On July 29, Cal Poly alum Christopher Blevins placed 13th in Cycling Mountain Bike at the 2024 Summer Olympics after recovering from a flat tire in the early laps. He finished with a time of 1 hour, 29 minutes and six seconds.
While it was only one position closer to the gold than his Olympic debut in Tokyo where he placed 14th, it was a special moment in his career to be on that world stage.
“I'd be lying if I said I was ever happy after a bad race and an unlucky race, but you're still able to just be giving it your all in the Olympics, very special,” Blevins recalled.
“I was actually camping in my trailer up at the top of the mountain and we woke up early to watch it and I had a trailer full of people watching and cheering for him," said Arts Cyclery head technician Tony Gamberutti. Arts Cyclery is in San Luis Obispo and would work on Blevins' bike when he was a student at Cal Poly and training on the Central Coast.
In 2021, Blevins' first Olympics was not ideal.
“Tokyo is obviously a unique year with Covid and everything, so I had no family, no friends there,” he said.
But in 2024, he got to live the full Olympics experience.
“To be in the village and really part of the Olympic experience was special and I had a great cheer squad.”
With a supportive mountain biking community on the Central Coast, Blevins once again showed the world the strength of his old stomping grounds.
“The diversity of riding from road, mountain and gravel is everything that a professional athlete would need for training,” Gamberutti said.
“I really just, just love the place and have gotten to know every corner of SLO, you know, for the six years I was there,” Blevins added.
While the Olympics is a pivotal race that Blevins looks forward to competing in, it’s still one of many big races left in his career.
“Olympics is the Olympics and what we train your whole life for really but it is just another bike race. You have plenty more after it,” he said.
Blevins doesn't have much time to dwell on his Olympic performance as he prepares for the UCI World Championships in two weeks.
