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PHOTOS: Summit County locals shine in Country Boy Contest mountain bike race

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Cody Jones
  

Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
Breckenridge's Solvei Schwenzfeier pedals her way to a first-place finish in the women's sport 16-plus-year-old race. Schwenzfeier finished the long course in 55:14.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

A thunderstorm may have postponed the second race in the Summit Mountain Challenge mountain bike racing series, but it did not stop competitors from cruising down pristine trails on a warm and mostly dry day on Thursday, June 8.

With cars lining the right side of French Gulch Road in Breckenridge, cyclists of all ages swarmed up and down the hard-packed dirt street in preparation for the Country Boy Contest.

Competitors had three options in terms of races, including the 4.34-mile kids course, the 7.07-mile race and the 11.41-mile race. 

Kids course

A fury of pedals, pumping legs and the distant crackle of thunder got the evening going as the younger divisions took to the kids course.

From the start of the junior boys 11- to 12-year-old race, it was clear it was going to be a race between Summit locals Crosby Hume and Cooper Osborn. The duo easily settled into a steady pace while pedaling up the first ascent of French Gulch Road. Then, they really started to challenge each other once the course broke onto Turks trail.

In the end, it was Hume, 12, who was able to cross the finish line in first place in 23 minutes, 20 seconds. Osborn, 12, followed in 25:16 to narrowly beat Team Summit’s Niall Slavin, 10, who crossed the finish line in 25:17. 

Max Swenson and Dillon Marts rounded out the top five, finishing in 25:59 and 29:58, respectively.

The junior 11- to 12-year-old girls race may have only featured four competitors, but it still proved to be competitive. Lucy Greenwood, 12, won the race in 25:16 and was followed in second by Maeve Niemkiewicz, who clocked a time of 30:57. Isla Ryan placed third (36:43), and Scarlett Macy placed fourth (40:31). 

Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
Crosby Hume begins the Country Boy Contest mountain bike race on Thursday, June 8. Hume won the junior boys 11- to 12-year-old race in 23:20.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

Following the 11- to 12-year-old division, the youngest competitors of the evening pedaled their way to the start line to prove that kids 10 and under know a thing or two about racing mountain bikes.

The boys 10-and-under race took off first with Miles Drumwright, 9, taking the gold medal in the race with a time of 27:36. Gabe Loomis placed second in 28:08, and Fort Collins’ Cameron Krause, 8, placed third in 28:17. Leo Gilbert, 10, and Ollie Sparkman placed fourth and fifth, respectively. 

In the girls 10-and-under, Tessa Jacobs won (29:17), Annika Krum placed second (29:28), Nellie Greenwood placed third (32:25), Brynn Manske placed fourth (42:54) and Penny LaRochelle, 7, placed fifth (45:07).

Short course

The short course competition began with the junior 13- to 15-year-old division and beginner races powering their way out onto the course. 

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In the junior boys 13- to 15-year-old race, Finn Brown easily powered his way to a win, crossing the finish line in 35:02. Will Young placed second in 36:53, and Carter Niemkiewicz took bronze in 36:56.

11-year-old Elliot Drumwright was the next competitor to cross the finish line. Facing much older competition, Drumwright looked like a natural on the course and finished in 41:04 for fourth place.

The 13- to 15-year-old junior girls race came down to the wire with Emery Kelley and Siri Krum fighting one another all the way up to the finish line at the B&B trailhead. Kelley placed first in 42:03, and Krum followed a second behind for second place. Fiona Florio placed third in 45:14.

Cheri Ryan was the lone finisher in the beginner women’s race, breaking the tape in 53:19. Brett Rooney won the beginner men’s race by over a minute, (46:43) and Nathan Hackos placed second (47:53).

The final races were the staged on the long course race, which spanned close to 11.4 miles and featured flowing descents and quad-burning ascents. 

Breckenridge locals won the women’s sport 16-plus-year–old division and open 45-plus-year-old races. Solvei Schwenzfeier, 27, won the sport race in 55:14, and Julie Granshaw won the open race in 1:14:02. Cristena Ward of Dillon’s Eye Tech Optometry placed second behind Grandshaw in 1:17:46.

The evening was rounded out by the pro and open race divisions. No women raced in the pro race, but several well-known men cyclists made up the men’s professional race.

Summit’s Taylor Shelden and Breckenridge’s Dominic Baker challenged each other through the pro race, but in the end Shelden showed off his mountain biking fitness to cross the finish line in 55:18 for first place. Baker crossed the finish line 36 seconds later in second place (55:54), and Silverthorne’s Max Wippermann finished nine seconds behind Baker to claim the bronze medal. 

The next Ride Breck Summit Mountain Challenge race, Hungry Hippo, will take place on Wednesday, June 21, at the Tiger Dredge parking lot off of Tiger Road in Breckenridge. To sign up for the race, visit RaceBreck.com 

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