Check the Colorado High School site for more information on this amazing developmental cycling league.
Durango Composite to Take on the State Champs Today
Durango Composite at CHSL #3 at Boy Scout Camp
Please Note; The CHSL State Championships have been rescheduled to November 12-13th in Castle Rock.
It’s time to recap another sweet Colorado High School League weekend with the Durango Composite team after heading to the 3rd race in the series. Team Director Sarah went with the team and here is what went down.
The weekend started with some doubts as to whether it even made since to drive 7 hours to a race. We are the team that travels more than any other team. While I did not want to pressure anyone, I did point out that we are in 2nd place in the league and if we miss a race, it would be impossible for the team to place. So, with the help of Dave, everyone got together and figured out how to send 6 athletes. Of course, the parents were the biggest part of making this happen!
Eli, Issac, Henry and I all arrived at about the same time to pre-ride together.
The race was held at a Boy Scout Camp 20 miles east of Colorado Springs. Wow! Those boy scouts are lucky as their camp was huge with lots of trails. Our pre ride was epically fun! We were playing around with passing lines! All 3 were pumped for the race! Then late night, Robin, India and Stephen came as they had PSATs that morning. What dedication! Stephen, with his permit, drove the whole way and Henry also dappled with driving. I can only guess that the parents’ anxiety during those times was higher than race time!
Morning of the race was colddddddddddd! Robin, India, Stephen and I headed out for our pre-ride on the course. It started out with a road climb into single track in the woods, then a bumpy climb to an open field where the wind blows hard, then back into sweet sweeping single track to finish on some rooty drops. Of course, everyone on the team nailed the corners and drops! India was the first to go off with Robin and 5 minutes behind. India had a girl to beat on her mind and Robin knew she was the one to beat with the leader jersey on! Both had super races, but both commented on cramping and heavy legs. Henry, Eli and Issac (first race ever) were next and it was so fun to watch Eli (who was also competing in his first race ever) came through first! All three finished together and spent most the race passing (gotta get those boys to the starting line early, early, early!!). Last was the big boy’s varsity race and Stephen got a spot on the first row. His division is soooo tough and competitive that even I get intimidated standing near the start! Stephen was having one of his best races passing 3rd and riding with 1st and 2nd. He looked to have the power to pass em! Then he too cramped. And anyone who cramps knows that it takes everything you have just to pedal in your granny gear back to the finish. Coaching lesson to be learned: quick spin even with head lamps after sitting for 11 hours!!!
I was hoping for a quick polo game before heading home, but alas the 7 hour drive needed to begin to get everyone home by 9 pm for school the next day….once again, can you believe the dedication? I stayed to clean up the course and collect the team’s two trophies and India’s medal. The team is still in 2nd just 90 points behind Vail Composite. The next race will be just as far to drive, but nothing deters this team whose passion shone bright this past race!
Coach Sarah
Vail Valley Composite Team Video
Colorado High School Racing League Rules. They had over 220 racers earlier this month! That is amazing participation. Check it out here
Durango Composite High School Team Race #2 Photos
Photos by Coach Dave Heershap
Durango Composite Team Stomps the Snow Mountain Ranch Stampede!
On October 1st the Durango Composite High School team travelled to the hills near the Winter Park ski area to show what they were made of. The preride on Saturday featured perfect, cool weather and electricity was in the air…literally. The aspens were golden. The singletrack was smooth. Tactics were discussed. Bikes were prepped. Riders began to feel the tension that the next day would bring. The scene was set, and we all fell asleep listening to elk bugles and coyote yelps.
Race Day: The sun rose and there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. The lightning, thunder, and drizzle that had put our campfire out the night before was long gone. This day was made for speed. Breakfast, a quick camp breakdown, and we were off to the pit zone and race course. The crew stretched their legs out on the short ride to the course and had time to reflect on what the strategy would be once their race began. Push hard on the uphill start and get near the front of the pack before the ghost town. Hammer the double track hill and get ready for the dusty rutted descent and the water bars along the way. Speed across the dam, drop a few gears and overtake the hikers on the steep hill. Man it’s tough to clean that thing. Now corner through the aspens, hydroplane across the creek, blast the level home stretch and maintain your speed through the meandering finishing corral. That shouldn’t be that bad……
First out was India, racing in the super fast varsity class. She turned 2 quick laps and made her move on the third. Riding in third place going into the finishing zig-zags she managed to completely close the 1min 30s gap on the rider in 2nd and it came down to a sprint finish. She gave it all that she had but in the end she took third by a gap of only 2 seconds. Had the course been 100 feet longer who knows what would have happened! Robin followed in the next wave and had a great day on the course. She started fast, stayed fast, and ended fast! The result – a second place finish and the overall JV Girls Leader position. Congrats!! Next up was Sierra. She took to the race course with her usual focus, power, and determination. She came through the pit after lap 1 and gave us all the impression that she was going to own it on lap 2. She did just that and gave a massive effort, earning the #2 finish. Very proud!
The boys were up next and represented just as well as the girls did. The clouds never seemed to come back and by now the course was just downright hot! Nano and Jack took off in a giant wave of nearly 40 riders. It was a precarious start with a pileup that happened just off of Nano’s wheel. The dust cleared and it was obvious that they were here to hammer and have fun. Nano and Jack went so fast on their first laps that I almost missed them at the feed zone! They both started near the back of the pack and through the race managed to pick racers off one by one and move way up and secure solid finishes! Way to go. This was Jack’s first race EVER and he made us all really proud. Andrew, racing in the JV boys division, was the last racer to start, and he had to endure some seriously hot and dusty conditions. He had to wrestle with a huge field as well and managed to stick to a solid game plan. Quick start, punch it through every inch of the course, and stay consistently fast. That earned him a solid finish as well and
put the team at a tie for second place in the overall division 2 standings at this point in the series. All of the riders put out maximum effort and had huge smiles once the dust settled. An incredible day to say the least – zero mechanicals, 100% fun. Great job team!!!
-Coach Dave Heershap
Check the Results Here