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Team Photo Scrapbook 2011
2011 Intermountain Cup Mountain Bike Racing Series

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With a record-setting late snow melt, the Deer Valley Pedalfest underwent a minor trail re-route to avoid snow on the upper slopes of Deer Crest. But the shorter loop was dry and in great condition. The only mud was just uphill from the start line, where a large snowbank was feeding the sloppy slope below. UMB saw some great individual efforts. Rachel Hutchings took 1st place. UMB had 2nd-place finishes by Mark Messer, Joel Quinn, Ian Beaty, and Richard Ewell.

Left:  Snow clings to the ski slopes above the race staging area.

Right:  Sawyer Ransom tilts into the turn on his second lap,
taking the 9th place finish in the category.

Right:  Making his first race ever, Pierce Ransom pedals
his small-wheeler toward the finish line and a 12th place
position. Happy Birthday, Pierce! You're now old enough
to race.

Right:   The kids' race started at 8 am in the
early morning chill. Here the 10-12 category
romps on the pedals as they sprint away
from the start line.

Left:   Adam Little  makes his first race as a UMB team 
member and takes a team point for the 7th place finish 
in Beginner Men 30-39.

Right:   Christian Burrell cranks hard on the back stretch
as he nears the finish of his lap, getting the  9th place spot.

Right:   Mark leads a charge of 40-plus expert
racers up the steep shakeout pitch just
uphill from the starting line.

Right:   Race over, quickly.
 Bikes fail. John carries
his bike back down the hill.

Right:  Looking north from the race loop.
With the late arrival of warm weather, the
aspens are just beginning to get leaves.
Snow still covers slopes that are usually
open for mountain biking in June.

Left:   Halfway through the race, Ben Hutchings nears the end
of his first lap, taking the 8th place spot in Sport Men 30-34.

Right:   Making his first race as a UMB team member, David Hodges
cranks hard up the insanely-steep shakeout slope as the race
begins, but takes a DNF.

Left:  Dave Benson fights uphill as the Sport Men 40-plus
group shakes out on the steep climb. Dave gets another
good finish with 4th place.

Right:  Nearing the finish line, Joel
expresses sympathy to Craig, who's losing air
from a leaky rear tire.  Sympathy, but no mercy,
as Joel pedals on by.

Left:   Heading back from her first lap, Cat Kalwies  
hustles along the rail fence before dropping down to the
ski slope. Cat gets the Tweety Chair at 4th place.

Right:   Colleen Tvorik shakes off a nasty crash and pedals
with a wounded thigh to take the 6th place ribbon in the
Sport Women group.

Right:  At the team canopy, racers hit the
post-race BBQ.

Nate Drozd registered and lined up, but at the last minute
wasn't able to race and had to take a DNF.

Right:   UMB Team Recruiting Poster.  

Left:   Mark Messer heads uphill at the start of the Expert Men 
40-plus race, taking 2nd place in the category.

Right:   Jason Sparks hustles across the ski slope toward the
lift and the zigzag course down to the lap-finish area.
Face bloody from a crash, Jason crosses the finish line
with the 8th place spot.

Jeno Smith cranks hard at the end of
his first lap. Two more to go for the
9th place spot in the category.

Carving a turn around the course ribbon
near the end of the lap, Mike Engberson  
takes 15th place.

John Higgins fights up the steep slope
as he starts the race. But within 1/3 mile
John is out of the race to take a DNF.

Right:  After his first-ever mountain bike race,
Pierce celebrates his birthday by blowing out
the candles on his birthday cupcake. 

Right:   The Men 57-plus category is very good about sticking
around to get their award ribbons. It makes a better photo
when there are no blank spaces on the podium. Yeah. That's it
 It's certainly NOT favoritism by the guy who puts the web
page together.

Right:  Rachel wears the State Champion
medallion around her neck. Yeah! You
go, girl!

Right:  Paul Zimmerman zooms down the hill onto the
ski slope near the finish line as he completes his
final lap, grabbing 12th in the category.

Bruce Argyle drops off the mountain
into the finishing area, staying just ahead
of the competition to nail 4th place.

Hitting the hard turns descending
to the finish line, Gene Poncelet
grabs the 8th place finish.

More pictures:
     Kay Hutchings photos from the race. Thanks, Kay!
     Ian's helmet-cam video:  pending... watch the forum

Left:     Dwarf waterleaf is among the early
season flowers that were blooming along
the race loop.

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