Christopher Blevins Takes Stewardship of the US Mountain Biking Torch

This year Christopher Blevins became the first American man to win a World Cup race since 1994. His new film showcases an FKT attempt along the Los Padres trail and highlights environmental issues.
By Jeff Barber
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This year Christopher Blevins became the first American man to win a World Cup race since 1994, taking first in the final XCO race of the season at Snowshoe, West Virginia. He’s also the reigning short track world champion, and has notched numerous podium finishes at national and international mountain, cyclocross, and road races. This month he’s got a short documentary film titled “The Long Traverse” that will be premiering online.

In this interview we ask:

  • How did the Durango DEVO community-based cycling program shape who you are as a rider?
  • What is it about Durango that produces so many talented riders? Is it the elevation, or the terrain, or something else?
  • How does being a playful rider translate on the race course?
  • How did you get interested in spoken word poetry?
  • What did you learn through the process of preparing for and then racing your FKT attempt along the Los Padres route?
  • Which do you find more challenging: FKTs or World Cup racing? How are they different or the same?
  • As a professional athlete, what do you see as your role in important issues like climate change?
  • How can we balance the positives that tourism can bring to an area with the impact that it has in terms of the carbon footprint of travel and the strain on local resources?
  • Why did you decide to join the Trinity Racing team?
  • Were you thinking about becoming the first US male to win a World Cup race in 27 years at the start of the Snowshoe XC event this year?
  • Who are some entrepreneurs you admire? Do you see yourself becoming an entrepreneur in the traditional business sense, or is entrepreneurship applicable to making a career as an athlete?
  • What’s next for you?

Watch “The Long Traverse” and learn more at stilspoke.com

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