The Pro men attack the opening singletrack
Sherwin takes first as Monavie-Cannondale continues Intermountain Cup domination
Written By: Shannon Boffeli
Photos By: Lyna Saffel
With rain again disrupting the usually predictable sunny Utah racing scene race promoters were forced to make some last second modifications to the racecourse. This time the muddy singletrack was replaced by an unrelenting and fast, hard-packed sand road while preserving some of the best features of the original course.
Bart Gillespie descends back toward the finish
In the men’s race with Alex Grant and Bart Gillespie on the line Monavie-Cannondale looked set to continue it’s domination of Utah XC racing. Before celebrating, the Green Machine would have to deal with Jamis rider and former Monavie man Jason Sager.
Sager took the holeshot with Gillespie and Grant close behind. The leaders could be heard chatting about the upcoming Pro XC Tour race in Alabama as the rest of the field struggled to limit their gap. As the course widened, Chris Holley (Subaru/Gary Fisher) surged ahead to join the lead group. As the front pack approached the bottom of the long road climb on the course all chatting ceased. The Green Machine was putting down an unbelievable pace that first dispatched Holley and finally the Jamis rider Sager. The finish would come down to one of these two. Gillespie led into the final singletrack section and that was all it would take for him to take the win by 4 seconds over Grant. A mechanical eventually forced Sager from the race which allowed Holley to finish third after spending most of the day in no-man’s-land just behind the lead group.
Alex Grant stays relaxed in the singletrack
As the fireworks exploded up front, a chase group, featuring a powerhouse of veteran Utah racers, took turns trying to break their rivals. The group included teammates Ty Hansen and Shannon Boffeli (Revolution/Peak Fasteners), Chad Harris (Racer’s Cycle Service), Kevin Day (Kuhl/Scott), Reed Wycoff (Contender), and Josh Wolf (Subaru/Gary Fisher). The chasers rode wheel to wheel throughout the opening of three laps until Hansen split the group with a vicious attack at the top of the second road climb. The attack dropped all but Day and Harris who both attempted, to no avail, to break up the group throughout the final lap.
Harris used his raw power on the road sections to deaden the legs of his counterparts. His ability to take the lead on the open sections and preserve a high tempo prevented Day or Hansen from coming around the Racer’s Cycle Service big man. Day would have to settle for 5th with Hansen crossed the line just seconds behind. The three riders were separated by just 11 seconds at the finish.
Kathy Sherwin on her way to another win
In the women’s race, all looked to Kathy Sherwin (Tomac/Kenda/Hayes) to take the top spot on the podium. Despite a tough week of training for the high-level Pro she had enough left in the tank to stay on top. She opened a gap early and kept her pace high throughout the event.
After the race Sherwin said, “Alison doesn’t care how I do at these races so she just loaded me up this week with intervals and VO2 efforts. I was really tired going into today. I just went as fast as I could” referring to her coach, former World Champion Alison Dunlap.
A close race developed for second place with tough competitors Jen Hanks (Revolution/Peak Fasteners) and KC Holley (Subaru/Gary Fisher) both battling for the runner-up spot. Holley has the upper hand in their frequent match-ups having defeated Hanks on several occasions this spring and again Holley led after the road climb on the second lap. Hanks stayed close on the fast, technical downhill section and attacked when the course went to doubletrack. Hanks held onto her tenuous 10 second lead until the final lap when she was able to open it up by maintaining a strong tempo. Hanks finally crossed the line exactly one minute ahead of Holley. Erika Powers took the fourth spot.
Race Notes:
-The last minute changes to the racecourse left riders to contest a more open course, which made for some close, tactical racing. Most riders were disappointed to lose multiple long sections of singletrack but were pleased, in the end, by the head-to-head racing the new course encouraged.
Pro Men
1, Bart Gillespie (Monavie-Cannodale.com) 1.28.00
2, Alex Grant (Monavie-Cannondale.com) 1.28.04
3, Chris Holley (Subaru/Gary Fisher) 1.31.46
4, Chad Harris (Racer’s Cycle Service) 1.32.01
5, Kevin Day (Kuhl/Scott) 1.32.05
6, Ty Hansen (Revolution/Peak Fasteners) 1.32.12
7, Reed Wycoff (Contender) 1.33.33
8, Shannon Boffeli (Revolution/Peak Fasteners) 1.34.22
9, Josh Wolf (Subaru/Gary Fisher) 1.34.43
10, Blake Zumbrunnen (Revolution/Peak Fasteners) 1.36.05
11, Geoffrey Montague
12, Brandon Cross (Monavie-Cannondale.com) 1.36.20
13, Brandon Firth (Rocky Mountain) 1.36.58
DNF Jason Sager (Jamis)
Pro Women
1, Kathy Sherwin (Tomac/Kenda/Hayes) 1.42.41
2, Jen Hanks (Revolution/Peak Fasteners) 1.45.23
3, KC Holley (Subaru/Gary Fisher) 1.46.23
4, Erika Powers (Revolution/Peak Fasteners) 1.50.46
