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Team Photo Scrapbook 09
2009 Intermountain Cup Mountain Bike Racing Series

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It was sunny and warm for a noon-time race at The Canyons. The trail was rocky and powdery, brutal to climb and spooky to descend. It was a tough race, worthy of a season-ender. The UMB team again had its share of bad luck with flat tires and injuries, squeaking out a close second-place team finish behind Mad Dog. First-place winners for UMB were Brayden Nielsen, Randy Croall, Jared Muir, Joel Quinn, and Denmark Jensen, with second-place finishes by Jakob Haderlie, Dale Hutchings, Justin Griffin, and Jolene Nosack.

Left: Racers descend the ski slope after exiting a very technical downhill singletrack through the trees. That's Randy Croall in the middle with Dale Hutchings chasing.

Left:   Jakob Haderlie sprints back toward the lap/finish
area on his first lap, temporarily in the lead. Jakob gets
outgunned on the second lap, finishing close in 2nd place. 

Right:  Hunter Ransom hits the top of the doubletrack
and turns the bike into the singletrack return path. Hunter
gets another great ride to grab 3rd place.

At The Canyons, UMB had 11 racers in the 9-and-under class,
out of a total of 20 competitors. We have a lot of young racers
who are ready to get onto the podium as they get older.

Sydney Nielsen turns into the singletrack
after the tough climb, taking 9th place.

Olivia Weber makes her second race
count, finishing well at 14th place.

Aidan Thayer takes a hit of water as
he sprints toward his 16th place finish.

Rebecca Sparks pedals along the hill
on her first lap, getting the 17th place.

Anna Wekluk leads her dad down the
trail, finishing in the 19th position.

Rachel Sparks also gets a "dad escort"
toward the finish line and 20th place.

Zachary Peterson takes a hit of fluid
as the hot sun glares off the dirt road,
getting podium with 3rd place.

Powering down as it gets steep, Jordan
Johnson gets an impressive placement
with the 4th place finish.

Shawn Nielsen heads down the singletrack
to the finish line and 10th place.

Harrison Woodard pedals past the
tall grass on the way to 12th place.

Left:  Jared Muir carves a turn in the rock
and dust of the downhill, finishing with
another 1st place win in his category.

Right:  The layout at The Canyons meant that
the team support was located about a half
mile from the race start line. Racers parked in
the lot close to the highway, then headed
up through the buildings of the resort to
reach the mountain.

Nathan Thayer pivots a turn on the
dusty singletrack near the finish line,
taking the 10th place spot.

New to the team is Greg Soper, who
 picks the toughest course for his
debut, and finishes with 12th place.

Right: Dale Hutchings rolls into a downhill turn on the
ski slope, chasing Randy around the course. Dale gets
on the podium for his last race as a beginner-class
racer, taking the red ribbon at 2nd place.

Bill Becker cranks out of a turn and
heads toward a 9th place finish.

Eric Johnson pivots into a switchback
on his final lap, taking 10th place

Left:  Adriana Trejo has a bit of bad luck
on her first race as a UMB team member.
A crash and hand injury earns her a ride
off the mountain on the rescue vehicle.
Next year will be better, Adriana!

Right:  Racers could ride bikes from the
parking lot to the race area, or take the free
gondola. Here Ben is coming down the hill.

Left:  Justin Griffin powers out of the
last turn on the ski slope and sprints toward
the finish area. Justin gets the 2nd place
win in the S/W 16-18.

Right:  Racers gather downhill from the finish
line where the race will be staged and started.

Right: The 10-12 category heads uphill on
the doubletrack as they start their race.

Dan Hutchings makes his ride good
for a couple of team points as he takes
the 7th place spot.

Gary Wekluk has three flat tires on his
last lap, dragging in at 8th place
and looking forward to next season.

Denmark Jensen looks around the loose
switchback and he gets a great ride to
finish with 1st place.

Darren Harris gets some natural air
conditioning as he powers himself onto
the podium at 3rd place.

Ryan Nielsen earns himself a respectible
4th place finish in this tough and speedy
category.

Left:   Jason Sparks cranks the 29er around the last
turn as he again gets his lucky-number 6th place.
Nothing wrong with 6th -- it's a ribbon and team
points, in a fast and large race group.

Right:   Michael MacDonald rolls into a turn on the
ski slope as he also grabs points for the team with
a 7th place finish.

Right:  Catherine Reay is knocked off the course with a
flat tire that refuses to get fixed until she gets extra
tools (and a tube, as she loaned hers to another rider).
 Cat gets the wheels turning again and rides in to
the finish area in 6th place.

Right:  Derek Ransom broke the base of his
thumb while pre-riding, but after surgery
involving two pins, he's on the mountain
with his splint, cheering for the team.

Right:  The 9-and-under class race down the
trail. That's Olivia in front, and in third
position comes Sawyer. 

Right:  Rebecca carefully pedals through
the tricky gravel at the finish line.

Right:  Sally Hutchings rolls the next-to-last turn of the race
as she finishes on the podium with 3rd place.  

Right:  Jeff Kingsford rolls into the slippery turn on the ski
slope, almost done, in the 8th place position for the category.

Left:  Joel Quinn hits the tricky little dip-turn in the tall
grass of the upper ski slope. Despite having a fever
in the last two days, Joel makes this trail his own with
an impressive 1st place.

Right:  Bruce Argyle cranks out of the turn near the finish
of his first lap. One more long, brutal lap to go before
finishing in 4th place.

This was a tough race. Every racer who participated has a right to feel some pride. Despite flat tires and injuries, the team ran up a nice point total. Although Mad Dog edged us by a few points, our consistent season performance gave us the championship for 2009.

More photos, Bruce: http://picasaweb.google.com/bikerbruceargyle/TheCanyons09#
Nielsen photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/UMBTeam2009/TheCanyons#
Kay Hutchings photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bikersal35/ICUP2009Canyons8109#

Left: Kay Hutchings (third from left) took most of the photos you see on this page, and is a regular at trailside, taking pictures of the race and supporting her family. In the photo are siblings Dan, Sally, and Ben. Many thanks, Kay!

[ Note:  Click link below right for  season awards! ]

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