Howard Grotts claims seventh-career GoPro Mountain Games XC mountain bike title
The Specialized pro rider defended his title one week after racing the 200-mile Unbound Gravel
Chris Dillmann/Vail Daily
Howard Grotts is forgiven for not remembering how many Mountain Games XC mountain bike races he’s won. Instead Vail should just be happy the Durango cycling legend loves it here.
“I’m not going to miss it,” the Specialized pro said after yet another win — his seventh — in 1:27:16.1. “It’s a hard race no matter what but I like to show up and try to do as well as I can.”
If our archive digging is accurate, Grotts placed fourth in 2011 and third in 2012 before claiming his first Mountain Games win as a 20-year-old in 2013. He won four more in a row after that, beating Keeghan Swenson in three straight attemps from 2014-2016. He wasn’t in Vail in 2018 or 2019, and finished runner-up to Swenson in 2021 before winning again the last two years.
In this iteration, the 30-year-old pulled away early and held off Boulder riders Pete Karinen (1:30:42.2) and Scott Funston (1:31.30.7).
“I just wanted to keep it as consistent as possible, and so, if I can get a gap and do that, that’s ideal because then you can completely ride your own race,” Grotts said of his plan of attack. “And that’s what I did.”
Support Local Journalism
Frisco’s Nolan Van Harte (1:31:57.9) was right in the mix and finished fourth, while a pair of Fort Lewis College guys in Beckett Ledger (1:32:22.8) and Henry Nelson (1:34.32.6) rounded out the prize-money places.
“You know it’s cool to see them coming up and doing well,” Grotts said regarding his Durango-area training buddies.
Grotts is currently in ninth place with 47 points in the Life Time Grand Prix, a seven-event off-road series, featuring 70 of the nation’s best cyclists and a $250,000 prize purse. Swenson, last year’s Grand Prix champion, has 70 points and is in first.
“I’m definitely better than where I was last year,” said Grotts, who finished seventh in the Sea Otter Classic and was 18th in the 200-mile Unbound race a week ago.
“It’s tough,” he said of going from Kansas to Vail back-to-back. “It’s definitely hard on the legs because you just rest all week and then feel super flat, you’re coming to altitude — but it’s worth it to come out here.”
“The trails were in excellent shape this year. Like, perfect,” he continued. “Always stoked to come out to Vail. There’s so many races on this weekend, unfortunately, but I will always make it a point to come here.”
