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Team Photo Scrapbook 2012
2012 Intermountain Cup Mountain Bike Racing Series

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While northern Utah was digging out from 8 inches of snow, the weather was sunny and dry in St. George. After a cool early morning, temperatures rose into the low 60s. The trail was in great shape for racing. The Rampage saw a good racer turnout as the cold-weather refugees came to southern Utah for some pedaling and sunshine. UMB had 45 racers in the competition. We had first-place wins by Adam Lee, Rachel Hutchings, David Sheeran, Ben Schmalz, Justin Griffin, and Jay Griffin, with 2nd-place finishes by Christian Burrell, Eric Ellis, and Chanda Jeppson.

Left:   Mark leads a column of racers in the Expert Men 40-plus category.

Left:   Joshua Neilsen cranks his bike
across the desert as he finishes a 2nd
9-and-under lap on the way to the
29th place finish.

Right:  The first UMB racers arrive in
the morning chill to a near-empty racing
area and begin setting up the support
base for the UMB team.

Hattie Ransom has her eye on the finish
line as she finishes the race with the
9th place spot in the 10-12 category.

Sydney Nielsen takes 17th place as the
third member of the UMB Tough Girls
Club. Way to go, ladies! 

Cranking up that first tough hill, Dylan 
Payne makes his 6.5 miles count for the
6th place ribbon.

Hunter Ransom drops off the slickrock
at the end of the downhill, taking the
8th place spot in Beginner 13-15. 

Left:   Landon Ashton  is back with the team
this year, climbing the hill on the shakeout
to take 3rd place for Beginner 16-18.

Right:  Garrett Hays cranks hard up the last hill, 1/4 mile
from the finish line and a 4th place ribbon in the category.

Right:  As racers arrive for the first race, Mike
services bikes and distributes "loaner"
jerseys.

Left:   Pulling over the first hill on the race loop,
Christian Burrell displays the results of hard
off-season training as he nails his first podium
spot with the 2nd place win in Beginner Men
30-39.

Right:   Jeremy Parker finishes the shakeout
and hits the slope of the Green Valley Raceway
on the way to the 11th place finish.

As 10 a.m. nears, the racers of the first wave line up
in their categories, listening to Glen give race instructions.

A total of 29 racers in the 9-and-under category head into
the desert, some under the watchful eye of a parent.

Right:  Cranking up that nasty first little hill,
 Adam Reynders gets a team point for his lap
with the 7th place finish.

Left:  Rachel Hutchings crests the hill
at the front of her racing group, taking the
blue 1st place ribbon in Beginner Women.

Right:  Casey draws alongside Ben as they
climb the last hill before the finish line.

Right:  Also new to the team this year is David Neumann,
hitting the big ledge in Rock Wash on his 2nd lap and
taking two points for the team with 7th place.

Left:   Nearing the end of his 2nd lap,
Ben Hutchings cranks toward the
7th place position (and team points).

Right:  Ride what you can; walk what you
must. As long as it gets you closer to
the finish line, just keep that bike moving.

Left:  Another speedy newcomer to the UMB team for
2012 is Ben Schmalz, popping over the top of the ledge
in Rock Wash on the way to 1st place in the Sport
Men 35-39 category.

Right:  Jonathan Hall hits the big ledge on his 2nd
trip up the wash, finishing the race in team points
with 7th place.

Left:  Brian Thomas grinds up the last hill on his last
lap to finish the race with 11th place in the Sport Men
35-39 group.

Right:  Descending off the ridgeline trail to Rock Wash
(also known as Cow Pond Wash) Dan Hutchings gets the
16th place finish.

Our photographer Kay Hutchings aims the lens toward the race
staging area. The blue stripe is the finishing chute. The little yellow
dot in the middle of the photo is the UMB canopy.

During a lull in the action, Kay targets some spectators who are
enjoying watching the racers attack the big ledge. When the legs
are tired, failing to clear the ledge is not a dishonor.

Right:  Dale Hutchings rockets through the final dip
on the way to the finish line and the 28th place
spot in the category.

Right:  Right behind Justin, Eric Ellis completes the
UMB domination of the Expert 19-29 group with the
 2nd place win as he enters Rock Wash on the 2nd of
three laps.

A cholla cactus alongside the trail. If you miss a turn, miss
the cactus also.

Beautiful blue sky frames Ben as he rockets down the
ridgeline of the first downhill.

Right:   John Higgins hits the turn on the first section of
singletrack on the first of three laps, finishing with the
12th place position.

Brian Jeppson rolls downhill after the
shakeout, moving up to take the 13th
place spot in the group.

Geno Smith attacks the ledge in Rock
Wash on lap 2, securing the 15th place
finish with a strong ride.

Mark Messer has good position on the
singletrack as this huge group rolls
out. Mark nails the 16th place spot.

Dave Benson drops off the slickrock at
the end of the downhill, nailing the
17th place finish in EM 40-plus.

Mike Engberson pulls high as he gets
ready to hit the ledge on his way to the
18th place finish.

Cranking into the big ledge, Denmark
Jensen finishes his 3 laps with the
28th place position.

Right:  Looking across Santa Clara toward
the Pine Valley Mountains. Dry trail, bright
sunshine, and beautiful scenery.

Right:   Ryan Payne hits the tight downhill turn above
the Cow Pond as he sheds speed before entering
Rock Wash on the way to the 6th place finish.

Right:  Adam hits the finish line as Glen
announces his number and time, and the
tag puller runs over to get his racing
slip.

On his 2nd of 2 laps, Paul Zimmerman
wheelies up onto the ledge on the way to
12th place in the category.

New in 2012 is Tracey Lott, hitting the
 dip below the slickrock on the way
to the 15th place finish.

Bruce Argyle gets across the bump
on the way to the 4th place finish
in the category.

Speeding down the ridgeline, Gene
Poncelet gets his 2 laps done with
the 9th place position.

Right:  The race is over, and it's time to swap
stories. In the trailer, racers are trying on
"fit kit" jerseys for the 2012 team uniform.

2012 recruiting poster. The team picnic featured a wealth of
salads and goodies.

More pictures:
     Bruce photos
     Kay Hutchings photos

GPX track of 2012 Rampage course

Left:  David gets his blue ribbon as winner of the Sport Men 19-29 category.
The top three finishers in each category received swag.

[ Return to Scrapbook 2012 Index Page ]

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