|
|
Wolverine Ridge
Evanston, Wyoming - August 4, 2007
Left: Pre-race bike
prep and strategy session
under the UMB canopy at Wolverine Ridge. Right:
Lining up for the race start. This is the Beginner Men 40-plus and Men
57-plus. |
|
 |
The Forest Service and Evanston cycling club
did a great job with trail preparation and logistics. One week before the
race, the trail was a nightmare of loose debris, big roots, and huge
rocks. On raceday, it was in the best shape ever. Perfect temperatures,
perfect trail, great day. We arrived at Wolverine Ridge as the
Intermountain Cup defending champions. 19 UMB racers came to defend the
title.
Right: Before the race, Bruce has a firm
grip on the trophy, hoping to keep it.
Left: Looking north
on a section of Deadman Pass. |
|
 |
|
|
Ben Hutchings hits a bermed turn
on the way to 6th place in SM 19-29. |
Rounding a rocky turn Bruce Argyle
heads for 3rd place in Men 57-plus. |
Eric Taylor drops into Deadman Pass
finishing 7th in SM 19-29. |
 |
|
|
In Beginner Men 40-plus, Todd Jackson
rides to an impressive 1st place. |
Stephen Bergen borrows a bike and
cranks it to 1st in BM 30-39. |
In Sport-Expert 16-18, Kellie Williams
grabs another 1st-place finish. |
 |
|
|
Evan Christensen breaks his seat but
pedals standing to 9th in Clydesdale. |
In Sport Women, Amber Hatfield
heads
down a sandy stretch of Deadman Pass. |
In his 1st race, Justin Griffin
nails another
1st place in the 10-12 category. |
 |
|
|
Sally Hutchings cranks up another
rolling
hill, finishing 10th in Women 35+. |
Another Wolverine victim.
Possibly Matt. |
Danny Van Wagoner fights to the
3rd-place finish in Sport-Expert 13-15. |
 |
|
|
Flatting a tire, Mike Engberson motors
on
to 10th place in Expert Men 30-39. |
Dan Hutchings takes the 10th-place
position in Sport Men 30-34. |
Catherine Reay recovers from a
crash and
fights on to 2nd place in Beginner Women |
 |
|
|
After time off for injuries, Lynn Stephens
takes 8th in Men 50+ in his 1st time back. |
Jolene Nosack drops down the hill
on
the way to 4th in Women 35+. |
Motoring through the pines, Dale
Hutchings
grabs a 6th-place finish in BM 30-39. |
 |
At the finish line, Stephen, Todd, and Bruce
swap their war stories.
|
|
Matt Flygare takes a nasty crash but
finishes 6th in Sport Men 30-34. |
|
In his 2nd race, Justin Griffin
takes
6th in Sport-Expert 13-15. |
At Wolverine Ridge, we faced a big
Revolution lead. Knowing it would take both a big team turnout and a bit
of good luck, we came up short on both. UMB fielded only 19 racers.
Although those who came fought their way to an excellent ratio of
points-per-rider, we came up short. A couple of UMB riders lost position
with crashes. Mike had a flat tire; Evan broke off his seat; Stephen made
the race on a borrowed bike.
Revolution won the race and the season championship. With Mad Dog showing
surprising strength, we took 3rd place in this race but remained in 2nd
place for the season.
The race did have its highlights. The trail was in great shape. The
temperature was pleasant. Justin Griffen, Stephen Bergen, Todd Jackson,
and Kellie Williams took 1st place in their categories, with Catherine
Reay producing a 2nd place. After the race, UMB held its own team-racer raffle
at the race site. We gave away $200 in bike-store certificates and another
$300 in merchandise including some very nice racing tires. Every UMB racer at
Wolverine Ridge got something, and those who made the trip to Jackson 2
weeks ago got another raffle winner for that race. |
| Award Ceremony, Evanston Wyoming |
 |
The race awards and season ceremonies were
held at Evanston after the race. Racers and family were treated to dinner
and raffle prizes. Boxes and boxes of pizza. Plenty of soft drinks.
At right, Justin (right) and family and Sally (at left
in the photo) take a
last look at the ICup trophy. |
|
 |
|
|
On behalf of all the UMB racers
who worked hard at Lambert Park,
Bruce accepts the IMBA trophy. |
Kellie Williams
takes the season championship for
Sport-Expert 16-18. |
After beating Bruce in the race,
Revolution racer Joel wins the
big firework package in the raffle. |
 |
Left: Ben Hutchings gets the 2nd-place
for
the season in Sport Men 19-29.
Dave Larsen took 2nd in
Sport-Expert
16-18 for 2007, but couldn't make it to
Evanston for the awards.
Right: Danny Van Wagoner
takes
the championship in the Sport-Expert
13-15 class. |
 |
 |
|
|
Jolene Nosack gets the plaque for
3rd place in Women 35-plus. |
In Men 57-plus, Bruce Argyle takes
2nd for the season. |
After jumping to Expert, Mike Engberson
hangs on to 3rd in Sport Men 35-39. |
In an earlier ceremony at the race site, Justin
Griffin receives his 1st-place plaque for 10-12. |
This year, more UtahMountainBiking riders
finished on the season podium than ever before. In individual races, we
saw more 1st and 2nd place finishes than ever. Despite the fading of team
points in the second half of the season, this was a successful year for
the team. Several UMB racers moved to new tougher categories. In the team standings we finished a respectably-close 2nd to
Revolution for the season. We won the IMBA trailwork trophy. Take a
well-deserved break, UMB team members, and congratulations on a
hard-fought season!
Thanks to Jay Griffin for taking
our racer action photos for this race,
and for EVERY race this season. For more pix of the Wolverine Race, go to
http://picasaweb.google.com/1mtnbiker/UMBWolverine2007 |
[Team Index Page] [Team
Roster 07] [Team Member Profiles]
[Team
Signup] [UtahMountainBiking Home Page]
|
