Local high school students interested in cross-country mountain bike racing are in luck!
Following the success of the High Desert DEVO program started this summer, Pete Eschallier, Jason Hernandez and Noah Vega have started High Desert Composite.
High Desert Composite is the name of the new cross-country mountain bike racing team in Cortez. The team competes in the Colorado High School Cycling League and is sanctioned by the National Interscholastic Cycling Association.
So far, the team includes two riders: Montezuma-Cortez High School freshman Gabe Frizzell and M-CHS sophomore Andrei Hiouas.
But they’re hoping to add more.
“It’s a pretty loosely-knit organization since there are only two kids,” said Eschellier. “But we have bigger dreams and aspirations of doing more, and it’s working great so far.”
Eschellier and fellow coaches Hernandez and Vega are encouraging any interested high school students from Cortez, Dolores and Mancos to join.
“All students are welcome,” said Eschellier. “SWOS, Dolores, Mancos – anybody who wants to jump in.”
The team currently meets on Wednesday and Thursday evenings for training, and there are four races in the series prior to the state championship.
Frizzell and Hiouas each had impressive performances in the season-opening race at Frisco in late August, where nearly 1,000 riders were featured across the eight divisions.
There are divisions for freshman boys and girls, sophomore boys and girls, junior varsity boys and girls and varsity boys and girls.
Riding in the freshman class against 81 other competitors, Frizzell finished in 29th place after one lap, after the race was cut short due to weather conditions.
Hiouas, riding in the sophomore class, finished in 11th place out of 96 riders after his two-lap race.
The next Colorado High School Cycling League race is Saturday at the Cloud City Challenge at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville. The series then moves to Granby and Nathrop before the State Championship Races are held, Sunday, October 23 in Eagle.
Interested riders are still able to join the team and ride in the remaining races.
For more information, contact Pete Eschallier at 970-565-4408 or email HighDesertDevo@gmail.com.