Ear to the ground

“They’re from Durango, as if you couldn’t tell.”

-The greeting two Durangoans received at a recent party

in Pagosa Springs

Golden boy

Durango is once again poised to grab the golden spoke. Last week, USA Cycling announced the 2008 Olympic Mountain Bike Team, and Durango cyclist Todd Wells earned one of the three coveted slots on the men’s squad.

The three men and two women were selected to the squad based on solid 2007 UCI World Cup performances, and will ride at the upcoming Mountain Bike Olympic Test Event in Beijing on Sept. 22.

Mountain bike giants Adam Craig and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski will join Wells on the men’s squad. The recently crowned USA Cycling National Champion, Craig is also currently the top American in the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup standings. Horgan-Kobelski and Wells, who both represented the United States in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, are ranked second and third respectively among Americans. Willow Koerber and Georgia Gould were selected to represent the U.S. women at the Beijing event. 

Both Koerber and Gould have posted top-five finishes in international competition this season. All five will be at the starting line in Beijing in the summer of 2008.

Wells is an accomplished racer in many disciplines, most notably earning the stars and stripes jersey as the 2005 national cyclocross champion. In the 2004 Athens Olympics, he finished in 19^thplace but has no regrets. In a recent interview with downhill racer extraordinaire Jill Kintner, “Wellsy” explained that the 2008 Olympic Team is a top priority. “I would really love to go again,” he said. “The Olympics is one event that transcends politics, countries, wars, everything. It is such a special event and I would really like to be part of it again and get a better result.”

The art of the breast

The search is now on for “Boob & Bras.” The Women’s Health Coalition (WHC) is sponsoring an art exhibit and fundraising auction, “Boob & Bras,” to raise money for non-medical assistance for local women undergoing reproductive cancer treatment.

The WHC is currently looking for artists to take part in the exhibit, which goes on display at Steaming Bean Coffee beginning on Oct. 1. For an application, contactbj.boucher@cancer.orgor call 259-3527.  Applications and artwork are due by Sept. 30. “Boobs & Bras” will be a juried exhibit and auction, offering a top prize of $250.The Durango Telegraph’sown Jules Masterjohn will jury the work and select prize winners.