{{Short description|American cyclist (born 1998)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}} {{Infobox cyclist | name = Christopher Blevins | image = Christopher Blevins 2017.jpg | image_size = | caption = Blevins in 2017 | full_name = | nickname = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1998|3|14}} | birth_place = Durango, Colorado, United States | height = | weight = | currentteam = Specialized Factory Racing | disciplines = {{ubl|Mountain bike|Road|Cyclo-cross}} | role = Rider | ridertype = | amateuryears1 = | amateurteam1 = | amateuryears2 = | amateurteam2 = | proyears1 = 2017–2018 | proteam1 = {{UCI team code|AHB|2017}} | proyears2 = 2017–2020 | proteam2 = Specialized Racing | proyears3 = 2021 | proteam3 = {{UCI team code|TRI|2021}}<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.uci.org/mountain-bike/teams/TeamDetail/15773/2003571/282|title=Trinity Racing MTB|work=UCI.org|publisher=Union Cycliste Internationale|accessdate=March 1, 2021|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20210301223322/https://www.uci.org/mountain-bike/teams/TeamDetail/15773/2003571/282|archivedate=March 1, 2021}}</ref> | proteam4 = Specialized Factory Racing | proyears4 = 2022– | majorwins = ;''Mountain bike'' :World Short Track Championships (2021) :XC World Cup (2025) ::5 individual wins (2021, 2024, 2025) :Cape Epic (2023) | medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry|{{USA}}}} {{MedalSport | Men's mountain bike racing}} {{MedalCompetition|World Championships}} {{MedalGold| 2021 Val di Sole | Cross-country Short Track}} {{MedalGold|2024 Vallnord|Mixed relay}} {{MedalSilver| 2021 Val di Sole | Team relay}} {{MedalSilver| 2018 Lenzerheide | Under-23 Cross-country}} {{MedalSilver| 2020 Leogang | Under-23 Cross-country}} {{MedalSilver| 2019 Mont Saint-Anne | Cross-country Team relay}} {{MedalBronze| 2021 Val di Sole | Electric MTB Cross-country}} {{MedalSport|Men's cross-country marathon}} {{MedalCompetition|World Championships}} {{MedalSilver|2024 Snowshoe|Men's}} | show-medals = }} '''Christopher Blevins''' (born March 14, 1998) is an American cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Mountain Bike Team Specialized Factory Racing. Specializing in cross-country mountain biking, Blevins has also previously competed in road cycling (for {{UCI team code|AHB|2018}}) and cyclo-cross,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/christopher-blevins | title=Christopher Blevins | work=ProCyclingStats | accessdate=February 21, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://firstcycling.com/rider.php?r=49959 | title=Christopher Blevins | work=FirstCycling.com | accessdate=February 21, 2021}}</ref> before choosing to solely focus on mountain biking in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.velonews.com/news/mountain/blevins-leaves-road-behind-to-focus-on-olympic-mtb-dream/ | title=Blevins leaves road behind to focus on Olympic MTB dream | work=VeloNews.com | date=November 16, 2018 | accessdate=February 21, 2021 | last=Cash|first=Dane}}</ref>
==Biography== ===Early life=== Blevins was born on March 14, 1998, in Durango, Colorado, son of Field and Priscilla<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Κaylee Βlevins|url=http://52.203.87.94/kaylee-blevins.htm|access-date=30 April 2021|website=USA CYCLING}}</ref> His father is an orthopedic surgeon with a specialty in sports medicine<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Malach|first=Pat|title=Christopher Blevins: Cycling's slam poet|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/christopher-blevins-cyclings-slam-poet/|url-status=live|access-date=30 April 2021|website=cyclingnews|date=November 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206040148/http://www.cyclingnews.com:80/features/christopher-blevins-cyclings-slam-poet/ |archive-date=December 6, 2018 }}</ref> and his older sister Kaylee was also a member of the U.S. National mountain bike team.<ref name=":0" /> He went to college in San Luis Obispo, CA graduating from Cal Poly in 2021 with a degree in business administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.calpoly.edu/news/ive-been-dreaming-every-day-recent-grad-heads-tokyo-cycle-team-usa|title = 'I've Been Dreaming of This Every Day.' Recent Grad Heads to Tokyo to Cycle for Team USA | Cal Poly| date=July 23, 2021 }}</ref> Additionally, he teaches voluntarily spoken-word poetry in a local juvenile hall and is a lyricist of rap music.<ref name=":3" />
===Career=== Blevins began participating in the sport of cycling at the age of five by competing in BMX races. He managed to win eight national championships in the age divisions between elementary and high school. His BMX career ended at the age of sixteen however, and by the age of twelve he had already begun to compete in both mountain bike and road cycling. He had great success from the ages of thirteen to nineteen where he won the national Cross Country championship in his age group. At sixteen he was able to win the road cycling national championship as well.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=CHRISTOPHER BLEVINS|url=https://usacycling.org/athlete/christopher-blevins|url-status=live|access-date=30 April 2021|website=USA CYCLING|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921154826/https://usacycling.org/athlete/christopher-blevins |archive-date=September 21, 2020 }}</ref>
When Blevins turned eighteen he won one of the most important races of the junior category in road cycling, the famous Course de la Paix. This race provided him the opportunity to join the team {{UCI team code|HBA|2017}}. In the same year, he signed another contract with the Specialized Racing team to participate in the U23 World Cross-Country Championship. In 2018 he managed to win the U23 national cyclo-cross championship. In the same age group, he finished 2nd in the World Cross-Country Championship and also won a stage of the Tour of the Gila. In 2019, aiming for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, he decided to dedicate himself to mountain biking.<ref name=":1" /> At the 2020 U23 World Cross-Country Championship he finished 2nd and after the postponing of the Olympic Games due to COVID-19, he signed a 2021 contract with Trinity Racing.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=21 December 2020|title=Trinity Racing launches mountain bike program around Americans Christopher Blevins and Haley Batten|url=https://www.velonews.com/news/mountain/trinity-racing-launches-mountain-bike-program-around-americans-christopher-blevins-and-haley-batten/|url-status=live|access-date=30 April 2021|website=VeloNews|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221153135/https://www.velonews.com/news/mountain/trinity-racing-launches-mountain-bike-program-around-americans-christopher-blevins-and-haley-batten/ |archive-date=December 21, 2020 }}</ref>
In August 2021, he became the inaugural men's cross-country short track world champion, taking the title at the 2021 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Val di Sole, Italy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/uci-mountain-bike-world-championships-2021/men-women-short-track/results/|title=MTB Worlds: Blevins, Frei win short track titles|first=Rob|last=Jones|publisher=CyclingNews|date=26 August 2021|access-date=27 August 2021}}</ref> He also won his first UCI XCO World Cup round, in Snowshoe, West Virginia, that year.
He won the 2023 Cape Epic alongside Matthew Beers. He opened up his 2024 season with a win in the Low Gap Hopper gravel race in California.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com/racing/news/low-gap-hopper-christopher-blevins-and-kate-courtney-take-wins-to-open-the-us-gravel-season | title=Low Gap Hopper: Christopher Blevins and Kate Courtney take wins to open the US gravel season | work=Global Cycling Network | date=29 January 2024 | accessdate=26 April 2024 | author=Jones-Wilkins, Logan}}</ref> In April, he won the first round of the UCI XCO World Cup in Mairiporã, Brazil.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/uci-mtb-world-cup-mairipora-2024/elite-men-xco/results/ | title=MTB World Cup Mairiporã – Christopher Blevins captures XCO win in opening round | work=Cycling News | date=14 April 2024 | accessdate=26 April 2024 | author=Giuliani, Simone}}</ref>
==Major results== ===Mountain bike=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} ;2015 : 2nd 15px Team relay, Pan American Championships ;2016 : 1st {{cjersey|usa}} Cross-country, National Junior Championships ;2017 : 1st {{cjersey|usa}} Cross-country, National Under-23 Championships ;2018 : 2nd 15px Cross-country, UCI World Under-23 Championships : 3rd Cross-country, National Championships ;2019 : Pan American Championships ::1st 15px Under-23 Cross-country ::2nd 15px Team relay : 2nd 15px Team relay, UCI World Championships ;2020 : 2nd 15px Cross-country, UCI World Under-23 Championships : UCI Under-23 XCO World Cup ::2nd Nové Město II ;2021 : UCI World Championships ::1st {{cjersey|rainbow}} Short track ::2nd 15px Team relay : UCI XCO World Cup ::1st Snowshoe : 3rd 15px Cross-country, UCI World E-MTB Championships ;2022 : UCI XCC World Cup ::1st Snowshoe : 2nd Cross-country, National Championships : 3rd 15px Team relay, UCI World Championships : 3rd Overall Cape Epic (with Matthew Beers) ;2023 : 1st 20px Overall Cape Epic (with Matthew Beers) ::1st Prologue & Stages 2, 3, 4 & 6 : UCI XCC World Cup ::3rd Mont-Sainte-Anne ;2024 : Pan American Championships ::1st 20px Cross-country ::2nd 15px Short track : UCI XCO World Cup ::1st Mairiporã : 2nd 15px Marathon, UCI World Championships : UCI XCC World Cup ::2nd Araxá ::2nd Nové Město ;2025 : 1st {{cjersey|red}} Overall UCI XCO World Cup ::1st Araxá I ::1st Nové Město ::1st Lake Placid : 1st {{cjersey|red}} Overall UCI XCC World Cup ::1st Araxá I ::1st Araxá II ::1st Nové Město ::1st Leogang ::1st Val di Sole ::1st Lake Placid ::2nd Pal–Arinsal : 2nd 15px Short track, UCI World Championships {{div col end}}
===Road=== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} ;2015 : 1st Stage 4 Tour de l'Abitibi : 6th Overall Trofeo Karlsberg ::1st {{cjersey|polkadot}} Mountains classification ;2016 : 1st {{cjersey|yellow}} Overall Course de la Paix Juniors ;2018 : 4th Overall San Dimas Stage Race ::1st Stage 2 : 9th Overall Tour of the Gila ::1st {{cjersey|green}} Points classification ::1st Stage 2 {{div col end}}
===Cyclo-cross=== ;2014–2015 : 3rd 15px Pan American Junior Championships ;2017–2018 : 1st {{cjersey|usa}} National Under-23 Championships : Under-23 CXLA Weekend ::1st Day 1 & 2 ;2021–2022 : USCX Series ::3rd Baltimore II
===Gravel=== ;2023 : 2nd Low Gap Hopper : 2nd Belgian Waffle Ride Arizona : 3rd Sea Otter Classic Fuego XL ;2024 : 1st Low Gap Hopper
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Sports links}}
{{authority control}} {{Cape Epic Men's classification winners}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blevins, Christopher}} Category:1998 births Category:Living people Category:American male cyclists Category:American cyclo-cross cyclists Category:Sportspeople from Durango, Colorado Category:California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, alumni Category:American mountain bikers Category:Cyclists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic cyclists for the United States Category:Cyclists from Colorado Category:Cyclists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Category:21st-century American sportsmen