cycling utah May 1999

Vegas Rocked and Mesquite glittered

The second and third races of the Intermountain Cup Mountain Bike Race Series were held April 10th, 17th and 18th. Riders from Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, California and Nevada competed high above the glitter of the Las Vegas strip April 10.

The beginner Men, 13-15 category was dominated by the Park City based, Community Olympic Development program (CODP) riders, as Dylan Johns of Ogden, UT. beat out fellow teammate Trevor Lee of Park City, by only 9 seconds to capture first and second place, respectively. Johns' cousin, Tyler Toly , placed fifth with a time of 1:17:08. Ryan Kelsey of Las Vegas, NV. held on to his third place finish.

In the Sport Men 16-18 category, Geoffrey Montague, a St. George rider for FishLips Cycles, took home the gold. Paul Clark, who races and trains with the CODP team and rides for XL-1, narrowly missed a first place finish.

Bruce Allen, riding for K2 Bikes placed first in the Expert Men 40+ category followed by Corona, CA racer Greg Ward. James Jackson, of Henderson, Utah won the Men's Expert 30-39 race. Bart Adams of Park City was third.

Joseph Wenzel finished the two laps of the 11.5 mile course with a time of 2:05:10 to take a fifth place finish in the Sport Men 19-29 age group. Women's Vet rider, Barb Clark stole a second place birth from Las Vegas Rider, Michelle McNeil, by beating her into the twisting Red Rock descent. Carma Owen continued her winning ways to win the Women's Vet category by 1 minute 30 seconds.

The Tour de Mesquite Race was a party. Literally! The race began at the Mesquite Star Hotel in downtown Mesquite, NV. Local law enforcement officers lead a parade of racers through town to the 7.5 mile loop course on the edge of the casino-lined community.

Sand and cactus were the nemeses of the day, as several competitors fell victim to one or the other or in some cases, both. The course record was established by Pro/Elite rider Matt Ohran, who completed four laps in only 1:42:55. Seasoned racer, Cris Fox, always a contender for the podium placed third with a time of 1:45:06.

The Men's 13-15 year-old category had familiar names on the podium. Dylan Johns once again claimed the first place berth, but cousin Tyler Toly was rapidly closing in.

Todd Henneman, riding for Heber-based XL-1 team pulled in a third place finish to XL-1 team organizer, Ian Harvey's first place in the Expert men 30-39 category. The Expert Men 19-29 age group that was dominated by winner Ryan Keating of Salt Lake City and second place finisher, Charlie Gibson of Murray.

In the Women's Pro/Expert category. Leigh Hale of Orem, UT took home first, followed by Jennifer Tribe, a rider for Ironhorse and Roxanne Toly riding for the Park City Cycling Club. The next race of the Intermountain Cup Series will be the Bike Board and Blade Showdown at 5-mile Pass in Lehi, Ut. on May 1. For more information about the race series call Chauner Promotions at 801-942-3498.

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