<\/p>\n
Less than two weeks after dislocating his right shoulder, Howard Grotts dug as deep as he could to win one of the year\u2019s most iconic marathon mountain bike races.<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old Durangoan claimed the Leadville Traill 100 MTB race<\/a> in 6 hours, 15 minutes, 54 seconds to win the famed event for the first time in his young career.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a lot of suffering to go through in that race,\u201d Grotts said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. \u201cIt was nice to pull it off in the end. I think I was underestimating a little bit how hard it would be.\u201d<\/p>\n Grotts was involved in a high-speed crash on the Colorado Trail a little more than a week before the race. He chose to ride a full-suspension bike to take some pressure off his injured shoulder while most other riders selected hard-tail bikes with no rear suspension.<\/p>\n \u201cI would definitely in the future ride a hard tail and save energy on the climbs,\u201d Grotts said. \u201cI had no previous issues with this shoulder, but I know the drill. When it stays in place it\u2019s not bad. It\u2019s just the initial shock to the body to overcome the ligament damage. It was nice to sit down some more with the full suspension.\u201d<\/p>\n Grotts\u2019 performance headlined a banner day for Durangoans. Three-time Leadville 100 winner and defending champion Todd Wells finished second in 6:18:24, his second-fastest career time in the race. Wells rode with Grotts much of the day before Grotts\u2019 final push to the finish. Wells\u2019 time was faster than two of his previous winning times.<\/p>\n \u201cThis season has been one of my most challenging,\u201d Wells said in a phone interview with The Herald. \u201cI\u2019m more than happy with my ride today. I didn\u2019t have the best buildup for the race and got sick and couldn\u2019t ride for a bit. I was really happy with how it went all things considered.\u201d<\/p>\n Payson McElveen, a Durangoan by way of Austin, Texas, finished third Saturday in a race he marked as a big goal all season. McElveen overcame an early flat tire and crossed the line in 6:36:08.<\/p>\n McElveen, who two weeks earlier won the Leadville Stage Race, said his punctured tire coincided with Grotts taking a \u201cnature break,\u201d and the two worked together to bridge the gap back to Wells.<\/p>\n \u201cHe and I ended up chasing incredibly hard all the way from the beginning of Pipeline to Twin Lakes,\u201d McElveen said in a post to Instagram<\/a>. \u201cThere was a third rider with us, but he wasn\u2019t willing to do any work. Once we got to the bottom of Columbine, I was pretty trashed.<\/p>\n \u201cCredit where it is due, Howard was head and shoulders above us today and able to absorb that effort and go on for the win and barely beat Todd. Kudos to him. I\u2019m happy to end up third.\u201d<\/p>\n Grotts said the timing of his nature break wasn\u2019t wise, as it came during a long stretch of flat terrain, allowing Wells and two others to build a big lead.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had to chase for such a long time,\u201d Grotts said. \u201cThe gap was hard to close down, and it was a bigger effort than either of us expected.\u201d<\/p>\n The Leadville 100, which officially began in 1994, begins at 10,152 feet and climbs to 12,424 feet. It is an out-and-back course. There is a 3,000-foot climb up the Columbine mine for the final 10 miles of the out, with another solid climb at Powerline near the 80th mile. The race features an estimated 11,000 feet of climbing. There are five aid stations along the route and 2,000 cyclists who can gain entry via qualifying races or a lottery. Thousands of supporters and spectators fill the streets of the small mining town each summer for the event.<\/p>\n \u201cI can unequivocally say the Leadville 100 is the hardest race I\u2019ve ever done,\u201d McElveen said. \u201cI haven\u2019t hurt so much in so many places in my life. Those last two hours, miserable.\u201d<\/p>\n Wells, who won the race in 2011, 2014 and 2016, said the group started with four riders on the start of Columbine and was down to three halfway up the big climb and quickly whittled down to two. Wells and Grotts separated themselves on the final portion of the climb and rode together for roughly 25 miles back to the Powerline climb.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was best to stay with people on the flats and then back to the base of Powerline,\u201d Grotts said. \u201cFrom there it\u2019s climb, descent, climb, descent. Todd would gain time in the descents, but then there is not much the last three miles with the last bit up the boulevard to the finish. It\u2019s uphill and hits when you\u2019re just empty. You want it to be mellow, but it\u2019s a death march.\u201d<\/p>\n Wells, 41, was happy to see the all-Durango podium alongside two 24-year-olds.<\/p>\n \u201cIt speaks volumes to the community,\u201d Wells said. \u201cDurango has a big cycling heritage, and it\u2019s cool to see is still has that.\u201d<\/p>\n Christopher Jones of Oregon was fourth in 6:55:19, and Jamey Yanik of Idaho finished fifth in 6:56:21.<\/p>\n California\u2019s Larissa Connors won the women\u2019s race in 7:31:51. Andrea Dvorak of Charlottesville, Virginia, was second in 7:58:18. She finished ahead of third-place Anne Perry of Utah, who crossed in 8:18:53.<\/p>\n Durango\u2019s Benjamin Sonntag was at the start line in Leadville after a summer spent rehabilitating a broken shoulder. But he was involved in what many riders called a senseless crash when another rider made contact with his handlebars in a pace line. He said the scapula probably was not re-broken, but he will not be able to race again soon.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s brutal to deal with,\u201d Grotts said of Sonntag\u2019s injury. \u201cWe all deal with injuries, but he\u2019s had a particularly rough season. All hopes he gets back to racing because it\u2019s a lot of fun to race with him.\u201d<\/p>\n Many elite professionals, including Grotts, McElveen and Wells, had the tough task of waking up Sunday to the start line of the Breck Epic stage race<\/a> in Breckenridge. It is a six-stage event featuring lots of single-track at high altitude.<\/p>\n Wells won the opening stage followed by Virginia\u2019s Jeremiah Bishop, who did not race the Leadville 100. Grotts was third and McElveen placed seventh.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt surprisingly good,\u201d Grotts said after the first stage. \u201cI\u2019m climbing pretty well.\u201d<\/p>\n