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Red Rock Rampage
St. George - March 7, 2015After the heavy rains of the
previous week, the trails in the Green Valley competition area were dry
and ready for some fun in the St. George sunshine. The first race of the
2015 Intermountain Cup competition got under way for the kids at 9 am. The
one-lap racers hit the trail at 10, with the Sport and Expert classes
following at 10:30.
Left: As the first racers arrive, the
air is still a bit cool. Mike has the repair stand and team support
canopies set up and ready for action.
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The race loop followed the classic route over to Keyhole Wash, then followed
singletrack uphill along the next wash descending and climbing the
"Steps" out. Back on the traditional loop for the rest of the
climb, the descent down the ridgeline, and the climb up Rock Wash. Just
before "The Plunge" to the slickrock area, the loop veered left
onto new singletrack for a meander north. After returning to the doubletrack,
it a short sprint downhill to the lap/finish area. Each lap was 6.3
miles in length with 850 vertical feet of climbing per lap.
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There was frost on windshields as dawn broke. But there wasn't a cloud in
the sky nor the tiniest skiff of a breeze. So Green Valley warmed up
quickly. By race time, it was comfortable hanging around in shorts and a
summer jersey.
Mike leads Taylor Engberson over to the registration area.
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Registration went quickly because most racers had electronically signed
their waiver when registering on-line. Each racer received a nice blue
Rampage t-shirt. The new ICup management seemed to have the logistics well
in-hand.
It's still a bit chilly as the early arrivers check in.
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As in years past, the Red Rock bike shop in St. George was the major sponsor
for the race. With veteran Glenn Ames back to stage the race, four separate
starts were staggered about 1/2 hour apart, getting all riders onto the
mountain over 90 minutes time.
John Twitchell heads back toward the staging area after a
warmup ride.
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In addition to starting the Sport-Expert riders while the Beginners were
still on their lap, many categories were grouped together for a mass start.
The compressed start schedule got the later categories across the finish
line earlier in the day than in past years.
Looking north at the lap/finish split, with the starting
line and announcer's booth to the left.
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As usual, the 9-and-under and 10-12 youth categories had a shorter,
less-technical lap appropriate to their age.
Taylor Engberson (middle rear) and Draeden Jensen (middle
front) line up with the 10-12 category at 9:20. New team member Jaxson
Weaver is front left in the red shirt.
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UMB was well represented in the Youth 10-12 group with three racers. The
team is still a bit under-staffed in the 9-and-under race category.
Taylor sprints down the doubletrack as he starts his first
lap on the smaller 10-12 loop.
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The 10-12 racers were on course for about 25 minutes, completing their race
as the one-lap adult and teen racers were being staged.
Draeden sprints away from the start line in the pack of
young riders.
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UMB Team Results, Youth and Beginner Categories
Youth 10-12
Draeden Jensen 5th
Taylor Engberson 7th
Jaxson Weaver 8th
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Beginner Men 35-plus
Bogdan Balasa 1st
Jason Cowley 2nd
Adam Reynders 4th
Women 40-plus
Sally Reynders 2nd
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Beginner categories and Women 40-plus raced one 6.3-mile lap, starting at 10
a.m. Each lap had 850 vertical feet of climbing, spread over two ascents up
the escarpment with the descent down the ridge to Cow Pond in between.
Bogdan Balasa is the first racer up the hill in the
Beginner Men 35-plus category at 10 am.
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The team had three racers in the Beginner Men 35-plus category, but no one
in the younger men and teen groups.
Jason Cowley uses some body English to get the bike over
the last bit of the slope.
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With 26 racers riding for the team (and possibly others that I didn't spot
in the results), UMB had a reasonable showing at this race.
Adam Reynders gets out of the saddle to crank up the hill.
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The Sport and Expert groups started at 10:30. They were dispatched in big
groups so all were out on the course when the first one-lap racer hit the
finish line at around 10:40.
Reaching the top, Sally Reynders has another 6 miles to go.
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UMB Team Results, Sport and Expert Categories
Semi Pro Men
Mitt Stewart 7th
Singlespeed Men
Darren Harris 5th
Expert Men 19-34
Dallin Hatch
Expert Men 35-plus
Brian Jeppson 3rd
Jason Sparks 4th
Mark Messer 9th
Dave Benson 13th
Mike Engberson 14th
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Sport Men 35-plus
Denmark Jensen 12th
Steven Weaver 14th
Tim Wagstaff 18th
Corey Spencer 20th
John Twitchell 24th
Ben Hutchings 25th
Sport Men 50-plus
Phil Blair 1st
Men 60-plus
Joel Quinn 1st
Rick Morris 2nd
Joe Benson 4th
Bruce Argyle 5th
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The Sport class raced two laps, for a total of 12.6 miles and 1700 vertical
feet of climbing.
Mike passes the feed zone after the lap/finish split.
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Experts did three laps -- 19 miles with 2600 feet of climbing.
Jason Cowley took 2nd and Bogdan Balasa won 1st place in
the Beginner Men 35-plus group.
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In addition to the nice hefty medals for podium finishers, there was swag
for 1st through 3rd place. And a drawing at the end for more loot.
Phil Blair hit the top of the podium with his win in Sport
Men 50-plus.
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