On Saturday, Mikaela Shiffrin embraced an unusual role that of a spectator.
The most decorated Alpine skier of all time spent her morning stationed at the base of Golden Peak, rooting for her brother, Taylor Shiffrin, as he tackled the men’s pro/open XCO mountain bike race during the GoPro Mountain Games. The 32-year-old was one of 22 riders taking on the course.
“It was a blast,” said Mikaela, relishing her spot on the family support team. “We tried to make it to the feed zone but got a bit lost, so I think we missed him. Hopefully he’s hanging in there.”
Taylor, a data scientist who splits time between Vail and Lone Tree, got drawn into the race after bumping into an old friend, Cristhian Ravelo a former professional road cyclist at the grocery store.
“He was like, ‘Let’s do the Leadville 100,’” Taylor recalled. “And I was like, sure and while we’re at it, let’s do the GoPro Games too.” Ravelo, who transitioned from freestyle ski racing to ski cross before eventually turning to bikes, trained with Alpine racers during his youth.
“We kind of grew up training together,” Ravelo said. “The GoPro Games into the Silver Rush 50, then the 100 that’s how I used to prep for Leadville. It’s a great tune-up with time to build fitness.”
In only his second mountain bike ride of the season, Taylor completed three laps of the 6.8-mile loop in 2:19:15.4.
“It was both painful and fun,” he said. “That racing feeling I sort of missed it. I went in knowing I’d probably get wrecked, but it was worth it.”
Ravelo, who retired from professional racing in 2023 and now lives in EagleVail, tried to keep pace with the front-runners before dialing it back.
“I realized I’m not quite where I used to be,” he admitted. Ravelo placed 15th with a time of 1:46:52.6, while Cobe Freeburn of Durango won the event in 1:30:13.5.
Despite her elite background, Mikaela didn’t have any pro tips for her brother beyond lighthearted advice: “I just said, ‘Eat some bananas!’” she joked.
Shiffrin, who’s been spending time in Edwards lately, will soon hit the road again for a month. During her brief stay, she’s been balancing training, recovery, and family time.
“My brother signed up for this race,” she said, laughing. “Last year he did the Triple Bypass and said, ‘Never again.’ But the next day he was like, ‘That was awesome, I’m doing it again.’”
The five-time overall World Cup champion recently completed a four-day training block at Copper Mountain, focusing heavily on giant slalom volume an area she’d been missing due to injuries over the past two seasons.
Earlier in the 2024–25 season, Shiffrin had won two of the first three races before suffering a crash in Killington while chasing her 100th World Cup victory. The crash caused an abdominal puncture that required surgery and forced her out of December’s World Cup races in Beaver Creek. After a two-month recovery, she returned to race at the World Championships in Saalbach, Austria, helping the U.S. win gold in the team event. However, she opted out of the giant slalom due to PTSD from the crash a decision she detailed in a March episode of her YouTube series Moving Right Along.
“I’m feeling better,” Shiffrin said Saturday. “With time, repetition, and consistent training, everything starts to click again. I’m seeing progress.”
Taylor is hoping for his own fitness gains over the summer.
“I’ll need to train hard before the Silver Rush 50,” he said the next step for him and Ravelo as they eye the Leadville 100 in August.
Ravelo, who won the Silver Rush 50 in 2019 and placed 8th at the Leadville 100 in 2016, is approaching the upcoming races with a relaxed mindset.
“It’s way more competitive now with the Lifetime Grand Prix,” he noted. “But it’s kind of refreshing to race without pressure just good times with friends.”
Be the first to comment