The Pagosa Springs Mountain Bike Team (DUST2) had its third race of the season in Leadville, Colo., on Sept. 21.
The Cloud City Challenge being at 10,000 feet in elevation with a 6.2-mile loop and 620 feet of climbing, makes it one of the harder races. 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 first to race was the sophomore boys. Racers John Grimes and River Wilson make up the category for Pagosa. Trying not to freeze, the boys started at 8:30 a.m. Grimes finished 46th with a time of 1:27:41. Grimes was just coming off an injury, so had an impressive race for only having about a week of riding under his belt. Closely behind, Wilson finished 48th with a time of 1:31:19. Great job, guys.
Up next were Kaylee Hensle, Gianna Shaeffer and Quinn Howard in the JV, sophomore and freshmen categories. Hensle finished 24th in JV with a time of 1:27:43. Shaeffer finished fifth in sophomore girls with a time of 1:12:46, earning a spot on the podium. And, Howard finished 10th in freshmen girls with a time of 1:18:21.
Next were the JV boys. Justin Sewell, Aaron Sowle, Jackson Chaney, Van Halterman and Heath Leentjes are all in the JV boy category, making it DUST2’s largest category.
Sewell finished 11th with a time of 1:00:26, Chaney finished 37th with a time of 1:04:31, Sowle finished 46th with a time of 1:06:32, Halterman finished 79th with a time of 1:13:33 and Leentjes finished 100th with a time of 1:25:10.
After the JV boys was varsity. The team now has three riders. Weston Philips, Adelyn Hittle and, now, Eric Smith. Smith moved up from JV this race, which was no easy task.
Philips finished 24th with a time of 1:32:53, along with Smith finishing 27th with a time of 1:33:38 in the varsity boys’ category. Hittle finished 10th with a time of 1:41:21 in the varsity girls’ category.
After lunch was the freshmen boys’ race. Amon Philips, Ward Halterman, Max Roukema and Drake Anderson raced in the category. The later start meant the boys were getting the warmest weather of the day.
Amon Philips finished 34th, with a time of 1:11:47, and Roukema finished 38th with a time of 1:12:20 — a very short gap between the two of them. Ward Halterman finished 45th with a time of 1:17:54. Anderson finished 66th with a time of 1:52:20, finishing off all our racers for the day.
In terms of points, Hittle led the team with 502 points, followed closely by Shaeffer with 464. Sewell scored 460 points, with Weston Philips and Howard tying at 427. Smith added 415 points, with Hensle close behind at 392. Chaney scored 348, and Sowle finished with 330. Amon Philips and Roukema scored nearly the same, with 317 and 306 points; Van Halterman scored 297 and Ward Halterman scored 292. Grimes and Wilson, with only two points between them, scored 290 and 288. Leentjes scored 276 and, lastly, Anderson scored 270 points.
The team placed fifth in our division with 4,082 points overall, putting our season total at 12,205.
Even with the cold and elevation, DUST2 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 Nathrop in two weeks.
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