Durangoan Christopher Blevins (Specialized Factory Racing) captured his first elite men’s cross-country Olympic national title on Saturday. The next day, he defended his national short-track cross-country title, finishing just ahead of fellow Durango cyclist Riley Amos in both races.
“It was good,” Blevins said. “There’s so much depth in the U23 field coming up, led by Riley (Amos), and not that many pros so I came in with a target on my back.”
In addition to high temperatures and lots of humidity, slippery roots and lots of rocks also made the cross-country course tough.
“It was quite challenging,” Blevins said. “You have to be a good bike handler to do good here … I think it was the best course we’ve had in a number of years.”
On the first lap of the cross-country Olympic race on Saturday, Amos got a front flat. Blevins said they changed it “remarkably quick” in about 20 seconds, but it was enough time for him to create a gap. Blevins said he rode the second lap a little more conservative because he knew Amos would be charging to catch him, then brought his pace back up for the third and fourth laps.
He said the course had a couple of longer, steep climbs and a 3-5 minute single-track descent. “It was super challenging,” he said. “You couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.”
When he reached the finish line, Blevins was all by himself and ended up winning the title by 27 seconds in 1:10:46.
“Being back in the U.S. is always nice, but hearing Americans cheering on the side of the course was special,” Blevins said. “It was a relief, but I’m excited to wear the stars-and-stripes in the world cup next year.”
The short-track race was delayed on Sunday, so Blevins waited it out in a mini van, playing a mini golf game.
“They were five minutes away from canceling everything, but USA Cycling pulled it off,” he said.
The conditions weren’t ideal, but they made the race exciting.
“It was a chaotic, super muddy course, which always makes things interesting,” Blevins said. “The ground was so saturated that it felt like I was riding with a double flat.”
Amos again made him work hard for the title. “Riley had a good tactic,” Blevins said. “He put his head down and tried to wear me down.”
Near the end, however, Blevins took the lead with a strong climb and held on to beat Amos to the finish line by two seconds.
“It came down to the last climb and I was able to out-kick him,” Blevins said. “Riley is super strong. I know we’ll have plenty of battles in the future.”
The win means Blevins will get to spend another year racing short-track in the stars-and-stripes.
“It’s nice; the (stars-and-stripes) jersey is probably the most distinguishable of any of them,” Blevins said. “I’m the only elite American (male) racing world cups in Europe … hopefully I can be near the front so everyone can see it.”
Blevins said he’s currently spending some time at Lake Tahoe and will then spend a week in Durango before heading back to Europe. He’ll race in the world championships in Scotland in early August before resuming the world cup.
“I’m regrouping now, then I’ll be on the road for two months,” he said. “I wasn’t too happy with my results in the first world cups. I really want to show myself what I’m capable of.”
Blevins also won a world short-track title in 2021 and said he’d love to get it back.
Lots of other Durango cyclists also did well at the national competition.
Carson Beard of Team Durango Segment 28, meanwhile, captured the U23 men’s short-track title in a race dominated by Durango bikers on Sunday. Toby Hassett (WE Development) finished on the podium in fourth while Ivan Sippy (Team Durango Segment 28) finished sixth and Dane Grey (Team Durango Segment 28) finished seventh.
Savilia Blunk (Ford Rockrider Racing) won the elite women’s race by 21 seconds, which also included the U23 field. Gwendalyn Gibson (Trek Factory Racing) finished as the runner-up while Michaela Thompson (Team Durango Segment 28) grabbed the fifth podium spot. Bailey Cioppa (Bear National Team) finished sixth while Lauren Aggeler (Trinity Racing) placed 15th.
Riley Huston of Team Durango Segment 28 finished 16th in the women’s 15-16 short-track championships.
In the men’s 17-18 short-track championships, Kai Lokey finished 27th, Liam Bezek finished 37th, Emmett McManus placed 43rd and Max Johnson crossed 49th.
Quintin DeLuca (Avout) also competed in the junior men’s 15-16 cross-country championship. He qualified for the finals with a 32nd-place finish in the prelims and ended up finishing 72nd in the nation.
“It’s so cool to see Durango competing at mountain bike nationals every year, especially the younger kids,” Blevins said. “Even though it was on the east coast, Durango was still probably the strongest town. I love seeing the Devo and Segment 28 jerseys.”
