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Hammerfest at the Hollow
Soldier Hollow, May 21, 2011The rains let up
just in time for the upper Soldier Hollow trails to get solid, but down in
the meadow, there was enough mud to go around. The UMB team was
represented by 22 racers at the Hammerfest. We had first place wins by
Michael Buhler, Joel Quinn, and Casey Zaugg, with 2nd-place finishes by
Aaron Johnson, Rachel Hutchings, Ian Beaty, Mike Horne, and Mark Messer.
Left: Dave Benson leads the charge of 40-plus
Sport racers up the mountain.
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Left: Tires covered in mud, Coleman Cowan stands
and sprints across the wet meadow to take a podium
spot at 3rd place in 9-and-under.Right: Jacey Messer
heads down off the hill toward the
meadow on her first lap, riding hard to a 4th place position.
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Sydney Nielsen cranks toward the water
hazard on her first lap, finishing the race
with the 5th place spot. |
In his first race as a UMB team member,
Taylor Engberson stands and fights through
the mud to take 6th place. |
Carson Taylor grinds along the
tough
wet meadow to take the 7th place
finish in the 9-and-under group. |
| Category 10-12: UMB had no
age 10-12 riders at this race. |
| Beginner 13-15: UMB had no
Beginner 13-15 riders at Soldier Hollow! |
| Beginner 16-18: UMB had no
Beginner 16-18 riders! |
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Left: Michael Buhler cranks
up a steep spot between
XC ski runs near the beginning of his lap, taking the
1st
place finish in Beginner Men 19-29.Right: Aaron
Johnson drops off a ski run onto singletrack
as he takes the 2nd place podium spot in the category.
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Left: Christian Thompson gets over
the bars to grind uphill through the
grass of the singletrack. Christian
is new to the team this week, taking
5th place in Beginner Men 30-39.Right: Looking
south from the UMB team
HQ as the riders line up for the main race
in the start-finish chute.
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Left: Adam Reynders pivots
around
a switchback on the XC ski path and nails
the 4th place ribbon in Beginner Men
40-plus.Right: At
the UMB canopy, racers prep
their bikes and get psyched for the event. |
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Left: Rachel Hutchings flies down the
slope as she nears the finish of her lap
to take 2nd place in Beginner Women.Right: As
Kay climbs up the mountain to
take race photos, she snaps this picture
looking east over the start-finish area.
In the mid-background is a bay of Deer
Creek and the Heber Valley. |
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| Sport/Expert 13-15: UMB had no
S/E 13-15 riders! |
| Sport/Expert 16-18: UMB had no
S/E 16-18 riders! |
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Left: Ian Beaty carves out
a hard turn
as he heads downhill in the first of his
two laps, nailing the 2nd place position
in Sport Men 19-29.Right:
The Expert Men 30-39 group sprint
out from the starting line. |
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Left: Finishing his first lap, Ben
Hutchings tips the bike toward the second lap as he
passes through the start-finish zone. Ben
finishes with team points at 7th place. Right: In
the 9-and-under category, Carson
and Taylor get encouragement from their
dads as they duel to see who will finish
the race first. |
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Left: Mike Horne powers
up over the
edge and onto the ski run early in his first
lap. Mike takes the 2nd place win in Sport
Men 35-39.
Right: Arrowleaf Balsamroot
blooms
in the May sunshine.
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Left: Dave Benson powers
across the
meadow after jumping the water hazard,
taking the 4th
place ribbon in Sport Men
40-plus. Right: Nate is
at the front of the Expert Men
30-39 category as they fight up the
singletrack and onto the ski run. |
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Left: Colleen Tvorik drops
downhill on
her way to the 5th
place position in
Sport Women.Right:
Carson raises a nice spash as he
gets across the waterlogged meadow
in his final lap. |
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Left: Casey Zaugg corners
hard on
the downhill run to win top position
in Expert Men 19-29 with 1st
place.Right:
Jason and Mark stayed tight
during the entire race, fighting it out
to finish only seconds apart. |
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Left: Nathan Drozd powers
along the
ski run in his first of three laps to grab
the 3rd
place podium position in Expert
Men 30-39. Right: Done!
Carson and Taylor cross the finish line, while Jacey rests up from
her race. |
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Left: Mark Messer grinds
uphill near the start of his
first lap. Mark wins the duel with Jason to take
2nd place in Expert Men 40-plus.Right:
Jason Sparks flies downhill through sage and grass
near the end of the first of three long laps, getting the
white ribbon for 3rd place. |
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| Expert Women:
UMB had no Expert Women riders! |
| Singlespeed: UMB had no
Singlespeed racers at this event! |
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Left: Richard Ewell cranks
up the hill
on the way to nailing a podium spot
at 3rd
place in Clydesdale.Right: Jason
and Mark catch their breath
and talk about the race at the end of
the finishing chute. |
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Left: Sally Reynders drops
down a steep
section as she nears the end of her race,
taking 3rd
place in Women 35-plus.Right: Mike
grills while the team talks
racing at the post-race picnic. |
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| Men 50-plus: UMB had no
Men 50+ riders! |
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Left: Joel Quinn grinds up
the hill toward
a 1st place finish in Men 57-plus.Right: Was
there a Dirty Leg contest? |
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The UMB team again had only modest turnout
for this race. A few days of bad weather; a repeat venue; and riders with
other obligations held the numbers down. Those who came to Soldier Hollow
scored well for us, but it wasn't enough to hold our lead. Mad Dog is now
in charge as UMB drops to 2nd place in the season standings. More pictures:
Kay
Hutchings photos from the race.
Dale
Hutchings photos. Mike
Engberson photos.
Ian's helmet-cam video: pending...
watch the forum
Left: The 9-and-under winners: from left in the UMB jerseys are
Taylor, Jacey, then Coleman, Sydney, and Carson.
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