2016 I-Cup XC racing series. *Race Reports*

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We went down to St. George for stop number #1 on the Intermountain Cup Mt. Bike Series. The Red Rock Rampage was the race & I took more than a year off from cross country racing but we are back in the saddle.
Here's my race report from another site........


Here's my report......

40-49 Sport.
2 loops, 14 miles.
We had 18 I think in our class. Everybody looking factory & it seems on 29ers'. The bell sounds and we take off, about a 1/4 mile in there's a short, steep little climb. Everybody's hauling ass to it and as we approach, I drop down to my granny front & drop my chain, are you fricking kidding me?!!! At the very bottom of the climb no less. By the time I put my chain back on & run up the climb, the pack is long gone. I was sooo pissed I couldn't see straight. Welcome back to MTB racing. It took me half that 1st lap to just catch up to the rear & it was a very hard effort. I could see a small group of my group up ahead maybe 500 yards & I really put forth an effort to catch them but by the middle of the 2nd lap I was done redlining & decided I better just let the race come to me & get thru it. I had a great rest of the race & had a good last 2 miles dueling with a guy in my class but he layed down some horses on the final sprint & got me by about 5 seconds. I finished 15th with a 1' 16" run. After looking at the rest of the field, I 'm happy with the time & know what I've got to do to make up ground. I'd sure like to test drive a nice, light , XC, 29er this year to see if they are the bike to race.

Ladies Sport.
2 loops, 14 miles.
My wife & our friend Andee moved to Sport & did well. They weren't too happy that ICUP put them all together, my wife was the 3rd oldest at 47 and the oldest racer was 55. That's not fair racing against 20-somethings. Anyways, they had a good time other than Andee getting rammed into from behind on a climb enough to cause her to fall over & scrap her knee. A Clydesdale racer was with her when an Elite came plowing thru, didn't say a word and did that. The Clyde gave the dude some words & I told her that there's always 1 Dbag at every race. Personally I was passed probably a dozen times & everybody was very polite & gave heads up.
Another potential problem was this, it was stated in their staging that the gal who ended up winning was an expert but signed up in the sport class because it was bigger/had more entries, something to that effect. If this is true,,,WTF is this? Does ICUP keep an eye out for baggers? Andee got 9th & my wife got 10th. Didn't get last!

Lil Shredders.
1 mile.
This was my 8 yr old sons 1st MTB race. It's on a 1 mile loop that's just right. There was a ton of kids involved in all the age groups. My son finished strong & after awhile we went to look at his results but we didn't see his name. So we went over to the trailer/timing & he asked about his result. The guy knew his name(!) & stated he took 4th (not sure that was true of not but it didn't matter really) & then the gal helping out pointed him to a table for a free shirt, well done people & that impressed me alot. Thanks!

- We stayed at the Best Western Abby Inn & even though it wasn't the cheapest, they made up for it by the kick ass breakfast they serve at 6am. A+. We ate at the Black Bear & the Mexican joint, Ponchos & Leftys. Black Bear was top notch, a ton of food for the money. Ponchos was so-so, not going back. Good service though. Red Rock Bicycles was very helpful with a problem with one of our bikes after the pre-ride, thank you for dealing with it on the spot & not charging anything.
Hats in the swag bag, 2 thumbs up! Cool looking hats at that.

- It was great catching up with guys and gals we haven't seen in quite some time. Sally & Adam, Christian, Corey, a few dudes that I couldn't remember their names from the UTMB squad but knew their faces. We camped next to "Warneraz" & "Pop-Martian" trailers. Cool guys & big time props to their wives, they let us pawn off our 5 yr old daughter, playing with all the other kids in their site. This was a huge relief to us as we had our hands full with other things, thank you.

9 & under.






Our site.






Thanks for reading.
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I-Cup Race #2, Cactus Hugger, St. George.


Well, Iv'e had a few days for the race weekend to soak in & these are my thoughts on things............

- This race loop kicks butt over the Rampage. After a great drive down on Friday morning, I pre-rode the course by myself. I was really impressed with all the variety of terrain the course dished out. The downhills were killer, REAL techy, dicey, fast, risky downhills. Sure, it might be average on a 160mm trail bike but you take those sections as fast as you can on a hard tail with 100mm fork, it gets fun really fast.
I was looking forward to the race.


- The turnout looked & felt a lot bigger than the previous month. We got set up around 7:30am & the place filled up fast. Iv'e got to say, 6 porta potties don't cut it for crowds this big. The ICUP crew kept the crowd well informed thru out the morning on the times for the races. The weather was pretty nippy before the sun came up over the hills but by 11am, it was already around 70*'s.


- 40-49 Sport.
13 riders, 2 laps. After last months BS i dealt with I decided to go out hard & see what happens. I did just that & after the 1st lap I was surprised that I was actually near the front. I was in 4th at one point before things started coming off the rails ever so slightly, 2 rear derailer chain sucks & 2 "couldn't get unclipped tip overs" on steep, techy sections added up. The downhill sections were crazy fast. I hit one of the rock jumps in barrel roll on the 2nd lap by accident but lived to tell about it. Hit the wrong line at speed and had no choice.
Overall, this was my best ever showing in Sport. I finished 7th but missed out on 4th by about 50 seconds, that's how close our class is & how it should be. The overall times I feel are good, competitive Sport class times.

- Sport Women.
There was 10 in this class & once again, all the riders were lumped into one class which didn't make my wife happy. They need to make the 40+ split by the time they hit Midway or ICUP might be short a few racers.
My wife had a good showing in 9th but get this, on her 2nd lap going down Barrel roll, she heard and felt a rattle coming from her from front end, looked down & saw her front axle quick release "open". Her wheel was loose.....she stopped, fixed it & finished. Damn, that could of been UGLY!
Ok, so there's more to this class that almost turned into a brawl (it would of been one sided btw). Our friend got into it with one of the other racers with plain lousy race etiquette. After a few incidents, F Bombs and finally a take out in a corner, there was some steam blown off after the race. Nice to see some fire out of that class, lol. Sounds like to me some people need a refresher course on how to deal with faster racers coming up from behind & NOT road hogg it on purpose.
My wife finishing up.


- Lil Shredders, 9 & under.
26 riders, half were girls. Nothing really exciting here 'cept my boy did the 2 full loops no problem so that's looking promising for this summer of riding. He likes it & by the time Midway comes, I'll of lightened his bike up by another 10 lbs.

- Corey Spencer & Bop Apocalypse (Aaron).
Corey my man, 2 things come to mind, our descent on the 1st lap, 2nd part was awesome. I'm pretty sure you were the one hanging tough behind me. Then, halfway thru the 2nd lap, 2nd climb you came out of nowhere & crushed me on it. I tried to hang but you gapped me. Nice work.
Aaron, you get the Iron Man award, juggling 3 little ones & dealing with a flat right from the start. It was nice talking to you & since we only live about 2 miles apart, we'll have to ride.

- ICUP.
They are going to HAVE to implement moving up to the next class rules sooner than later. It's hurting their series.
Here's my opinion about sandbagging, novices usually get ratted out or they just move up after a few wins, no big deal. I moved myself up after my 1st novice win. Experts, you can't 'bag that class, your an expert!
Sport.......here's what I would do, you win 4 times in 1 season your moving up. If you feel like your not ready you can plead your case to ICUP, they then check your times to the expert class & see where you stand. Easy.
I don't know if anybody from the series reads here & my wife was told if they had any feedback, post it on Face Book. Well, I'm not on FB.
The ICUP Series looks to be off to a healthy start this year but they still have to tweek a few things, this is one of them. I have 3 friends who race road but also MTB. They state these fuzzy class rules as reasons for not racing MTB.

This is all I can remember as of now. See you at Soldier Hollow.

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ICup #3, Soldier Hollow, Midway, Utah.

We got up there at 8am and just in the nic of time, the place filled up fast. Looked to be a good turn out even though it had been raining and more was in the forecast.


- Lil Shredders.
My sons new build worked awesome, shifted flawlessly. He tried to make it up the big hill the 10-12 shredders went up and tapped out. I think ill go down to a 34 in the front so he has some more granny gear. He got tangled up off the start but made his was back to 5th. We were all pretty excited and proud of him.


- Sport Women.
The wife had a small class (where are all the ladies??) but it was competitive. She was in 2nd starting the 2nd lap but got caught and ended up 3rd. She said her heart rate was maxed for a long time for some reason, I told her the elevation might of had something to do with it. Anyways, she made the podium. 8~)


- 40-49 Sport Men.
Again, one of the biggest classes of the day. This course has ALOT of steep climbing & I was thinking it was going to suit me. It did and it didn't. Off the start I followed Spencer up the pavement & I noticed we were in 2nd & 3rd getting onto the dirt, but that didn't last long. I tried to maintain the pace but slowly got swallowed up on the medium climbs & felt like I was near the back for sure. I was struggling but knew that if I could get it together, things would come back to me & they did. Starting the 2nd lap I settled in on a good pace & sure enough guys came back to me. I think I re-passed 6 or 7. I felt great on the last descent & hammered the final mile or 2 full out. I ended up 8th & again, after looking at the overall I'm satisfied. No bike problems, lol!


- Overall.......
Hey, how about BOP winning his class?!


Hey ICUP........how about getting more than 3 freaking portajohns for the next race? That was a joke!

The winds picked up during the awards & before I could run back to my car, our EZ Up took off & imploded. Luckily it was tied down to the trailer or it would of rolled over onto our car. Another $100 bucks down the drain.


- Other things......
- I ran into old school racer Matt Huff racing my class. It was nice catching up.
- The elevation was absolutely crushing.
- The High School classes were packed.



The venue & race was awesome.
See you at Corner Canyon.

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ICup #4, Corner Canyon.

This race had a lot of highs & lows for me, I'll start with the highs..........

- This setting is plain awesome, beautiful venue, the dirt was getting a little loose by the time we started but for the most part you could hook up anywhere, anytime. I didn't get on the dirt at all morning of the race as I pre-rode the course twice in the past 3 days. At first I was disappointed that the whole Anns trail/Potato Hill was cut out but looking back I think it was for the best. Even with the race kept on the East side, there was some hikers & rec bikers enjoying the trails. I would imagine it would of been worse going West.

My wife ended up not racing as she was a little under the weather. My son raced in LiL' Shredders, he had a good time, placed 7th but the race was too short for him. I think he's ready to move up and race the longer shredder courses.
The 24" racer worked perfect, I put a smaller 34t on the front & he pretty much didn't have a problem with any of the climbs.


The ICup guys and gals were super friendly as usual & helpful in all ways, they make it fun.


- So, 40-49 had a pretty big class (19?), I was feeling very confident knowing I had put in a lot of work since Heber & I know these trails very well.
We all got off to a fast start.....(I'm the one on the inside wearing white).......
https://vimeo.com/168856670

After we peeled off to the East I hung on to the back of the lead group, maybe 7/8th. I was able to keep those guys in sight until the descent, then of course you can't see anything until you come up to Creek Side/View. This portion of the race was the best, I was on the tail end of 5 guys as a guy in front of me & myself caught 3 others. as we ramped up onto them, they turned it up a notch & it was mach 10 until the service road. A few of us traded compliments & then hit the 2nd lap.
The 2nd lap treated me right. I was able to once again get into a good groove & pound out some good climbing. I was able to catch & drop a few guys in class & finished strong. I had a great race, good race craft, overall I was superstoked.................until I saw the results.

So here's where I'm bummed about the race, 1st posting showed me in 12th! , I said "NFW!!" this has GOT to be wrong. I overheard somebody else complaining about their placing & they were going to say something. I went over to the registration desk & a very nice gal heard my case & said they indeed had some issues & would look at it.
After a re-post I was placed at 11th.
I was in serious disbelief & so was my wife. Now, maybe I'm wrong & I don't want to come off as sour grapes but even though I suffered like a bastard I was still able to keep my wits about me about who & where my comp was. As I drove home shaking my head I kept thinking I had to of finished 6-9th area, had to! My wife said the same thing.
Iv'e accepted the final posting & seeing it is what it is, a local MTB race in an intermediate class, it really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, I know I tore it up, had a great race but man........what a let down & bummer for sure.

After I relaxed a bit, shooting the Zip a de doo da with Spencer & Bop, the family & I rode down to the bike park & the kids and wife rode for at least an hour. It's straight up awesome seeing my kids take to mt biking like a fish to water. The future looks bright as a cycling family for sure.

I don't know if the ICup people visit here but if they do, I 'd like to say THANKS! for all they do, we had a great time. Our next race might be the Wasatch Back race but I don't know, a lot going on & we will be missing the Solitude & Snowbird races.

Thanks for reading,
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