The Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — There is some bad news for competitors in today’s Town Challenge mountain bike race at the Steamboat Ski Area: Barkley Robinson, of the record-setting ride in last week’s Thunderhead Hill Climb, likes today’s course a lot more than last week’s.

Robinson blazed his way up the 2,200 feet vertical climb a week ago in a personal and course record time of 34 minutes, 42 seconds. Faced today with an easier but longer climb and plenty of fast and tight singletrack, Robinson said he’s hoping for another big race.

“It was nice and cool, and the conditions were great. I was riding a brand new bike and that all made a difference,” Robinson said of last week’s ride. “I really like the course this week, too. It’s a little more of a cross-country style race, and it’s my favorite of all the courses we do.”

Racers will get somewhat of a break from the past two weeks, which featured tough climbs up Howelsen Hill and Mount Werner.

The Sunshine Loop Cross Country course still will take most riders as high as they got last week — the majority of divisions will at least hit the top of the gondola. Some will continue on while others turn and head back down. But because the race starts at the bottom of the Thunderhead chairlift, a little higher than last week’s base of the gondola start, and because riders will reach the summit via Valley View instead of the steeper Zig Zag, the race will have an entirely different feel.

“The climb is broken up with some flatter sections. There is a little more narrow singletrack and a lot more interesting climb,” Robinson said. “It’s a really fun course, and Valley View is a fun trail to race up.”

The trail still will qualify as one of the longest in the seven-race summer series, topping out at 13 miles for those divisions that continue past the top of the gondola to the signature Sunshine Loop section.

The race is one of the most popular, series director Gretchen Sehler said. A welcome spat of rain that swept through Steamboat Springs on Monday afternoon helped keep the dust down and sharpen up the course, she said.

Combined, all those factors should make for another competitive Town Challenge event.

“A lot of people like the ski area just because they know the trails, and this is one of the major challenges people look forward to,” Sehler said. “People just love this one every year, and thanks to the rain, the course is in great shape.”

Children’s races start at 5:25 p.m., and the adults get under way at 6 p.m. All races start at the bottom of the Thunderhead chairlift. Sehler advised racers to show up early and park in the Knoll parking lot, with the ride to the starting line serving as an adequate warm-up.

— To reach Joel Reichenberger, call 871-4253 or e-mail jreichenberger@steamboatpilot.com