The Canyons

Another new race for me - the year end finale for the Intermountain Cup series at the Canyons ski resort.

The course was basic 20 minutes of climbing followed by 10 minutes of descending. Mostly single track the whole way. The descent on the top section was super fast through trees with rocks here and there , then followed by loose switchbacks down a sun exposed face, then back to the start.

The pros took off with several fast guys - Matt Shriver showed up from CO, Alex G, Mitchell P, I think someone said Robbie S was there (but I never saw him and he didn't finish). I saw Mitchell P part way down on the first lap as he had crashed. In this picture right after the the start, I'm right about where I finished.



I had started the race expecting about a 2:15 race, but it turned out to be 30 minute laps. Only three laps, so it was a short race. FWIW, my splits were 31:08, 30:25, and 30:14. I've often wondered if I could improve significantly at these short races if I trained for them. It would help my cyclocross too.



Second lap I started passing people, third lap passed several more, and made it up to 6th. I could see 5th and 4th by the end of the climb, but I was struggling with the descents and lost a lot of time by the bottom. Duff Johnson and another guy named Kevin Hulrick caught up as we descended, and they sprinted past me. A disappointing end to the race. I had felt really good before the race and was climbing well by the end, but you have to mix in the whole recipe to win a race.



I was happy to have Kim and the kids come and cheer us on, then after the race I took the kids for some riding on the trails, then around the base area at the resort. Evanston used to be the season ender, and I liked that race better, but on the upside the Canyons venue is a lot more convenient.




So the ICUP season is over. Seems like I missed most of it this year, but I really enjoyed several of the races. It was fun to race Snowbasin and The Canyons as new venues, and I still like some of the classics like Sherwood Hills and Deer Valley (which I missed this year). Sometimes it just doesn't seem worth the time and effort, but there is just something about MTB racing...