CB Devo bike team wraps up race season on a big roll

Eight athletes compete at state championships

By Than Acuff 

The Crested Butte Devo (CB Devo) high school bike team just finished up their season with one final region race in Cañon City on Sunday, October 5 with the team closing out the year in third place in their region and then the state championships in Glenwood Springs Saturday and Sunday, October 18-19 where the team took 10^th out of 39 teams in Division III.

The Royal Gorge Ramble in Cañon City was a new course for all high school athletes that was designed and built specifically for the high school racing scene.

“It was fast, technical and super fun,” says CB Devo coach Alex Ellmer. 

Varsity rider Temple Robertson entered the final race of the regular season one spot out of the top 40 state qualifying spots. Robertson sealed his spot at state and then some. Robertson placed 11^th at the Royal Gorge Ramble to jump up to 11^th place in the overall region standings for a spot at states.

Brie Bender was the next rider to score team points for CB Devo with a 13^th place in the varsity class while Tilly Rinderle finished fourth in the freshmen girls’ race, a post she’s been in or around all season, and thus finished the season ranked fourth in the region.

 Dylan Treadwell and Nate Taylor rounded out the scoring profile for CB Devo as Treadwell placed fifth in the freshmen boys’ race and Taylor took 10^th in the sophomore boys’ race. Jackson Holsteen wasn’t far behind Taylor coming in 14^th place and while he did not score points for the team, his result put him in fourth place for the regional overall points standings. Sullivan Reese was the eighth and final rider for CB Devo placing 34^th in the freshman race.

Given results by the team throughout the season stepping on and off the podium depending on the weekend, CB Devo finished the regular season in third place in the Crystal Region and all eight riders qualified for the state championships.

“Being so consistent all season kept us in third place for the region,” says Ellmer.

The state championships are an entirely different ball of wax as teams from all four regions with as many as 160 riders lining up for each race. With the athletes off for October Break the week leading up to the state race weekend, Ellmer left it to them to do what they felt necessary to prepare, whether it be resting, riding or a mix of both.

“At that point the work is done,” says Ellmer. “It was a ‘you do you’ mentality over the break. It’s just really about keeping everyone fit, healthy and ready to race.”

And that’s just what they did as some rode their bikes in Moab, some in Tahoe, some here in Crested Butte and some not at all. But when they all showed up for the final, they were ready and the plan was simple.

“Everyone was feeling pretty good,” says Ellmer. “We just told them there will be a lot of kids out there, see how many you can pass, have fun and enjoy the day.”

Robertson closed out his first season racing varsity with a 41^st place finish at state while Bender closed her inaugural varsity race class season with a 58^th place result.

“Temple was in the fight the whole time and Brie had a great day as well,” says Ellmer. “She passed 10 riders on the first lap and stayed in there and found a new competitive edge.”

Rinderle had been front of the pack racing in her region, so Ellmer just made sure she didn’t get caught up in the energy of the scene. 

“I just told her, keep doing what you’ve been doing,” says Ellmer.

After a tough first lap, Rinderle stepped it up a level to race a faster lap on the second one and finish in 24^th place in the freshmen race. Holsteen finished the race season taking 32^nd place in the sophomore race and Ethan Armbrecht tallied the last team points for CB Devo with his effort in the varsity race to help the team to their 10^th place finish.

“Ethan passed most of his wave throughout the race and it was a great last race for him,” says Ellmer.

Taylor, Treadwell and Reese put in strong efforts as well in their sophomore and freshmen races.

Overall, Ellmer was happy with the season and his first year as the head coach.

“It went amazing,” says Ellmer. “It was up and down but everyone stayed strong through it all to take third in the region.”