Mountain States Cup race #1 - Fruita, CO Race Report

The Mountain States Cup race in Fruita brought together all the excitement & enery that comes with the first series race of the year & a spring break backcountry trip to the desert. A early spring trip to the desert always creates that smile a mile wide, particularly when you have to navigate through snow storms & closed highways to reach pay dirt. With new teams, new bikes & fresh bodies everyone was super stoked to sport the kit & get it started. Being some of the fortunate ones to make it through the Eisenhower tunnel & over Vail Pass before more snow & accidents eventually closed to road we were set for a great weekend. The trecherous drive & simply long winter in the high country turned this race weekend into something of a spring training camp as racers & friends reunited after an off season of preperation. The Sunshine, great riding & short races created a vibe that was as much training camp with awards as it was an intense race weekend. As teams rolled into town there was a get together at over the edge sports, registration & talk over some OB beer created a nice landing pad before hitting the hay. We were also introduced to Local icon- Mike the headless chicken

After setting up in the desert sun & soaking in some rays it was obvious that this place had the makings of a BIG WEEKEND. Saturday morning riders hit the short Time Trial course for 15 to 20 mintutes on the gas. The course ran on trails 3, 4 & 5 right out of the Rabbit Valley parking lot. It was a nice short course with a few steep punchy climbs & a super fun descent. The DPA/Spot Brand team put a good number of folks on the podium. Within a minute of Georgia Gould & Katie Compton, Jen Gersbach lead the team with a 4th & Megan Monroe an 8th in the Pro Women's Time Trial. Our own Michael Vigers started off his ripping weekend with a win over SS legend Charlie Hayes on the Singlespeed, this kid is 15 so look out!

After blowing out the lungs & legs everyone refueled & headed out to preview the XC race course for the following day. The course headed out of the Rabbit Valley parking lot via Trail 2 before veering onto the Kokopelli trail. We then hit single track, great views & a super fun descent on the Western Rim Trail before heading back to Kokopelli & eventually more punchy climbs on Trail 2.With such a short amount of time racing & so many trails readily available for riding the Spring Break 2008 vibe really started to grow as we headed back into Fruita to socialize over a few brews at Over the Edge sports again. You can't race without fuel & before hitting the sack we found a gem of a mexican joint, that place must have been serving rocket fuel since we had 1 of the top 3 men & women sitting at our table. Sunday we woke a bit earlier & got the day rolling with some coffee & breakfast. The comfort of the team & great people really made it easy for everyone to prepare comfortably for the day. Between Dales Pale Ale & the Carbon Drive System we had a good scene going on. The Spot Team rocked it, drinking beer & giving demo's all day while coming up with some quality results.

Before I knew it the SS class was at the line. Michael, Charlie & OB fan Robin Guilaume lead us out of the gate. I struggled to keep pace on the road as the others were running a 2:1 ratio & I was running a 32x18. As Charlie Hayes had some mechanical issues Michael began to ride away with Robin chasing. We approached the final pitches on the Kokopelli trail & I remained in contact as we made our way to the Western Rim trail. During the super fun ups & downs of the single track I was able to catch & pass Robin & begin the chase on Michael. I made close contact with him before the trail went back to double track & we headed to the Kokopelli cut. Michael again started making ground on me, the whole way I was trying to minimize the loss to reel him in on the final run of ups & downs on the descent of trail 2. His legs must have been good as he stretched his lead to around a minute (i was told on course) as my rear tire was loosing air. Being somewhat close to the finish & with Robin on my heels I decided to try to hit the slow flat with co2 & race it back in. Robin caught me & got a small gap with the first fill up. I was able to keep the gap small & was riding for a 1, 2 finish for the team if I could keep air in the tire. It would have come down to a nice battle but as we hit full stride on the ups & downs of trail 2 I could feel I was going to have to air up again. I had already changed the co2 in my pump & was ready for one last shot, I let Robin go & could see a group of 4 chasing me as I aired up. I was able to roll in pretty comfortably in 3rd as the 4 behind me all finished within 18 seconds of eachother. Michael had a smile on after his 2nd win in 2 Days. WAY TO RIP IT MAN...& yes I did say 15 years old. After rapping for a bit Robin & I made it back to DPA/Spotville to talk race & carbon drive system over an Old Chub.

Soon Jen, Megan & Monique were preparing for the so pro show. With some serious speed the Pro Men & Pro Women took off into the desert sun. When I say serious speed I mean it. Example: Ross Shnell won the mens race in an hour & 6 minutes...what, what, what, what. Rumor has it the course was just over 20 miles long, that means Rad Ross covered the entire course with an average speed around 18 to 19 miles per hour...whew that's smoking! Following Ross in was Brian Fuentes who's fantastic choice of Mexican cuisine appeared to have paid off, nice work man. Such a short race really developed some close & painfull racing.

With Geogie Gould choosing to race with the Semi-Pro men the Women's field was looking at Katie Compton on her Singlespeed for the 2nd straight day. Kelli Emmett proved to be too much for the singlespeed super hero as she earned her first MSC win in 2008. Our own super hero Jen Gersbach threw down a so pro hot lap to finish 3rd & collect her 2nd podium in as many days.

With the first race of the season in the books it was time to crack a beer & enjoy the company of Spring Break 2008 as the final podium presentations took place. As the crowd started heading to the highway it was quite clear that the drive home would be a tough one. It's always tough to leave the desert after a spring trip & this was no exception. It was the last day for all the Summit County Ski Resorts & there would no doubt be some serious traffic after it had been pounded with fresh snow all weekend. After tearing down the Demo Trailer & getting things in order our lead car confirmed the traffic & we went to bed with spiritual dreams of the Zion Curtin...Stay tuned...