Durango mountain biker Bailey Cioppa is in a big year of her budding career, and the 22-year-old is meeting the moment with some big results in the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.
Cioppa got the first podium of her U-23 career in South Korea in early May. It was a big result as Cioppa is in her final year in the U-23 category, looking to move up to the elite category next year. She showed her podium wasn’t a fluke as she finished fifth in the women’s U-23 cross-country short track (XCC) race in Round 2 in Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic, on Friday.
Fellow Durangoan Riley Amos showed he has good pace in the men’s elite category, finishing eighth in the XCC race on Saturday. It’s Amos’ best men’s elite result since he moved up to the category at the start of last season.
Cioppa finished seven laps around the 1.3-kilometer Nové Město short track in 20 minutes and 12 seconds, six seconds behind her good friend and fellow American, Makena Kellerman, in first. Cioppa got her podium in South Korea in wet and muddy conditions in the cross-country Olympic race (XCO), so she’s showing that she can be quick in both disciplines and in varying conditions.
On Saturday, Cioppa didn’t have the same success in the women’s U-23 XCO, finishing six laps around the 3.8-km course in 19th in 1:18:31, 5:17 behind winner Katrin Embacher.
Cioppa is seventh in the women’s U-23 standings after two rounds.
Amos finished the men’s elite XCC race in eighth in 21:50 after nine laps around the XCC course. Mathis Azzaro won the race in 21:46. Like Cioppa, Amos didn’t have as much success in the XCO race, finishing in 30th in 1:23:23, 4:31 behind the winner, Tom Pidcock.
“Heart breakerrrr,” Amos wrote on Instagram. “Had so much more to give today but my back absolutely crippled me after 1.5 laps. I’ve been working constantly to make it bulletproof it over the last +1.5 years tbh so trying not to play the question game too much. Another mental strengthening day in books, thanks to the absolute legends out on course heckling that got me around 8 times!”
In the women’s elite races, Trek-Unbroken XC rider and Durango resident Gwendalyn Gibson finished seventh in the XCC race in 21:40; Puck Pieterse won in 21:37. Former Fort Lewis College rider Savilia Blunk finished 15th in 21:53.
Blunk finished sixth in the XCO race on Sunday in 1:22:31, while Gibson finished 10th in 1:24:22. Laura Stigger won the race in 1:21:32.
Christopher Blevins remains out after he broke his collarbone in practice during Round 1 of the World Cup in South Korea from May 1-3. It’s unknown when he will return.