Mountain bike team ramps up in Elbert

The team headed to Elbert early to get plenty of course inspection done and made a weekend of it, with the team camping together to disseminate information and keep riding. “We pre-rode the course twice because it was such a sweet course—it couldn’t have been any nicer,” says Curvin. Sophomore rider Will Johnson had his work cut out for him in Elbert. After a mechanical in Leadville forced him out, his ranking dropped and he was left to start the sophomore race in the back. But Johnson has the ability to punch it and maintain, and the coaches laid out his strategy for him. “We green-lighted him to just go out hard,” says Curvin. “He has the strength to pass a ton of people at the beginning.” Johnson moved into the low 20s after the first lap and continued to pick off riders to finish 18th among his peers. The freshmen, as a class, put together one of their best efforts despite a start line snafu by organizers. Ian Eldridge led the charge once again, finishing the day in 16th place, while James Bivens held his spot all race long and the rest of the freshmen followed suit. “Everyone was super-psyched with the freshmen race,” says Curvin. Junior varsity racers Colton Schnaitter and Derek Shomler reached their potential in Elbert. Schnaitter’s had a good season and maintained his pace to finish the day in 27th place. Shomler finally put all of the pieces together after having tough times the first two races of the season. Starting at the back of the pack, Shomler picked his way through to finish the race in 28th place, right on the wheel of his teammate. “They finished back-to-back, which was great,” says Curvin. Oz Scott put together his best race of the season in the varsity class in Elbert, finishing in 16th place, while Patrick Curvin battled through an injury to finish the day in 30th. “Ozzie rode a super smart race and killed it finishing right where he wanted to be,” says Curvin. “Patrick’s race was a little rough. He missed the past two weeks with an injury but he went out there and finished. He definitely suffered.” The team will return to training for the next two weeks as they prepare for the state championships in Eagle on Sunday, October 19. The coaching staff has some suffering planned for the team to get some intense workouts in while still getting out on the trails for rides so they can bring it all to the final race of the season. “Leave everything on the trail at the state championships,” says Curvin. “Get out there and go for it. I think we’ll do well.”