Durango native Christopher Blevins is now an elite world champion mountain biker.

Blevins won the inaugural short-track cross-country crown on Thursday at the UCI World Mountain Bike Championships in Cal di Sole, Italy.

During the race, 38 cyclists jockeyed for position on the short track, making multiple laps.

Blevins, however, made a big move on the final lap to take the lead and held on to win the race in 19 minutes, 30 seconds. Four riders finished within 5 seconds of Blevins.

With the win, Blevins became the first American to win a rainbow world championship jersey in cross-country mountain biking since John Tomac, who now lives outside Cortez, won in 1991.

On Wednesday, Blevins was also part of the U.S. mixed relay team that won silver.

Blevins, however, isn’t done. On Saturday, he’ll race in the elite cross-country Olympic discipline race with 108 other riders.

Blevins also represented team USA in cross-country mountain biking this year at the Tokyo Olympics, where he finished 14th.

colivas@durangoherald.com