of 1:10:06. Ward Halterman finished 24th, less than a second behind Phillips, with a time of 1:10:07. Anderson finished 43rd with a time of 1:19:45, and, unfortunately, Roukema was not feeling well and did not complete the race.
Next was the JV and sophomore girls.
Gianna Shaeffer was the only girl to race in the JV category. Shaeffer got fifth with a time of 1:13:14, earning a spot on the podium.
Quinn Howard was also the only girl in her category of sophomore girls. Howard got ninth with a time of 1:19:57, rounding out Pagosa’s female racers for the day.
To finish off the day, Elias Gorman and Rogan Almon raced in the freshman boys’ category.
In the first race of the freshman category, the racers start in groups of four in an effort to spread out riders because of varying skill levels. Gorman finished 17th with a time of 1:12:47, and Almon finished 29th with a time of 1:23:09.
Points-wise, Hittle led the team with 531 points, followed closely by Shaeffer with 504. Sewell scored 471 points, with Chaney netting 454. Howard added 434 points, with Sowle close behind at 410. Gorman scored 385, and Phillips finished with 356. Ward Halterman scored 352, and, lastly, Almon scored 332 points. The team took seventh in our division with 4,229 points overall.
Even with the cold and elevation, DUST 2 had a great time at the Cloud City Challenge at Leadville. Most riders met and exceeded their goals for the race and are excited to race at Eagle in two weeks.
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