Rampage

Dave says: It was finally time for some sweet mtb action at the ICup's first race of the season in St. George. I drove down on Friday night through a blizzard with Taylor, Mary, and Trevor. However, on Saturday morning it was perfect conditions for racing and a stacked field of 28 pros was ready to bring the heat.

It was no surprise that Utah's three fastest riders absolutely shredded this course. However, I was pleasantly surprised to have been able to hang with them during the first lap. With these guys setting tempo, the field was blown to bits within a half mile. Then, it was up to Bart Gillespie to stamp his authority on the race with another win marking several years in a row for him. However, he had some competition as he had to out-sprint Junior National Team member Rob Squire (who cracked me with his fast uphill accelerations on the second lap). In third was Alex Grant who after winning the overall series last year is now the man to beat in 2009. Finally, I was no match for Travis Brown who caught me at the start of the third lap because he can still ride downhills like an Olympian.

Fifth felt pretty sweet and I was much faster than last year. The new bike was dialed in and rode great. We spent the night at Coral Canyon and shredded some trails (Goulds/Jem/Canal) the next day before driving home. The Kuhl/Scott team has a lot of talent this year and I think everyone had a lot of fun.