Locals fall short of defending home trails in Clif Bar 40

Jenny Smith carries Gunnison Valley torch to podium

There is a serious youth movement among the pro men mountain biking ranks and they were putting the hurt on the local contingent at the Wildflower Rush Clif Bar Shock Top 40 cross-country race on Saturday, June 23.
“It shows the depth of the field coming in for the race,” says race co-organizer Dave Ochs. “There’s a couple youngsters coming in hot but we’ll get them at races in August and September.”
The course smacked riders in the face for the opening 10 miles with a climb up Meander and descent down the West Side Trail on Crested Butte Mountain before heading into the hills via the Upper Upper Loop.
“There was serious bike carnage out there,” says Ochs. “Ripped derailleur hangers, cables getting ripped off.”
Once that was over though, riders were treated to some of the best trails in the north end of the valley as they rode Strand Hill and Deer Creek before returning to Crested Butte Mountain to finish with a climb up Prospector and descent down Columbine.
“The course was in amazing shape,” says Ochs. “What a day—even when you’re suffering you’re still riding in a great place.”
Last year’s winning time of three and half hours seemed incredible and due to dusty conditions, Ochs and organizers thought it would take longer this year.
Instead, the winner, Colin Cares out of Boulder, Colo., scorched the course, posting a time of three hours and 15 minutes.
“I was dumbfounded,” says Ochs.
The top local finish among the pro riders came from Team Alpine Orthopaedics (Team AO) rider Jenny Smith finishing in second place, covering the 40-mile course in a time of three hours, 59 minutes and 50 seconds, four minutes behind winner Gretchen Reeves from Avon, Colo.
Smith had a horrific start to her race, struggling through Meander and the West Side trail.
“I had asthma going up Meander from the dust and intensity, so that was kind of burly,” says Smith.
Nevertheless, Smith remained on Reeves’ rear wheel until she stacked on a turn she’s ridden “at least 15 times,” losing Reeves for the rest of the race.
“I had a terrible race on the mountain,” says Smith. “I was, like, get me off this mountain.”
Once she hit the Upper Upper Loop, Smith settled in and while she could see Reeves for most of the race, she just couldn’t reel her in.
“The rest of the race was totally smooth and super fun,” says Smith. “I’ve done some longer training and I felt like I woke up and started racing two hours into it. I’m usually suffering heading up Prospector but I felt good, which was great.”
Team AO rider Amy Beisel joined Smith on the podium, coming in eight minutes later in third place among pro women.
Team AO athlete Brian Smith was the top local finisher among the pro men placing fifth, the only local rider in the top 10, with a time of three hours and 25 minutes.
The local contingent of racers now turn to the longer rides coming up in the next few weeks, with a handful on tap to compete in the Firecracker 50 in Breckenridge and others poised for the Leadville 100.
Go to www.crestedbuttenews.com for results.