Intermountain Cup #3, Five-Mile Pass; Lehi, Utah

Not All Utah Riders Are… Afraid of the Mud

The Five-Mile Pass Cross Country race traditionally signals the official start of the Utah mountain bike racing season. And traditionally, there is a threat of rain. Today that threat came to full fruition. Rain fell steadily all across Utah starting Friday night and continuing well past the 10AM start time.

With long sections of wet clay on the course, race officials hurried to reroute the course onto a shortened 4-mile lap. This significantly changed the Five-Mile race, which typically posts race time close to 3 hours for the Pros. Today, Pros would be doing 4 laps on the short course and 3 for the women making the race a sub-one hour sprint as opposed to the usual 3-hour tour.

The weather had chased off all but the most hardy bike racers today. The men’s Pro field featured 5 racers. Monavie-Cannondale.com racer Mitchell Petersen got the jump on his competitors by starting hard from the line. He immediately gapped second placed Chris Holley (Subaru/Gary Fisher) and kept the pace high throughout the opening laps. By the end of lap one Holley had been joined by Shannon Boffeli (MTBracenews.com), was making up time in the thick mud sections of the course. Boffeli’s time up front would be short-lived as he punctured a tire on lap two.

As Petersen continued to ride away from the field, Holley was now feeling the heat from Blake Zumbrunnen (Revolution/Peak Fasteners). Zumbrunnen shrank the gap to second place on lap three and midway through lap four he had closed it up completely. As the two approached the final mud bog just yards from the finish Zumbrunnen made his move and slipped past Holley into second. And that is how they finished.

Petersen took the win followed by Zumbrunnen three minutes back. Holley came across the line in third with Boffeli and Brock Olsen (Bingham’s) rounding out the podium.

After the race a muddy but happy Mitchell Petersen said, “That course was really fun. I was just sliding my way around and the race was so short I can go home a study for my final on Monday.”

The women’s event featured Utah favorites KC Holley (Subaru/Gary Fisher), Revolution/Peak Fasteners teammates Jen Hanks and Erika Powers, and Heather Holmes (Kenda/Tomac). Their race got off to a more conservative start with Holmes taking the early lead up the opening climb. It was difficult to know what to expect from the Kenda rider having only recently being cleared for off-road riding after recovering from a wrist fracture. KC Holley did her best to match Holmes following just 10-15 seconds behind for the first of three laps.

On lap two it was clear the time off the bike had not hurt Holmes. She was looking fit and riding strong in first place. Holley continued unchallenged in second and Hanks had used the two mud bogs on course to establish a gap in her teammate Powers. Each rider held their position in the final lap and they finished in that order: Holmes, Holley, Hanks, and Powers.

Although the rain caused a great deal of uneasiness in the crowd before the start most riders reported enjoying the course and the unique challenge of racing in the mud. Riding in mud is something not often done in the typically arid high desert of Utah.

Race Notes:

Special thanks goes to race promoters Ed Chauner who was the only one brave enough ride in the rain, wind, and mud scouting a new course. Ed put in at least two laps in the worst of the conditions wearing a full-length cowboy duster jacket.

Writing by: Shannon Boffeli
Photos by: Bob Saffell, Jen Hanks, and Shannon Boffeli

Results:

Pro Men

1, Mitchell Petersen (Monavie-Cannondale.com) 55.19
2, Blake Zumbrunnen (Revolution/Peak Fasteners)
3, Chris Holley (Subaru/Gary Fisher)
4, Shannon Boffeli (MTBracenews.com)
5, Brock Olsen (Bingham’s)

Pro Women

1, Heather Holmes (Kenda/Tomac)
2, KC Holley (Subaru/Gary Fisher)
3, Jen Hanks (Revolution/Peak Fasteners)
4, Erika Powers (Revolution/Peak Fasteners)