{"id":46537,"date":"2021-05-28T18:10:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-29T00:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/new-mountain-bike-course-tougher-for-iron-horse-bicycle-classic\/"},"modified":"2021-05-29T00:10:00","modified_gmt":"2021-05-29T00:10:00","slug":"new-mountain-bike-course-tougher-for-iron-horse-bicycle-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/new-mountain-bike-course-tougher-for-iron-horse-bicycle-classic\/","title":{"rendered":"New mountain bike course tougher for Iron Horse Bicycle Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Riley
Riley Amos won a state championship as a high school rider at the 2019 event held at Durango Mesa Park. With the same start and finish, now he will test himself in a longer, tougher race at the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

In recent years, the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic mountain bike race has been defined by sending racers through downtown Durango and through the bar at Steamworks Brewing Co. This year, COVID-19 has blocked the novel course popular with both riders and spectators, and a new course was designed using the Horse Gulch trail system.<\/p>\n

The new course, which is nearly all singletrack and features longer climbs and descents, will almost certainly create different racing dynamics than its predecessor. The course will also be a new challenge for competitors, many of whom are Durango locals who compete on the world mountain biking stage.<\/p>\n

The IHBC mountain bike race often features fields that are just as competitive as the more lauded road race to Silverton, featuring established professionals along with up-and-comers. This Sunday, Durangoan Stephan Davoust, the 2019 mountain bike champion, will face off with riders such as Riley Amos and Howard Grotts in the pro men\u2019s race. In the women\u2019s field, Olympic hopeful Erin Huck will butt heads with Evelyn Dong of Utah and Ruth Holcomb of Durango.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a lot of the race in Horse Gulch will make it a bit more interesting in the pro race,\u201d said Grotts, a former mountain bike Olympian and multi-time winner of the race. \u201cI don\u2019t have any expectations, it\u2019s just going to be a toss up to see what I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grotts may claim that it\u2019s \u201ca toss up,\u201d but his competitors know he is nearly always riding fast, and recent rides logged on Strava prove that. For his part, Grotts tips Davoust along with Fort Lewis College alum Henry Nadell as two riders who could do well.<\/p>\n

\"A
A multiple-time winner of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic men\u2019s mountain bike race, Durango\u2019s Howard Grotts will look for another, though on a vastly different course this weekend. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cHe\u2019ll be a racer to watch for,\u201d Grotts said of fellow Durango Devo and FLC alum Davoust. \u201cHe\u2019s got the bike skills and the high-altitude fitness right now, and not doing the road race will probably help him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davoust recently won the cross-country race at the Solider Hollow Bike Festival in Utah, which shows that he\u2019s on form. Plus, as a Durango local, he\u2019ll know the course well, including the steep climb up Telegraph trail.<\/p>\n

Another local who\u2019s on form is Amos, a 19-year-old coming off of a successful stint of racing in Europe on the World Cup circuit. Amos placed second in the under-23 race in the Czech Republic, a career-best result for the young rider. Amos has had perhaps the most experience racing around the Durango Mesa Park of anyone in the field, as he won a high school state championship there as a senior at Animas High School and won the cyclo-cross race there put on by FLC last fall.<\/p>\n

In the women\u2019s field, Ruth Holcomb is also coming off a stint racing in Europe. The future FLC cyclist won the pro women\u2019s field in 2019 and placed second in the Queen of the Mountain omnium competition.<\/p>\n

\"Ruth
Ruth Holcomb of Durango High School rides in the varsity girls race during the Colorado Cycling League state championship in 2018 on Durango Mesa. Holcomb will get a chance to race there a bit again this weekend during the Iron Horse mountain bike race. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThe overall course is better, but it definitely doesn\u2019t have that same aspect of like you\u2019re riding through downtown and everyone\u2019s there,\u201d Holcomb said.<\/p>\n

One aspect that will impact the race is how well riders recover from Saturday\u2019s road race. Holcomb said it\u2019s a mental advantage knowing that her competitors are also tired heading into the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the people that are lining up in the pro women\u2019s mountain bike race also raced the road race the day before, so that mentally is helpful,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re pretty tired going into it, and definitely by the end of the mountain bike race you\u2019re ready for a few days off for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Todd Wells, a former Olympian who is planning to race in the pro category despite retiring from full-time racing in 2017, says that recovering for the mountain bike race is dependent on how much training riders do ahead of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was racing full-time, it really wasn\u2019t a big deal,\u201d Wells said. \u201cI would usually race better on the second day, so the recovery didn\u2019t seem like much, but now that I don\u2019t ride quite as much, I\u2019m going to be feeling that second day for sure. The less you ride and the older you are, the more important that recovery is when you\u2019re doing multiple races back to back.\u201d<\/p>\n

An out-of-towner who could perform well in the pro women\u2019s field is Huck, who is hoping to be selected for the Tokyo Olympic team. Huck is coming to the Iron Horse for a low-stress weekend but will still be a factor in the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this will be the first time really that we\u2019ll be going to kind of a fun event since COVID and first time that we\u2019ll be seeing a lot of our really close friends since COVID,\u201d Huck said. \u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to that, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

The course will start and finish at Durango Mesa Park, the location of the 2018 and 2019 Colorado high school mountain bike championships, and a possible nod to future plans for the open space if plans for a bike park are seen to fruition.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, the trails that are out there were really just built for the Colorado Leage state championships and aren\u2019t ridden much besides that,\u201d Amos said. \u201cWe were up there the other day for a short-track race to get those trails moving again, so it will be good.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a short section on the Durango Mesa property, the course quickly enters the meadow area of Horse Gulch and begins climbing Telegraph trail. The climb is steep and punctuated by tough rocky sections. The top of the climb is the toughest uphill section on the course, as it kicks up to a more than 20% gradient.<\/p>\n

Riders will make a quick left turn down Anasazi trail for a steep descent back toward the meadow, where they will begin the next big climb on the course. The climb is more gradual than the first and features a brief downhill respite on Stacey\u2019s trail, so it will be a section for riders who can sustain big power outputs on shallow gradients.<\/p>\n

Once at the northernmost point of the course, riders begin the descent down Cuchillo trail and then head over to Horse Gulch Road. A short climb and tricky descent on the East face of Raider Ridge then sends riders back toward the start\/finish area.<\/p>\n

\"Stephan
Stephan Davoust is the defending men\u2019s winner of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic men\u2019s mountain bike race and is in good shape going into this year\u2019s race. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Because of the high-desert terrain in Horse Gulch, heat could play a factor in riders\u2019 performances. Plus, gusty winds on exposed sections of trail could either help or hinder riders\u2019 ambitions.<\/p>\n

Pros will complete three laps of the course for a distance of approximately 27-miles, with expert categories riding two laps. Beginner categories will ride two laps of a shortened course that eliminates the climb up Telegraph for a total of 14-miles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Iron Horse mountain bike race, before we started riding through Steamworks we used to ride in Horse Gulch quite a bit,\u201d Wells said.<\/p>\n

Wells also noted that the course in Horse Gulch will be harder than the course through downtown, since the old course allows riders to rest a bit on the pavement sections. \u201cYou got to earn every pedal stroke,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Added Grotts: \u201cI am incredibly excited for the Durango Mesa Park and what they have planned there. It\u2019s a long time coming for Durango. It\u2019s going to be fun to get to ride there a little bit for this race and get back on the Durango trails and see what I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regional Sports Editor John Livingston contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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