Western Mountain Sports – Western Edges Out Mesa at Collegiate Nationals

How can you tell that it is time for the USA Cycling National Championships? Just wait for the temperature to drop and for the snowfall to kick in and you can bet that they’re close! The Western State Colorado University Mountain Sports Nationals squad had looked forward to the day they would board the plane to North Carolina, compete against the best collegiate riders in the nation and work to bring some hardware in Division 2 back to Gunnison. Along with individual titles in five disciplines (Short Track, Cross Country, Downhill, Team Relay and Dual), riders also strive to accumulate points toward the Omnium classifiaction, which determines the top schools overall. The top three riders from each school in all disciplines and for each gender earn points toward the Omnium. Western earned 3rd place last season and had their sites set on a higher step on the Omnium podium for 2013.

: Where it all counts…The finish line.

After staying the night in Boulder, Colorado, the team flew out Wednesday morning to Asheville, NC to meet up with the van and trailer that was going to take the team to Beech Mountain for the races. (Big shout out to Caleb, Eddie, Gabby and Justin for making that drive to bring everyones bikes and gear, even through hitting a deer near Topeaka!). Once settled into the team condo, everyone began installing race faces. The first thing in the morning, with temps hovering right at freezing, the team went on a windy, bone chilling pre-ride to check out the courses. For many, it was the first time they had ridden east of the Mississippi. Freshman, Peter Noon, from Fairbanks, Alaska said, “My gloves got wet washing the bikes after our ride. The 15 minute ride back to the condo was torture! My hands were freezing.”

: The chairlift looking more like winter…

: Early morning snowfall.

Nationals officially began on Friday and the team woke up to…no surprise…snow! It was an early morning for those who were racing the Short Track discipline. The race started at 9am, so riders needed to warm up early but also stay as warm and dry as possible to be able to compete at the highest level. The course was challenging and getting a good start was critical as once the field was spread out in single file, riders can find themselves far from the front of the race. The course was hilly with sections of grass, which was greasy and slippery due to the snow and ice. Junior, Graham Ruhmann, and Senior, Angela Vitulli, were Western’s top finishers, both coming in solidly in 7th place.

: The difference that just a few weeks make.

: The mass start of the Short Track race.

: Sweet shot of the tunnel on the Short Track course.

Finishing out day one, Western’s gravity riders rode qualifying runs for the Downhill discipline. The Downhill course was icy and snowy; a bear of a track! After the sun went down, the team had a big family style dinner and then everyone hung around the massive great room in the condo telling stories and playing games. Nationals is serious for certain but after a long, hard day, the team enjoyed each other’s company and relaxed before the busiest day of the event.

: Snowy DH practice day start.

The team woke up on Saturday morning looking forward to a full day of Cross Country and Downhill racing. The Cross Country race kicked off the day and the five mile loop began with a steep, leg-burning hill right from the starting line. This led into a long section of twisty, technical singletrack through a thick forest. Ice, wet roots were everywhere eating unskilled riders. It was challenging for riders to maintain both traction and speed through this, the trickiest part of the course. Then, the terrain changed to fast and flowing trails to finish the loop. The men did three laps while the women did two. Both the men and women placed three riders in the top 25 ensuring firm team placings in the Omnium. The Western men took third while the women were fifth. Up next was the Downhill!

: Jeff Sabatka staying ahead of the pack

: Alex Alleman looking through the corner!

: Ellie Atkins stoked after the race!

: Peter Noon showing who the better rider was!

Red Bulletin writer, Angus Powers, describes Downhill racing: “Consider doing the quarter mile sprint while simultaneously calculating complex math equations and juggling a few tennis balls.” Or, in the conditions at Nationals this year, blasting through a gnarly rock garden covered in snow, mud and ice at max speed with scores of spectators screaming, making you push your limits just a little bit more. Due to all of the icy banked turns and sketchy, technical rock gardens, simply laying down a clean run would earn a fast time. This proved to be easier said than done. The top section of the track was one giant rock garden, while the lower half featured high-speed corners, jumps and a rock sender to the finish line. The huge crowd at the gnarliest rock section captured the real festiveness of Collegiate Nationals.

The Western men had all three riders finish in the top 20 with two in the top 10. Senior Owen Tulip had his eyes trained on winning the Division 2 Downhill title and pulled out all of the stops on his run. Unfortunatley, a crash would relegate him to 31st place. However, Cody Scott and Caleb Woodworth were 7th and 9th respectively, and the three riders combined scores put Western 3rd place for the day among Division 2 Schools. Consistency was the theme for the Western ladies as all three riders, Ellie Atkins, Carmen Smith and Zoe Smith all finished in the top 20. The ladies from Western combined for a 4th place finish in Downhill for the day.

: Cody Scott training in the infamous camo overalls.

: Owen Tulip pinning it through a rock garden.

: Caleb Woodworth nailing a tight, inside line.

: A mean shot of a Western rider through the trees.

: Cody Scott sending it to the finish.

: The USA rock garden.

First up on Sunday, the final day of the competittion, the first ever Team Relay took place. USA Cycling has added this intriging endurance event to the Nationals weekend and additional points for the Omnium were up for grabs. While local NC squad and reigning national champs in Division 2, Brevard College, had a stranglehold on first place in the Omnium, the battle for 2nd was hot between two Colorado schools. The Mountaineers were sitting in 2nd place going into the Relay, but Rocky Mountain Conference rival, Colorado Mesa University, was just a few points behind. The relay track was half of the Short Track that connected to the downhill section of the XC course. The lap took about five minutes, and it was an all out, leg burning sprint the whole time. Graham Ruhmann, Peter Noon, and Angela Vitulli made up the relay team. Noon and Vitulli had put the team in 9th prior to the final anchor leg and Ruhmann pushed the final lap hard, passing four riders on the climb earning the team 5th. However, Mesa took 2nd in the Team Relay and that result lanuched them past Western into 2nd and firmly in the driver’s seat with just the Dual event left.

The Dual featured off camber, grassy turns that challenged riders from start to finish. Owen Tulip led the men with a 7th place finish, while Woodworth and Scott would notch consistent 11th and 14th place rides. The Western men took 2nd but Mesa finished just behind in 3rd and were still sitting in 2nd in Omnium. It would be up to the ladies to overtake the team from Grand Junction and the girls from Western did not disappoint. Ellie Atkins and Carmen Smith both finished in the top 10 and Zoe Smith was solidly in the top 20 earning the lady Mountaineers 3rd in Dual while Mesa languished in 7th.

Once the dust had settled, or rather, once the mud had dried or frozen, Western ended up with 617 points to Mesa’s 605, taking 2nd in Omnium by the smallest margin. Those 12 points that were the difference can be found in every result from each of the Mountain Sports athletes from Gunnison.

To go out with a bang, one of Western’s riders, Jeff Sabatka, ate his way to victory in the Grape Nuts eating challenge at the final award banquet where he ate more Grape Nuts than anyone else and walked away with a giant box of the crunchy cereal! An interesting way to finish a fantastic weekend of racing for sure!