Skyhawks give something to Squawk about

Riding onto the home turf of a cycling program that owns 19 national championships can be intimidating.

The Skyhawks’ opponents will have to do just that this weekend when Fort Lewis College hosts its annual Squawker Road Classic on Friday and Saturday.

It’s the Skyhawks’ first home event of the spring season and their chance to show off Durango’s cycling-savvy.

“It’s amazing. Tons of volunteers come out to help. A bunch of local businesses help us out with volunteer lunches,” FLC team director Dave Hagen said. “Because we have such a strong cycling town, people understand it a little more.”

The event will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of River Road and County Road 213 with the team time trial.

The time trial features four-person collegiate teams and individual racers starting at one-minute intervals.

USA Cycling categories will start at 9 a.m., then go off at 30-second intervals.

The course stretches 13 miles with a 400-foot elevation drop to finish on County Road 213 before U.S. Hwy 550.

“Going down La Posta Road, we ride that hundreds of times every year,” Hagen said.

Focus will shift at 11 a.m. to the downtown neighborhood criterium, a six-turn, ½-mile course that covers eight city blocks. The start/finish line is at 9th Street and 4th Ave., while the course additionally uses 5th Ave., 6th Ave., 8th Street and 10th Street.

The event will finish with the road race at 8 a.m. Sunday on Rim Drive. Riders will traverse a five-mile circuit for three to nine laps, depending on the category they’re racing in.

“Going up the front hill of the college, it’s a hard man’s race,” Hagen said.

Hosting the event gives the Skyhawks a home-course advantage because of their familiarity with the roads, but pressure to perform comes with that – a pressure they embrace.

“Because we get so much support from the cycling community, we want to make them proud,” Hagen said. “It makes them work harder and come together more as a team.”

[email protected]