Professional Sports https://www.the-journal.com/feeds/professional/ 2026-05-26 02:40:14 -0700 en-us https://www.the-journal.com/articles/strong-turnout-expected-for-54th-iron-horse-bicycle-classic/ Memorial Day is almost here, and that means one thing in Durango: The 54th Iron Horse Bicycle Classic weekend is back to give cyclists, spectators and local businesses great memories with a strong tur... 2026-05-20 09:00:00 -0700 5790fb70-d7ab-4830-8b49-c2b779bce53f https://www.the-journal.com/articles/san-francisco-49ers-select-durangos-willis-in-nfl-draft/ Durango has connections to plenty of professional athletes, but now this small mountain town will be connected to a man playing football on Sundays. Former Demons football star Carver Willis was selec... 2026-04-26 08:00:00 -0700 6cf9f1e3-dab8-4bc1-81d7-b1f20774436d https://www.the-journal.com/articles/freeburn-finishes-sixth-at-sea-otter-classic/ Round 1 of the Life Time Grand Prix off-road cycling series is over, and Durango’s Cobe Freeburn sent a message to the off-road community that he’s ready to compete with the best. Freeburn and a larg... 2026-04-21 09:51:14 -0700 e2836b01-72ed-4360-b995-564ed34686a5 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/durangos-willis-getting-ready-for-pro-football-with-nfl-draft-approaching/ It’s been a long time since former Durango High School football star Carver Willis has been one of the young guys in the room, but it’s very likely that changes soon. Willis wrapped up his college ca... 2026-04-02 05:05:14 -0700 d6869ea6-4ab7-443b-a981-6df89eb7d793 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/raising-an-olympian-mickels-sacrifices-have-led-to-skiing-success/ Durango’s Charlie Mickel was on the world stage for millions to see at the Winter Olympics in Italy, but his journey to get there took countless sacrifices from himself and his family years before his... 2026-03-22 08:00:00 -0700 3ddcce51-a128-45f7-82b3-d7fd543d15fe https://www.the-journal.com/articles/mickel-misses-mens-mogul-super-final-doesnt-medal/ MILAN – After a great Thursday morning qualifying run to take good momentum into the afternoon men’s moguls final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Durango’s Charlie Mickel couldn’t deliver a run quite str... 2026-02-12 04:30:00 -0700 82d01177-26f2-4aed-b621-42c72a5f6397 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/mickel-advances-out-of-second-qualification-round-into-final/ MILAN – After a controlled and confident second qualifying run on Thursday morning, Charlie Mickel comfortably advanced to the moguls “F1” final coming up in the afternoon. The Durango native had a sc... 2026-02-12 03:48:02 -0700 5b972ed7-d9bf-4de3-a539-e8242ac64b26 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/mickel-finishes-11th-in-first-olympic-moguls-qualifying-round/ MILAN – For Durango’s Charlie Mickel, a Tuesday qualifying run that he described as “solid but not quite his best,” came extremely close to getting him straight into the Olympic moguls final, but now ... 2026-02-10 03:55:49 -0700 21fd1df0-1aa5-49fc-ba14-a5325422b8a8 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/durangos-charlie-mickel-excited-to-begin-olympic-journey/ MILAN – Now that he has arrived in Italy, Charlie Mickel’s lifelong Olympic dream has finally become a reality. “I'm just super excited to soak it all in and to have an opportunity to try and perform ... 2026-02-10 12:30:18 -0700 e4db167a-7677-4d6a-b5cd-9677670c4c2f https://www.the-journal.com/articles/amos-starts-youth-mountain-biking-scholarship/ Durango’s Riley Amos has accomplished a lot in his young mountain biking career, but he hasn’t forgotten the financial struggles of trying to make it to the highest level of the sport. That’s why Amo... 2026-01-17 10:00:00 -0700 f62c51bc-2981-4101-b314-a5278f28811b https://www.the-journal.com/articles/vermette-victorious-in-final-world-cup-of-2025/ Durango’s Asa Vermette had the goal of making the men’s elite downhill mountain bike riders nervous at the final round of the 2025 World Cup in Mont-Saine-Anne, Quebec, Canada. Mission accomplished. ... 2025-10-16 06:53:53 -0700 f685da76-b7cb-449c-bfe2-e916707504dc https://www.the-journal.com/articles/mtb-world-cup-vermette-wins-blunk-finishes-on-podium-in-lenzerheide/ After three consecutive second-place finishes in the men’s junior downhill World Cup, Durango’s Asa Vermette finally broke through with his first World Cup win of the season in Lenzerheide, Switzerlan... 2025-09-26 05:30:00 -0700 f6b10d00-aa8b-4423-831d-cfd749d7a5f7 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/vermette-wins-red-bull-hardline-wales/ Asa Vermette didn’t think it was enough. The 18-year-old downhill mountain bike sensation was the final rider to hit the Red Bull Hardline course in Dyfi, Wales, on Sunday. He knew England’s Charlie ... 2025-07-30 08:00:00 -0700 9a754216-92f6-4ceb-b442-4940a3929120 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/tour-de-france-update-kuss-earns-top-10-stage-finish-moves-up-to-12th-in-gc/ On Thursday, Durango’s Sepp Kuss proved once again that he is one of the premier mountain men in the Tour de France. Kuss, riding for Team Visma-Lease a Bike, had his best stage finish of the 2025 To... 2025-07-24 09:44:30 -0700 4b5029c9-6a29-40ac-8bab-c2cc404d9604 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/tour-de-france-update-simmons-earns-second-top-10-stage-finish/ Quinn Simmons showed his speed in a relatively flat stage on Wednesday in the Tour de France. The Durangoan with the red, Hulk Hogan-style mustache finished ninth in Stage 11 of the Tour. It’s Simmon... 2025-07-17 07:38:25 -0700 3aa786d3-f371-4412-989d-4ca90a11cfc6 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/durangos-charlie-mickel-finishes-first-full-world-cup-season-strong/ Durango athletes like Christopher Blevins, Riley Amos and Asa Vermette have had recent success on the World Cup mountain bike circuit. Durango’s Charlie Mickel has had a strong start to a different Wo... 2025-05-31 06:25:25 -0700 a82fb94f-5f8a-4924-b04d-d1c75c4246f0 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/durangos-cobe-freeburn-wins-second-consecutive-iron-horse-mens-pro-road-race/ On Saturday, Cobe Freeburn showed why he was the defending Iron Horse Bicycle Classic men’s pro road race champion. The Durango native bided his time in the chase group as they steadily caught Isaac A... 2025-05-24 09:00:36 -0700 bb178769-f6f7-427c-8561-a8dcab0add84 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/sidney-andrew-dominates-iron-horse-womens-pro-road-race/ Sidney Andrew’s frustration turned to fuel during Saturday’s 2025 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic women's pro race. Andrew’s aggressive racing was too much for the rest of the 24-rider field as she won in ... 2025-05-24 12:26:53 -0700 82a67d10-b256-4996-9e5e-030e3ff6f8ac https://www.the-journal.com/articles/vermette-ready-for-mens-junior-downhill-world-cup-after-learning-a-lot-as-a-rookie/ There’s no slowing down Durango’s Asa Vermette. Whether it’s on downhill mountain bike tracks around the world or in the offseason, Vermette is always on the move and stoked to be doing so. The 18-y... 2025-04-26 08:00:00 -0700 f2514f97-7aec-49a9-9e1a-b909c0d0f912 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/doing-the-double-blevins-wins-both-mens-elite-races-in-araxa/ Christopher Blevins did something he’s never done before last weekend: Win two UCI Mountain Bike World Cup men’s elite races in one weekend. The Durango Olympian showed he’s ready to fight at the top... 2025-04-17 05:30:00 -0700 65ac676c-13c7-46df-be56-c82ef13229e2 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/blevins-wins-finishes-on-podium-at-opening-round-of-world-cup-in-brazil/ Durango’s Christopher Blevins probably wishes the UCI Mountain World Cup would never leave Brazil. After a strong opening to the season last year in Brazil, Blevins looked super strong this weekend in... 2025-04-09 08:21:14 -0700 63cee2ce-7741-4809-8c42-6225f2662d28 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/amos-ready-to-compete-in-mens-elite-after-busy-offseason/ After a dominant final season in the men’s U-23 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup field and a historic showing at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Durango’s Riley Amos didn’t slow down in the offseason. Amos finis... 2025-04-05 05:38:16 -0700 087edddf-5953-46f6-8ad8-3a17f109d258 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/muhammad-alis-former-bodyguard-mike-cooley-is-in-durango-ready-for-title-fight/ Like many people who end up in Durango, Legends Boxing Foundation Vice President Mike Cooley had a connection here. His cousins’ aunts and uncles used to live here. They used to own a GM dealership he... 2024-10-06 05:30:00 -0700 5141f932-a620-4472-ae0e-5d79be466aa8 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/howard-grotts-seriously-injured-in-breck-epic-crash/ Durango mountain biker Howard Grotts was seriously injured in a crash on Friday during the 2024 Breck Epic mountain bike stage race in Breckenridge. Grotts was riding in the top five of the pro men’s ... 2024-08-18 01:35:53 -0700 e7d23090-f872-4eb9-a1c8-61c5810d2226 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/fort-lewis-michaela-thompson-finishes-third-in-leadville-trail-100-womens-race/ Fort Lewis rising senior Michaela Thompson may be relatively new to the gravel scene but her prowess on two wheels on Saturday masked her inexperience. The 22-year-old was strong all day at the 105-mi... 2024-08-14 05:30:00 -0700 a4ba2266-6518-4884-a04b-efe2b686e246 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/durangos-savilia-blunk-places-12th-in-paris-2024-olympics-womens-mountain-biking-race/ ELANCOURT, France – For a few minutes, Durango’s Savilia Blunk held her spot at the front of the pack during the women’s mountain biking race at the Paris 2024 Olympics. All around her, fans five-deep... 2024-07-28 10:28:52 -0700 37d6b049-0b2f-4e28-a6b0-5e93d7e46852 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/durangos-riley-amos-has-special-something-when-overlooked/ PARIS – Todd Wells can’t quite put a fine point on what makes mountain bike racers successful. He just knows it when he sees it. They have a certain “je ne sais quoi.” It is sort of fitting that the p... 2024-07-27 05:30:00 -0700 c43e1fdf-aa9e-4808-a0f8-f9a16f48d255 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/durango-mountain-bikers-amos-blevins-and-blunk-not-attending-olympic-opening-ceremonies/ PARIS – Christopher Blevins will be all dressed up, but he won’t go. The Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics will be like no other. An estimated 10,000 athletes and another 3,000 dancers will ... 2024-07-25 03:54:02 -0700 2eca027c-afca-4a1d-9c52-b96e1fa657ed https://www.the-journal.com/articles/catching-up-with-colby-simmons/ Although Durango’s Colby Simmons is only 20 years old and is riding for one of the best development teams in cycling, Team Visma/Lease a Bike Development, he isn’t satisfied with how his 2024 cycling ... 2024-07-13 08:45:42 -0700 2aad06c9-3c10-4fd6-9649-288691353095 https://www.the-journal.com/articles/savilia-blunk-qualifies-for-olympics-with-world-cup-podium-in-araxa/ Durango’s Savilia Blunk is Paris-bound. The off-road cyclist finished third in both the women’s elite cross-country Olympic race and the women’s elite cross-country short track circuit in Araxá, Braz... 2024-04-27 05:30:00 -0700 873a6f8f-df82-474c-9004-305a564c98f7