Intermountain Cup #2 - Hurricane, UT

Pro Women's Podium (l to r: Erica, me, KC, Jill)

As I drove down to southern Utah into the inferno of 80+ degree heat for the Intermountain Cup race I was sweating bullets.  This was a first for me this year to be in such hot weather. I have been to AZ, CA and Spain recently but none of them produced temperatures such as this!

The Hurricane, UT course was awesome as it offered some slick rock, power sections through washes and some great sandy singletrack that was sure to get looser as the weekend wore on.  My Stan’s NoTubes Raven tires were certainly going to adhere to the slick rock like glue and take me through the long power stretches with little resistance!  I couldn’t wait to race as I was likening this short (33min laps) course to a cross course.  Race day was going to be another hot one but with a touch of wind expected.

Not so Pro

The race started and I had a strong start….but not for long.  I went the wrong way after the first turn!!  As I started to sit up and wonder where the course was going all the girls in my group were kindly yelling at me to go left.  So what’d I do?  I went right.  I guess the course just wasn’t long enough for me so I decided to add some more on that first lap. DUH!!  This is the second time I have EVER done this and when I did it the first time….it was on this course!!

So now I was last and off the back. Nice. After picking my way over to the course I was able to catch back up to the Pro women who were drilling it up the first climb.  There went all my matches to catch up and get to the front again!  Luckily the climb was short and I was able to recover on the downhill before powering over to the next fun climb and start getting into a rhythm. 

As I made my way through the course lap after lap all the racers, men and women alike from all categories were really nice and very supportive – thanks everyone!  The Intermountain Cup races offer such a great vibe along with a lot of comradery and that is part of the reason it is such a successful and fun race series.

By the time the last lap rolled around I was starting to feel the effects of the heat and was starting to wilt but held on for the win!

DJ got TWO flats on our ride on Sunday - bummer!

Race Note:  I would like to thank Quentin and DJ of Over the Edge Sports in Hurricane, UT for the home delivery prior to my race of some great coffee to get my day started.  And I might mention too that DJ makes a mean recovery Mocha at OTESports that you all should try!!  In addition they let me squirrel away in their loft for the weekend which was much appreciated. One of the best parts about racing is catching up with old buddies when you can!!



Over the Edge Sports shop in Hurricane, UT - open 7 days a week!!