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Team Photo Scrapbook 09
2009 Intermountain Cup Mountain Bike Racing Series

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It was cool and sunny at the 9:30 start time at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Teton Village. The race loop was the same as in past years -- rocky and rooty as usual, but perhaps having more moon-dust than in years past. Some TLC had been given to a couple of the more-difficult rock gardens, so you could fire right through them. The ferns, wildflowers, and groves of fir and aspen were beautiful. It was a great day to race. Dallin Johnson and Ryan Payne took first-place wins. Jakob Haderlie, Andrew Weber, Dale Hutchings, Jay Griffin, Joel Quinn, Jake Weber, and Jolene Nosack had second-place finishes.

Left: Rain moves over the peaks of the Grand Tetons on raceday afternoon.

Nathan Weber sprints past a small
grove of aspens to finish with team
points at 6th place.

Rebecca Sparks takes a hit of go-juice
from the backpack as she crosses
the ski slope in 12th place.

Rachel Sparks pedals out of the trees
and into the meadow, winning 14th place.

Aidan Thayer cranks out a good race
and finishes with the 16th place spot.

Left:  Brayden Nielsen heads uphill through
dense ferns in the aspen grove, finishing
on the podium with 3rd place.

Right:  Zachary Peterson cranks uphill
across the ski slope for a 4th place
finish in the 10-12 category.

Coming in 9th, Shawn Nielsen is almost finished as he heads downhill.

Harrison Woodard finishes in 12th place
despite an ugly fall in the initial shakeout.

Right:  In the early-morning chill, Justin, Jay,
and Mike talk racing after setting up the
team HQ in the parking area.

Right:  After crossing the line, it's time to
start another lap, as Rachel gets an
encouraging pat on the back from Dad.

Left:   Nathan Thayer hits the dipsy-doodle
twisting final descent to finish a lap, finishing
the race with 4th place for BM 30-39.

Right:   Jake follows daughter Olivia in the
first lap of her first race, with helpful hints
and lots of cheering.

Right:  The Men 50-plus and Men 57-plus
groups enjoy a rare combined start as they
thunder up the shakeout road toward the
singletrack of the race loop.

Left:  Rachel Hutchings pedals through the
ferns to take podium at 3rd place in the
Beginner Women category.

Right:  Near the finish line, racers gather
around the results board to check their race
times and finishing order.

Left:  Coming off an injury with stitches
from hitting a dog on his road bike (and
breaking off the front fork), Justin Griffin 
still manages a respectable 5th place.

Right:  Jolene (left, second tier) and Sally
(right, third tier) get their ribbons and prizes
for their performance in Women 35-plus.

Left:  Jake Weber heads uphill on the rocky
rooty singletrack, finishing with the 2nd place 
spot in the Sport Men 30-34 category.

Right:  Ben Hutchings heads over the meadow near
the end of another tough lap, grabbing the 4th place
spot.

Right:  The 10-12 age category gets their
turn on the podium, while the 9-and-unders
line up at the right to wait for their turn.
UMB had 11 racers in these two groups,
but only 19 racers over age 12 at Jackson.

Left:   Jason Sparks hits the dipsy-doodle
with gusto as he nears the finish of another
lap. Jason's ride is good for 4th place.

Right:   After the awards, some of the team
put off showers in favor of a light lunch
of mini-sandwiches, fruit, and cookies.

Right:  After crossing the finish line,
Cat pulls a big nail from her flat rear tire.

Right:  The tag-puller gets ready to grab
Mike's race tag as he crosses the finish
line after three laps around the course.

Right:  The Clydesdales are on the podium
as Ryan's son helps him accept the first
place ribbon.

Right:  Sally Hutchings gets another good race at Jackson,
getting onto the podium again with a 3rd place finish. 

Right:  Jeff Kingsford tackles another switchback on the
climb, finishing with a ribbon and team points at 6th place.

Left:  Grabbing good position in the shakeout, Joel Quinn 
hurries uphill into the trees to finish in 2nd place.

Right:  After a brief delay to climb out of the dirt
and get back on the bike, Bruce Argyle cranks out
some speed as he nears the final downhill
and a 3rd place finish.

Jackson Hole has always been an important race for the UMB team. A big win at this race puts the championship out of reach for "the other guys." Not every racer has the time and money to make this big trip, but those who do have a good time. As usual, Jackson did not disappoint, providing beautiful technical singletrack and great racing weather.

More photos, Bruce:   http://picasaweb.google.com/bikerbruceargyle/Jackson09#  
Nielsen and Griffin photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/UMBTeam2009/JacksonHole#
Hutchings photos:  http://picasaweb.google.com/bikersal35/ICUPJackson72509#

Left:  Jeff (left) and Jay (on podium) get their ribbons in the Men 50-plus category.

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