Durango Tops Racers in Saturday’s 7th Alpine 50 50-Mile Bike Race

Cool morning temperatures and gently moist track conditions proved ideal for a total of 113 mountain bike athletes competing in last Saturday’s 7th Annual Alpine 50 bike race.
Top finishers in this year’s race were two Durango racers in their 40s in first and third place, repeat Alpine 50 winner Todd Wells, 49, crossing the finish line first in just three hours, 29.20 minutes, and, in third position, Nick Gould, 46, 3 hours, 37.58 minutes.
Gould finished the race near-tandem with second place finisher, 20-year-old Kip Sevenoff, also from Durango, time 3 hours, 37.56 minutes.
Top place women’s racer with finish time 4 hours, 16.51 minutes was Lauren Aggeler from Durango, with Glenwood Springs racer Manessah Franklin, 4 hours, 35.04, and Jenya Berinot, 4 hours, 38.21, respectively in second and third place among women.
Aggeler, age 21 and part of the Durango powerhouse team of bicyclists, was an hour faster than last year’s first place finisher, Liv Geer, attributable to sheer athleticism and ideal race conditions neither too wet nor too dry. The all-time fastest time for a women’s finisher in the Alpine 5 was speedy Alexis Skarda, three hours, 55 minutes, in COVID race year 2020.
Top place male finisher Wells represented the U.S. in Olympic mountain bike competition in 2004, 2008, and 2012, and is familiar with the Alpine 50 after
Vol. 48, No. 22 Friday, August 29, 2025 Lake City, Hinsdale County, Colorado 81235 U.S.P.S. No. 436-630
75¢successive first and second place finishes in multiple years. For this year’s race, he sauntered by bike over Cinnamon Pass from Silverton on August 22 in advance of the race and, immediately following the race, again rode his mountain bike back over the mountain with time out to savor a Dale’s Pale Ale on the pass summit before descending to Silverton.
Five Lake City locals competed in Saturday’s 50-miler, first across the finish line and youngest of all racers, Lake City high school freshman Joseph Tubbs, 14, time 5 hours, 48.22 minutes, followed in close pursuit by Todd Schweitzer, 5:58.43, and Bennett Levine, 6:10.16.
Rounding out the list of Lake City racers in this year’s Alpine 50 were Dan File, 6:35.22, and County Commissioner Greg Levine who pedaled furiously after starting off from Lake City Park starting gate with his son, Greg Levine, and finished the race after 7 hours, 38.26 minutes.
Common and commendable themes in the August 23 50-mile Alpine Loop race were its smooth as clockwork organization, enthusiastic volunteers, and bicyclists who — without exception — cited the Alpine 50 as exceptional in terms of outstanding mountain vistas from the summits of Cinnamon and Engineer Passes.
Organized by Michael Fleishman and John Coy of Human Powered Endeavors on behalf of Lake Fork Valley Conservancy, remunerative tops from the weekend bike competition were $1,000 donation to Wee Care and $1,100 to Lake Fork Conservancy as proceeds from a mountain bike raffle.
An overriding theme for the 108 mountain bikers — 87 men and 21 women — who completed the mountain circuit beginning and ending in Lake City Park was compassion and an overriding kindness exceeding athletic passion.
Silas Bartels from Brooklyn, New York, was among a trio of Bartels brothers in this year’s race. He remained upbeat despite two above-timberline flat tires and a detached gear shifter which he held in place amid cheers as he crossed the finish line.
What most impressed the first-time Alpine 50 contestant, however, was the pervasive kindness. He remarked that numerous fellow bicyclists and OHV recreationists stopped to offer assistance as he struggled to repair the flat tires.
“Everyone was so helpful,” he said, “there was so much kindness out there.”
In spite of mechanical difficulties, the New York resident finished the race in 52nd place among men with an overall time 6 hours, 6.31 minutes covering the 50-mile track. With their father, Lloyd Bartels on the sidelines, Silas Bartels’ two brothers, Liam, from Heidelberg, Germany, and Salida, Colorado bike enthusiast Josef Bartels, also finished the race, Josef in men’s fourth position, time 3 hours, 46.24 minutes.
Remarkable race statistics as recited by race co-organizer Mike Fleishman, included both Liam Bartels (finish time 6 hours, 19.29 minutes) and Andres Gamboa (3:57.01), from San Jose, Costa Rica, as traveling the greatest distances to attend this year’s Alpine 50, as well as youngest racer in this year’s event, 14-year-old Lake City racer Joseph Tubbs.
Another local racer, 69-year-old Dan File — who has competed and finished every Alpine 50 race since its inception seven years ago — joined Fruita, Colorado, racer Beth Collins, 68, as eldest in this year’s race.
Mountain bicyclists from Durango, Colorado, were once again predominate in terms of cumulative speed, first place cyclists Wells, Sevenoff, and Gould ascending the platform to accept the coveted Sheldon Little Fastest Team Award, while two women counterparts — Manesseh Franklin (4:35.04) and Tara Foster (7:05.16) — garnered the Fastest Team Award on behalf of Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
Not surprisingly, Michael Underwood Photography’s True Grit Award went to Silas Bartels, while Random Acts of Kindness Accolades went to Colorado Springs mountain bicyclist Brad Priebe (5:50.12) who stopped to assist two different race competitors; Most Enthusiastic Award to seven-time Alpine 50 biker Bryan Balliet (3:56.31); Best Beard, Derek Horejs (6:41.49); and All Smiles Award, Leadville racer Marley Seifert (6:22.25).
Following are insights following brief interviews with top finishers, locals, and a smattering of other Alpine 50 race finishers:
Leader of the pack was Todd Wells of Durango with a time of 3 hours, 29 minutes, 20 seconds. Although Wells was concerned about the chance of rain, it turned out to be a beautiful, dry day with perfect temperatures. With weather not providing an obstacle, Wells found other challenges to face, not surprisingly at the highest points of the route, where the air is thin and the climbs are steep on Cinnamon and Engineer Passes. Wells said that he wanted to race in the Alpine 50 because “Lake City is a cool town” and the course is, he said, “spectacular.”
Reflecting on his second place finish — 3 hours, 29.20 minutes — and inaugural Alpine 50, 20-year-old Kip Sevenoff said it was “awesome,” terming the mountain view from the top of Engineer Pass “outstanding, the views the best on the entire course.”
Sevenoff rode a Specialized Epic, dodging the occasional muddy pothole. “Otherwise” and despite predictable steep rough sections on the two passes, the course surface was moist and dustless, “perfect consistency,” he added.
Sevenoff began competitive bike racing as a youth in Moab, Utah. He is in his third year majoring in Exercise Physiology at Fort Lewis College in Durango and earlier this year competed in the Durango Iron Horse Race. After Lake City, he starts a busy collegiate bike racing schedule starting with a collegiate race at Powderhorn Ski Area near Grand Junction.
Rounding out the top three men, coming in at 3 hours, 37 minutes, and 58 seconds, was Nick Gould, also of Durango. With the three fastest racers all from Durango it was an easy win for Men’s Fastest Town. Clinching Third Place and Fastest Town was an amazing feat for a racer that had only been to Lake City once before. While bikepacking in a Colorado Trail Race Nick ran into some race ending issues and he found a safe place to land in Lake City. After a pleasant interlude with his family, he decided to come back for the Alpine 50 and is planning to return again.
Other male bike competitors in Saturday’s Alpine 50 were respective seventh and 10th place finishers Bryan Balliet (3:56.31), from Colorado Springs, and 10-year Gunnison Valley resident Zach Pickett (4:02.18).
Awaiting Balliet — who immediately collapsed with leg cramps after crossing the finish line — was his wife, Calla, and white-whiskered 12-year-old dachshund, “Dash”. Balliet was pleased that he bettered his finish time from last year’s Alpine 50 by more than 15 minutes and far better than his 6-1/2-hour finish in 2019. Like other racers this year, he was highly complimentary of bystanders including OHVers and 4-wheelers “who waved and cheered us on, they were all very courteous.”
Balliet has never missed competing and finishing an Alpine 50 since the race’s inception and on Saturday was already plotting yet another return appearance for the race in 2026 coupled with the goal of riding his bike the entire 540-mile length of the Colorado Trail from Denver to Durango next year.
Gunnison publicist Zach Pickett is a native of Vermont who began bike racing in 2013. Asked for the most vivid memory of this year’s race, he responds “the views were outstanding” and “clearly the best” of any Colorado bike race.
While acknowledging outstanding mountain vistas from Cinnamon and Engineer Passes, he acknowledged “most of the time, however, I was focused on my front wheel.”
Bryant Money, 11th place in Saturday’s race, works as a pharmacist at the U.S. Air Force Academy outside Colorado Springs. In his spare time he rides a Giant mountain bike which he acquired used on Craig’s List from a professional biker and in 2025 — his third Alpine 50 — rode his bike without dismounting a single time, finishing 45 minutes faster than last year.

Money, wearing a checkered black and red shirt worn by other Colorado Springs bicyclists, was enthusiastically greeted at finish line by his rescue St. Bernard, Atlas, and wife, Alyssa.
Durango once again came out on top as Durango- based Lauren Aggeler, first woman finisher, rolled back into Town Park 4 hours, 35 minutes, 4 seconds after the early morning start. Lauren found the route, with its steep passes and long down hill runs, a bit more challenging than the courses she faces as a professional racer with Trinity Racing on the UCI World Racing circuit. The Durango native plans to come back for this “super fun event.”

The second woman to cross the finish line was Manasseh Franklin of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. She and her husband own Cripple Creek Bike and Backcountry. She was awed by the views from Engineer Pass, despite the thin air, and that she “replaced the pain of the race with all happy memories.”
Franklin greeted third place finisher Jenya Berinot, an Aspen, Colorado, attorney, in the town park, telling her, “I kept looking back over my shoulder, I was so afraid you were going to catch me.”
Berinot, third place women’s finish time 4:38.21, was joined in Saturday’s bike race by her husband, Gregory Strokes who finished in fifth place among men with a time of 3:47.43. Strokes has competed in three Alpine 50s and as a spectator in 2023, Berinot says, “it looked cool, I wanted to do it.”
An avid bicyclist — “I’m a lawyer by profession but biking is my hobby” — Berinot raced in the Leadville 200 two weeks ago and, next up on the proverbial docket, next week she and her husband are off to Park City, Utah, for a 75-mile single track bike race.
Salida, Colorado, racer Stephanie Amend placed third in the 2023 Alpine 50 and placed fourth this year (5:02.32) despite finishing nine minutes faster on her Carbondale Scalpel Hardtail.
She remains exhilarated, citing “epic views” on the approach to Cinnamon Pass, the most difficult portion being the slog up Engineer Pass. “I realized I still had a long ways to go” but was cheered anticipating that at the finish line she would be greeted by her husband, Joe, 9-year-old daughter, Collette, and dog, Chance.
For an added challenge and already planning next year’s Alpine 50, Amend says she intends to talk her husband into entering the race.
The youngest racer this year, 14-year-old Joseph Tubbs, Freshman at Lake City Community School, came in with a time of 5 hours, 48 minutes, 22 seconds. Greeted by his proud mother, Sarah Tubbs, and enthusiastic little sisters, Blake and Afton, Joseph displayed a quiet pride in his accomplishment while acknowledging the training assistance he received from Landon Rhodes and Peter Roper. This 9th grade student says that he won’t say no to doing the race again, although he found the downhill portions the most difficult parts of journey.
Todd Schweitzer of Gunnison and Lake City completed his seventh finish of the seven Alpine 50 Races that have been run with a time of 5 hours, 58 minutes, 43 seconds. Todd said that every year is more fun than the last, with this year the best so far. Todd is not done with biking season quite yet as he is racing in the 212-mile bike packing Gunny Loopy Loop.
Fresh off successfully finishing the San Juan Solstice 50 mile ultra-run, Bennett Levine crossed the finish line of the Alpine 50 with a time of 6 hours, 10 minutes, 16 seconds. Bennett is the third person to achieve this locally relevant triumph. This year is the third time he has raced in this event, although it is the only bicycle racing event he’s attempted. Bennett says that the highlight of the day for him was seeing his dad, fellow racer Greg Levine, on top of Engineer Pass.

Upper Lake Fork resident Dan File has ridden his Specialist S-Works mountain bike each year in the Alpine 50 since its start seven years ago, “and it never gets any easier,” he says. The secret to completing the race, he adds, “is from the very start I set the goal that I just wanted to finish.” Flashing a smile, he adds, “and I made it.”
The best part of the route was coming down Engineer Pass. He reports minimal wildlife sightings this year, although in past races he has biked past the occasional bear and moose “and plenty of bighorns.”
Gregarious Greg Levine finished his second Alpine 50 with a respectable time of 7 hours, 38 minutes, 26 seconds. Unsurprisingly, Hinsdale County Commissioner Levine found the most memorable part of the race were the people who he met and chatted with while making his way up the passes. He was ecstatic to find his son Bennett and mother, Susan Holley, waiting for him, along with friends cheering his accomplishment.

^{Todd Wells, Durango, 3:29.20; Kip Sevenoff, Durango, 3:37.56; Nick Gould, Durango, 3:37.58; Josef Bartels, Salida, 3:46.24; Greg Strokes, Aspen, 3:47.43; Henry Pratt, Boulder, 3:53.52; Bryan Balliett, Colorado Springs, 3:56.31; Andres Gamboa, San Jose, Costa Rico, 3:57.01; Xander Ehlers, Telluride, 3:58.16; Zach Prickett, Gunnison, 4:01.18; Bryant Money, Colorado Springs, 4:02.44; Tom Fissenden, Carbondale, 4:05.46; Robbie Starling, Salida, 4:11.43; Mike Foster, Glenwood Springs, 4:16.26; Jacob Hora, Durango, 4:23.57; Jason Williams, Twin Lakes, 4:24.34; William Pankonin, Boulder, 4:24.43; Michael Scott, Salida, 4:27.18; Ben Suttor, Durango, 4:29.13; Jonathan Clinthorne, Lakewood, 4:29.17; Graham Weaver, Murrieta, California, 4:47.02; Zachary James, Englewood, 4:47.43; Joel Mischke, Basalt, 4:48.59; Sam Burke, Gunnison, 5:08.45; Mark Bollman, Ohio City, 5:08.51; Jon Mitchell, Colorado Springs, 5:11.06; Dan Stine, Lakewood, 5:11.31; Jesse Rickert, Gunnison, 5:12.15; Chad Mortensen, Alamosa, 5:16.01; Brad Taylor, Colorado Springs, 5:16.24; Bobby Efird, Gunnison, 5:16.57; Jack Graber, Littleton, 5:17.24; Mike Henderson, Alamosa, 5:21.37; Dustin Ridgway, Durango, 5:26.23; Jay Allin, Morrison, 5:28.20; John Wedeking, Pueblo West, 5:30.48; Igor Boniakowski, Boulder, 5:31.57; Dean Kennedy, Florissant, 5:32.02; D’arcy Straub, Littleton, 5:33.22; Sean Witham, Montrose, 5:36.38; Steve Crumpler, Colorado Springs, 5:38.38; Mark Tidwell, Amarillo, Texas, 5:41.25; Ron Romenesko, Littleton, 5:48.06; Joseph Tubbs, Lake City, 5:48.22; Brad Priebe, Colorado Springs, 5:50.12; Peter Jurco, Fruita, 5:52.56; Levi Hefner, Denver, 5:55.35; Nick Elmont, Arvada, 5:56.27; Todd Schweitzer, Lake City, 5:58.43; Glen Meader, Littleton, 5:58.52; Jonathan Stockwell, Breckenridge, 5:59.32; Silas Bartels, Brooklyn, New York, 6:06.31; Chris Courtney, Poncha Springs, 6:08.30; Austin Syme, Fruita, 6:08.56; Bennett Levine, Lake City, 6:10.16; Chris Dickey, Gunnison, 6:10.21; Luke Zawadzki, Fort Collins, 6:12.53; Alexy Zaitzev, Lakewood, 6:14.42; Michael Tobiassen, Gunnison, 6:16.57; Liam Bartels, Heidelberg, Germany, 6:19.29; Robb Reece, Grand Junction, 6:27.03; Tim Altieri, Denver, 6:28.34; Evan Campbell, Denver, 6:28.35; Joseph Rogerson, Colorado Springs, 6:31.36; Jeff Myers, Lakewood, 6:32.46; Daniel Ramse, Loveland, 6:34.23; Daniel File, Lake City, 6:35.22; Howard Smith, San Antonio, Texas, 6:38.47; Derek Horejs, Poncha Springs, 6:41.49; Shaun Lightcap, Longmont, 6:44.50; Dennis Thompson, Longmont, 6:47.08; Dave Eisele, Glewood Springs, 6:49.53; Seth Myers, Littleton, 6:50.49; Ryan Cable, Golden, 6:52.08; Benjamin Willis, Los Ranchos, New Mexico, 6:58.19; Andrew Lyne, Lafayette, 7:05.05; Wes Chapman, Centennial, 7:13.01; Mike Mathwig, Grand Junction, 7:13.11; Adam Forland, Golden, 7:20.41; Andrew Jensen, Broomfield, 7:21.29; Mike Fend, Longmont, 7:33.15; Greg Levine, Lake City, 7:38.26; Edward Bieg, Carbondale, 7:41.46; Isaac Robinson, Denver, 7:51.41; Jason Leverton, Livermore, California, 7:51.50; Douglas Fields, Almont, 7:52.59; Jeremy Weber, Littleton, 8:07.27.
Lauren Aggeler, Durango, 4:16.51; Manesseh Franklin, Glenwood Springs, 4:35.04; Jenya Berinot, Aspen, 4:38.21; Stephanie Amend, Salida, 5:02.32; Briana Valorosi, Fruita, 5:3106; Heather Romenesko, Littleton, 5:39.36; Danielle Skinner, Twin Lakes, 5:39.38; Brianna Rickert, Gunnison, 5:52.16; Elizabeth Gamache, Canon City, 6:19.46; Marley Seifert, Leadville, 6:22.25; Stasia Stockwell, Breckenridge, 6:33.24; Susan Annabel, Carbondale, 6:43/15; Tiege Rugland, Grand Junction, 6:44.49; Kelsey White, Buena Vista, 6:45.36; Sarah Willis, Los Ranchos, New Mexico, 6:58.15; Tara Foster, Glenwood Springs, 7:05.16; Crystal Miller, Poncha Springs, 7:13.07; Georgia Wiard, Fruita, 7:33.13; Beth Collins, Fruita, 7:42.13; Stephanie Allen, Moab, Utah, 7:43.13; Erin Henrichs, Mancos, 7:50.20}