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Cyclists win 3 state titles

Steamboat team pedals into second half of season

Dave Shively

— Mountain bike racers in Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club’s cycling program are looking ahead full tilt.

The racers, who were out in force wearing their blue Moots jerseys during Wednesday’s Howelsen Hill Cross Country race, were looking to get some valuable training before heading to Full Tilt in Telluride — their next competitive race stop on the Mountain States Cup Championship Series.

“We’re not super focused on how we do, we’re just using (the Steamboat Springs Town Challenge race) to get stronger for our regional races,” coach Glen Light said.



Light’s focus may have been on conditioning, but Sean Geisler, 13, took it upon himself to win the youth boys 13-15 age division in a time of 20 minutes, 35 seconds.

Geisler proudly wore his Colorado state champion jersey during the race — the one he won after winning his age category at the cross-country race at last weekend’s Blast the Mass state championships in Snowmass Village.



Geisler wasn’t Steamboat’s only state champion at Wednesday’s Town Challenge race. Adam Parke, who won a state title in the 18-and-under division at the Super D race in Snowmass, wasn’t able to wear a race jersey. His arm was stuck in a sling because of the broken collarbone he suffered in the competition.

“Coming down on a turn that banked to the outside, my tire lost traction and I came down on my shoulder,” Parke said. “I thought it was a bad bruise, so I got back on my bike and finished the race.”

Bryce Gordon also had a mishap during his Mountain States race — a spoke breakdown — that he was unable to recover from to finish the race. His luck didn’t get any better Wednesday. He and Wiley Thayer were racing in the Pro/Open division but were forced to turn around because of hazardous conditions caused by rain.

“I turned around at the stock pond when things started getting bad,” Gordon said, adding how excited he was for the Telluride series race July 29 and 30. “It’s going to be a hill climb and I feel like I can climb well, plus it will be interesting because it’s the end of the season and everyone’s getting strong.”

Katherine Ingalls, 15, who won the cross-country junior expert women’s division at the Snowmass state championships, also is ready for the next series race.

“I’m excited for Telluride,” Ingalls said. “It’s my favorite race with a really good uphill.”

Steamboat’s lone downhill racer, Cathy Cantway, 24, is unsure whether she will recover in time for the race. Despite finishing fourth in the Snowmass downhill event, she was involved in a crash that tore muscles in her back.

“It happened so fast, I didn’t realize what happened until I was on the ground,” Cantway said. “It was disappointing, because I would’ve gotten second if I didn’t crash.”

Rounding out Steamboat’s cross country efforts in Snowmass, Sam Chovan finished fourth in the junior sport men 18-and-under division and Brett Gordon finished fifth in the junior men 11-12 division.

Visit http://www.racemsc.com for full Mountain States Cup results and rankings.

To reach Dave Shively, call 846-1129 or e-mail dshively@steamboatpilot.com.


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