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Steamboat Springs — After lingering snow from a record-breaking winter forced the Rio Stampede mountain bike race back from its traditional June date, weather again struck the event after its belated start this weekend.

An afternoon thunderstorm arrived Saturday at the Steamboat Ski Area, bringing the event's 12-hour race to a finish seven hours into the riding. The Rio's six-hour race already was completed when the storm hit.

"We skirted the rain Friday, set up a fast course, then watched Saturday when the rain and clouds came in from up in the north," co-race director Brad Cusenbary said. "It came with a vengeance, blowing over tents and fencing. It was pretty crazy."

The day began with a cloudy cover, which gave way to sunny, blue skies at about noon.

Storms swept into Steamboat Springs soon afterward, however. A hard rain and 15 minutes of sustained winds made quick work of the race's base area, near the bottom of the gondola.

The wind scattered tents and supplies, but even more critical for riders, it made the bottom area of the 11-mile course a muddy mess. Much of the ski area's base has been worked on through the summer in a re-grading effort, leaving the approach and entire pit-stop area for the Stampede on recently tilled ground.

The afternoon's rain made carrying on through the mud impossible.

"At the base, it rained heavy for long enough to make all the pits almost impassable," he said. "It was a mud-fest."

The six-hour race already was complete, but 12-hour racers were stopped as quickly as possible once the decision to cancel had been made. Many were pulled off the course at the top of the gondola and allowed to take shelter in the gondola building during the storm.

Routt County Search and Rescue then made a trip around the course to make sure all the competitors had made it in safely. No injuries were reported.

"It was crazy to see everyone latched on to tents to keep them from blowing away," Cusenbary said. "It's funny with this race - every year, we get something like this. Typically in June, we get a snowstorm at the top. We thought in August we'd find better weather."

Even with an aborted race, the Stampede was successful, he said.

Barkley Robinson found plenty of time to record the fastest lap of the day, finishing one round in 58:38; he then went on to win the six-hour men's race.

Jo Schwartz won the women's six-hour event, while Peter Kalmes and Kelly Boniface won the men's and women's divisions of the shortened 12-hour race.

"Even with everything, we were happy with the turnout. We knew when we moved the race we'd sacrifice numbers, but it's always been a small race, and that's what a lot of people appreciate about it," Cusenbary said. "It was making to be another great weekend for the Rio Stampede, until the clouds came in."

- To reach Joel Reichenberger, call 871-4253

or e-mail jreichenberger@steamboatpilot.com