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Lambert Park
Short-Track XC - April 20, 2013Cold rain
soaked Lambert Park overnight, forcing a two-hour rain delay while the course was
re-routed. The rain-loop avoided the dangerous mud of the Rodeo Trail,
cutting 1/2 mile and 150 vertical feet of climbing from each lap. Intermittent rain
and wind kept racing fans in their winter coats, but the cool temperatures
were actually pleasant for those actively pedaling.
Left: On a rocky climb on the Spring
Trail, Bruce fights to keep ahead of team mate Joel. Lap 3 with 8.3 miles
done and just over 1/10 mile to go.
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Our team turnout for the Lambert Park race
was a little thin. No doubt the weather kept quite a few racers away. There
were problems with results related to computer failure -- we'll blame it on
the cold and rain. And many racers and their families retreated to their
cars rather than socializing. But we veteran racers have seen much worse,
and we had a great time. So neener neener to those who stayed home,
whatever your team. UMB had first place wins by
Meghan Sheridan and Joel Quinn, with 2nd place finishes from
Bruce Argyle, Brock Jeske, John Twitchell, and Mitt Stewart. |
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Racers arrived to temperatures around 40
with steady rain,
and even a little snow. The trails were covered with puddles. |
The daffodils near the bathroom are
beginning to bloom.
Spring must be coming, despite the fresh snow on the hillside. |
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Brian
Vanderwel leaves the pavement
to climb the doubletrack, on the way to
taking 4th place in Beginner Men. |
Also new to the team with this race,
Steve Dalley zips down upper Spring
to nail the 5th position. |
Corey
Spencer tips hard into a corner
as he dodges the oak brush to grab
the 6th place finish in the group. |
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Welcome to another new UMB racer!
Brad Griffiths drops downhill on
slimy trail to take 7th place. |
Adam Reynders carves
a hard turn on
the Spring Trail, finishing two laps
with 9th place. |
Passing the Bowery parking zone
on the way downhill, Kevin Casto
races to take 10th. |
| Beginner Women: UMB had no Beginner Women riders! |
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The strider bikes wait in the volleyball
court. A short loop
was taped off on the grass for the
smallest competitors. |
Mike works on a racer's fork. Mike didn't
race himself, but
provided all-day racer support for the UMB team. |
Those who hadn't checked the
USCS Facebook page waited while
the course was shortened and signs moved to run in reverse. |
After a two-hour rain delay, the Beginner
Men 35-plus group
lines up at the start line near the UMB canopy. |
| Junior Men 13-15: UMB had no
riders in this category! |
| Junior Men 16-18: UMB had no
riders in this category! |
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Left: Hattie Ransom
carves the fast turn
below Box Elder, heading for the rocky
tech section of Lambert Luge. Hattie gets
the 16th
place finish in Junior Women.Right:
The Pro Men group gets its
start. That's Chris Cole on the far
right. The shakeout
was 1/4 mile
of pavement then 1/4 mile of
doubletrack. |
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| Junior Women 16-18: UMB had no
riders in this category! |
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Left: John Twitchell zips
downhill on
the damp singletrack on his second lap,
heading for the 2nd
place podium spot
in Clydesdale.Right: The
"rain course" was 2.8 miles
in length, compared to the planned
3.4-mile loop. It bypassed Rodeo and
the upper mountain. Climbing was
380 vertical feet per lap. |
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Left: Sally Reynders takes
the "ledge
drop" off Box Elder after crossing the
road. Sally nails the 3rd
place finish in
Women 40-plus.Right: The
course ran in reverse, so
riders who'd practiced a high-speed
trip down River cranked back via
River. Dallin takes some air off the
bridge near the uphill end of the
River Trail. |
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Left: After clearing the rocky
climb on
the upper River Trail, Paul Zimmerman
grunts to get the wheel up and onto the
bridge over High Bench Canal. Paul
gets the 8th
place spot in Men 50-plus.Right:
Rick Morris zips down the Spring
Trail on the first lap, then disappears
from the photo record with a DNF. |
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| Lambert Park offers
butter-smooth twisting singletrack... |
...and rocky technical riding
that challenges bike handling. |
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Left: Descending the Spring Trail on his
first lap, Joel Quinn gets his third win of
the young season with 1st place in the
Men 60-plus category.Right: Bruce
Argyle cranks uphill through the
rocks below High Bench Road on the last of
three laps, taking his third 2nd place of the
season. |
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Left: Brock
Jeske makes the turn at
the River Trail
and High Bench junction.
Brock is almost finished
with his third
and last lap with 2nd place in Sport
Men 19-29.Right: After
dropping extra
clothing, Adam cranks uphill
as he finishes his first lap |
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Left: Dallin Hatch is
enjoying the southbound cruise
on lower Spring, before hitting the rough stuff of
Lambert Luge. Dallin nails the 6th place spot in
Sport Men 19-29. Right: Ryan Margetts
twists to dodge the scratchy
oak brush as he zips along the narrow twisting
singletrack, taking 15th place. |
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| Considering the overnight
rain, the trails were surprisingly grippy. Down, back up, and quickly back
in the race. Bike and rider are fine. |
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Left: Christian Burrell
cranks uphill
on his final lap, heading for that final
sprint to an 10th place spot in Sport
Men 30-39.Right: John Twitchell heads uphill
past
the feed zone as he finishes
his first lap. Many cheer leaders
braved the cold to encourage their
racers. |
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There were a couple of soupy
spots, but most of the trail
was just damp enough for good grip. Mitt flies down
the Spring Trail near the homes of Box Elder. |
Although the course was 1/2
mile shorter, racers rode the same
number of laps. The damp surface slowed things a bit, so
lap times were just a few minutes less than for the original loop. |
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Left: Brian Ressa gets up the rough
climb at the top of River, finishing with
the 7th place position.Right: Mike Engberson and Paul
Zimmerman hand water and
electrolyte drink to the riders
of the Pro/Expert wave. |
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| Sport Women 19-34: UMB had no
Sport Women riders! |
| Sport Women 35-plus: UMB had no
Sport Women riders! |
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Left: Welcome to new UMB team
member Norah Griffiths, riding in
the Youth 10-12 category. Norah is
descending the Spring Trail while
her dad coaches from behind.
Right: Mitt crosses the finish line
after his
four laps. That's a quick 11.2 miles
with 1550 vertical feet of climbing.
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| Billy Goat:
UMB had no
riders in this category! |
| Millie Goat: UMB had no
riders in this category! |
| Expert and Pro Categories |
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Left: Chris Cole rocks
his cyclocross
UMB team skin suit as he rails a turn
on the way to the 9th
place finish in
Pro Men.Right: Team
Spirit. Bruce shows the
2012 team poster before hiding it
from the rain. Large and small versions
are available at the UMB store, or from
Mike at races. |
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Left: Meghan Sheridan tips into
a turn
while dodging the gambel oak as she
nails the 1st
place spot in Pro Women.Right: After
skiing away the morning in
the fresh snow at Alta, Meghan decides
to register and race. Good call. Here
Meghan celebrates being #1. |
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Left: Adam Lee zips
downhill on the
Spring Trail on lap one, finishing his
four laps with 4th
place in Expert Men
19-29.Right: Racers from
various categories
share experiences at the team canopy.
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| Expert Men 30-39: UMB had no
riders in this category! |
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Left: Blasting uphill after
crossing
the bridge in the dip of the River Trail,
Mitt Stewart is just 0.2 mile away from
2nd place in Expert Men 40-plus.Right: Because
there were four different
races spread over many hours, the team
decided to go with cheese 'n crackers
rather than a cookout.
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| Expert Women: UMB had no
Expert Women riders! |
| Singlespeed: UMB had no
Singlespeed riders! |
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