A Soggy, Sodden Joyful
Weekend at Lava Rama
Sometimes wet, muddy races are fun and sometimes they aren’t. Idaho mountain bikers and trail runners have certainly had a number of opportunities to find out in 2005, as one rainy, soggy race after another landed on the Wild Rockies Series. The season-ending, 10th annual Lava Rama was no exception, but somehow it all worked out. Pouring, pounding rains all night prior to the race insured that the course would be a mess, but temperatures remained warm and a lack of wind helped to keep riders comfortable as well. Incredibly, on a dark, drizzly race morning, 100 athletes stood ready to end Idaho’s mountain bike and trail running season with a bang.
In an effort to make things tolerable, the ten-mile loop was reduced down to four miles, and this cut most of the really sticky mud out of the loop. Since the first two miles of the course were pavement, and rains stopped about the time that the race started, only the first lap was a true mess. Faced with a good number of cheering spectators, many riders hit main street in Lava wearing a grin, a face full of mud and a good attitude. With mud flying off of their bikes, Lava’s Main Street looked like a sheep drive had just come through. It was wild, yet all but two athletes finished, and the fact that free swim passes to Lava’s world-famous hot pools, (located 100 yards from the finish line) made things even better.
The event was round eight of the 2005 MBT Wild Rockies Mountain Series, sponsored by Masai, The Boise weekly, Bandanna Running, Trek, K2, Rob’s, IMT, George’s Cycles, Ken’s Bicycle Warehouse, the Royal Restaurant, Dempsey Creek Trading, Hyde Park and CycleWorks. The weekend offered something for everyone; there was an early morning trail run, a cross-country mountain bike race, a duathlon option and of course, Sunday’s legendary Devil’s Staircase downhill event. Once again, Idaho’s newest multi-millionaire, Powerball Lottery winner Brad Duke put up $2,000 in pro cash for the weekend and paid for beautiful, bigger than normal, two-color custom medals. He again indicated a desire to do even more next year. “I love the mountain biking scene,” he said. “I can’t wait to really juice things up with Wild Rockies next year. We’ve got all kinds of cool ideas that we’re exploring for the ’06 season.”
The men’s trail run was dominated by two Boise runners, Eric Reynolds who beat the other men and Christine Hall who topped the women. Sliding and falling at times, the two steadily pulled away from everyone covering a muddy, slimy four miles in just over 30 minutes.
The men’s pro mountain bike field turned into a two-man war with Durrango, Colorado’s Eric Ransom leading until the final lap. He was patiently stalked and finally chased down by Sun Valley’s Cody Peterson, who seemed to know exactly when and where to make his move, and picked up $250 for the victory. Team Tamarack’s Lorien Lightfield seems to just get faster every weekend and picked up $250 for her pro women’s win over teammate Stacey Scanlon. At day’s end, all of the season championship, cross-country mountain bikers, trail runners and duathletes, picked up their Wild Rockies beanie hats and toasted another fun year in Wild Rockies Land.
Sunday’s downhill was eagerly received as it featured a 100% new course, designed and built by a local crew led by downhill designer Wiley Fuhriman. The new route worked off of a 20-30 degree slope versus the old 30-40 degree slope on “L” Mountain, and also featured several man-made jumps and ramps which a pretty good-sized crowd gathered around. With another Brad Duke supported $1,000 up for grabs, and a number of pros away attending Inter-Bike, 41 eager riders, many of which were from Utah, were eager to see who could rip down the new course the fastest. The downhill as also part of the Utah Championship Series and carried a NORBA sanction. Since the rain was gone for good, traction was simply stupendous, or as one grinning rider called it, “hero dirt.” National caliber pro, Matt Johnston (GoRide.com) spanked everyone with a sick, 2:35 run that left everyone else arguing over 2nd place.
In 2006, the 11th annual Lava Rama will rejoin Ed Chauner’s Intermountain Cup Series, as well as continue as a Wild Rockies event, and it will also be part of Ron Lindley’s Utah State Championship Downhill Series. The date will be May 13-14 and later in the summer, the 15th annual Bordertown Challenge at the beautiful Pequope Ranch in Nevada will also rejoin Ed’s series and restore the downhill event with Ron Lindley. With these moves, as well as the Brad Duke factor, 2006 should be an incredible season for regional athletes. For more information go to www.wildrockies.com, or call Ron Dillon at (208) 573-4255.
Mountain Bike, Class 1, Pro Men, (20 miles):
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1. Cody Peterson |
Hailey, ID |
1:18:45 |
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2. Eric Ransom |
Durrango, CO |
1:19:21 |
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3. Ryon Butterfield |
Pocatello, ID |
1:25:17 |
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4. Chad Wassner |
Park City, UT |
1:28:25 |
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5. Darren Lightfield |
Boise, ID |
1:28:45 |
Team Tamarack |
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6. Jon Gould |
Boise, ID |
1:31:47 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 4, Expert Men 30-39, (16 miles):
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1. Bob Saffell |
Boise, ID |
1:21:12 |
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2. Mike McDonald |
Boise, ID |
1:21:38 |
Lost River |
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3. Alex Phipps |
Boise, ID |
1:21:51 |
Kens Bike Warehse |
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4. Erik Antink |
Boise, ID |
1:23:38 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 5, Expert Men 40-49, (16 miles):
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1. Matt Luhn |
Ketchum, ID |
1:09:58 |
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2. Jonas Neeser |
Pocatello, ID |
1:27:12 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 7, Pro Women, (20 miles):
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1. Lorien Lightfield |
Boise, ID |
1:32:44 |
Team Tamarack |
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2. Stacey Scanlan |
Boise, ID |
1:34:33 |
Team Tamarack |
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3. Lynn Stott |
Boise, ID |
1:36:39 |
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4. Brooke Blackwelder |
Boise, ID |
1:52:22 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 9, Sport/Expert Men Singlespeed, (12
miles):
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1. Andrew Mentzer |
Boise, ID |
1:04:27 |
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2. Chris Howell |
Pocatello, ID |
1:06:07 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 10, Sport Men 13-15, (12 miles):
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1. Cees Hofman |
Star, ID |
1:08:26 |
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2. Mario Wade |
Pocatello, ID |
1:10:56 |
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3. Ryan Holmes |
Eagle, ID |
1:18:53 |
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4. Tyler Wall |
Star Valley, WY |
1:21:16 |
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5. Jay Pooley |
Star, ID |
1:23:08 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 11, Sport Men 16-18, (12 miles):
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1. Mitch Andres |
Park City, UT |
1:11:29 |
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2. Jesse Craven |
Eagle, ID |
1:12:04 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 12, Sport Men 20-29, (12 miles):
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1. Carl Anderson |
Boise, ID |
1:03:42 |
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2. Shawn Wells |
Pocatello, ID |
1:10:18 |
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3. Spencer Goss |
Pocatello, ID |
1:11:20 |
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4. Robby Stephenson |
St. George, UT |
1:23:06 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 13, Sport Men 30-39, (12 miles):
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1. Darren Smith |
Twin Falls, ID |
1:01:29 |
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2. Hal Miller |
Nampa, ID |
1:05:55 |
Kens Bike Warehse |
Mountain Bike, Class 14, Sport Men 40-49, (12 miles):
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1. Chris Haunold |
Boise, ID |
1:02:20 |
Idaho Mtn. Touring |
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2. Colby Dees |
Nampa, ID |
1:07:59 |
Sobernots |
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3. Danny Kelly |
Idaho Falls, ID |
1:10:34 |
Idaho Mtn. Trading |
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4. Doug Huntley |
Twin Falls, ID |
1:13:59 |
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5. Dean Jennings |
Boise, ID |
1:27:18 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 15, Sport Men 50-Up, (12 miles):
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1. Dick Newson |
Sandy, UT |
1:06:28 |
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2. Rolf Hebenstreet |
Ketchum, ID |
1:06:38 |
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3. John Land |
Boise, ID |
1:07:34 |
Sobernots |
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4. Jim Pitkin |
Salt Lake City, UT |
1:15:24 |
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5. Kem Kough |
Oasis, NV |
1:17:37 |
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6. Larry Rupe |
Boise, ID |
1:17:40 |
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7. Cliff Kent |
Arimo, ID |
1:20:38 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 18, Sport Women 30-39, (12 miles):
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1. Kristi Kendrick |
Boise, ID |
1:15:37 |
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2. Janna Brimmer |
Salmon, ID |
1:26:14 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 19, Sport Women 40-Up, (12 miles):
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1.Josie Magee |
Pocatello, ID |
1:23:14 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 20, Sport/Expert Men (Clydesdale,
200+lbs), (12 miles):
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1. Charles Mills |
Idaho Falls, ID |
1:14:56 |
Idaho Mtn. Trading |
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2. Kim Mahaffey |
Baker City, OR |
1:23:04 |
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3. Brad Duke |
Star, ID |
1:23:11 |
Gold’s Gym |
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4. Bob Barret |
Pocatello, ID |
1:36:39 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 24, Beginner Men 13-15, (8 miles):
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1. Conner Haunold |
Boise, ID |
47:35 |
Idaho Mtn. Touring |
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2. Daniel Smith |
Payson, UT |
48:36 |
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3. Saxton Dees |
Nampa, ID |
48:37 |
B.Y.R.D.S. |
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4. Jake Reidle |
Soda Springs, ID |
48:50 |
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5. Ty Eggimann |
Pocatello, ID |
55:32 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 26, Beginner Men 20-29, (8 miles):
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1. Jonathan Pena |
Ogden, UT |
43:02 |
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2. Brian Hunsaker |
Pocatello, ID |
44:20 |
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3. Tim Hunsaker |
Pocatello, ID |
47:59 |
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4. Paul Yelda |
Hailey, ID |
49:46 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 27, Beginner Men 30-39, (8 miles):
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1. Cornelius Hoffman |
Star, ID |
47:52 |
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2. Brian Anderson |
Soda Springs, ID |
49:55 |
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3. Brett Brouden |
Boise, ID |
57:13 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 28, Beginner Men 40-49, (8 miles):
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1. Doug Niedrich |
Ketchum, ID |
45:31 |
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2. Mike Reidle |
Soda Springs, ID |
1:01:08 |
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3. Brad McCoy |
Boise, ID |
1:18:22 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 32, Beginner Women 30-39, (8 miles):
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1. Nava Antink |
Boise, ID |
53:04 |
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2. Lisa Smith |
Twin Falls, ID |
59:35 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 33, Beginner Women 40-49, (8 miles):
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1. Nicole Brooks |
Idaho Falls, ID |
59:13 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 35, Clydesdale Beginner Men, (200+lbs),
(8 miles):
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1. Pat Brooks |
Idaho Falls, ID |
57:13 |
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Mountain Bike, Class 36, Trailblazer Kids 12-Under, (4
miles):
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1. Justin Smith |
Pocatello, ID |
36:43 |
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2. Tate Thornton |
Caldwell, ID |
40:18 |
B.Y.R.D.S. |
Mountain Bike, Class 37, 12-Under, (8 miles):
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1. Jesse Taysom |
Pocatello, ID |
58:00 |
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2. Chase Dees |
Nampa, ID |
1:13:03 |
B.Y.R.D.S. |
Trail Run, Overall Results, (4 miles):
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1. Eric Reynolds |
Boise, ID |
30:47 |
1st Man 40-49 |
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2. Christine Hall |
Boise, ID |
31:15 |
1st Woman 30-39 |
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3. Steven Toly |
Lava Hot Springs, ID |
31:19 |
2nd Man 40-49 |
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4. Deryl Spencer |
Salt lake City, UT |
32:18 |
1st Man 20-29 |
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5. Allen Day |
Idaho Falls, ID |
33:10 |
3rd Man 40-49 |
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6. Cornelius Hoffman |
Star, ID |
33:55 |
1st Man 30-39 |
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7. Mike Thornton |
Caldwell, ID |
36:24 |
4th Man 40-49 |
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8. Charlie Francisco |
Mtn. Home, ID |
38:07 |
1st Man 50-59 |
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9. Shawna Hirschi |
Salt Lake City, UT |
39:09 |
1st Woman 20-29 |
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10. Rebecca Lanningham |
Nampa, ID |
42:22 |
2nd Woman 20-29 |
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11. Kjersten Brown |
Bellevue, ID |
43:43 |
2nd Woman 30-39 |
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12. Allison Gingrich |
Bellevue, ID |
43:44 |
3rd Woman 20-29 |
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13. Whitney Burton |
Idaho Falls, ID |
52:10 |
1st Woman 14-19 |
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14. Mandi Burton |
Idaho Falls, ID |
59:43 |
4th Woman 20-29 |
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15. Courtney Burton |
Idaho Falls, ID |
59:44 |
2nd Woman 14-19 |
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16. Blaine Burton |
Idaho Falls, ID |
1:02:30 |
5th Man 40-49 |
Duathlon, Overall Results, (4 miles):
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1. Deryl Spencer |
Salt lake City, UT |
32:18
run / 51:11 bike 1:23:29 total time |
1st Duathlon Man |
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2. Steven Toly |
Lava Hot Springs, ID |
31:19
run / 52:40 bike 1:23:59 total time |
2nd Duathlon Man |
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3. Cornelius Hoffman |
Star, ID |
33:55
run / 56:52 bike 1:30:08
total time |
3rd Duathlon Man |
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4. Mike Thornton |
Caldwell, ID |
36:24
run / 55:04 bike 1:31:28
total time |
4th Duathlon Man |
Downhill Results, Pro/Semi-Pro Men 19-29 (1 mile):
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1. Matt Johnston |
Salt Lake City, UT |
2:35 |
Go-Ride.com |
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2. Peter Schaffer |
Salt Lake City, UT |
2:45.101 |
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3. Eric Frost |
Pocatello, ID |
2:45.510 |
Rob’s |
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4. Darren Lightfield |
Boise, ID |
3:08 |
Team Tamarack |
Downhill Results, Expert Men 13-18 (1 mile):
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1. Nick Sturmak |
Eagle, ID |
3:01 |
Reed Cycle |
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2. Taylor Reed |
Eagle, ID |
3:05 |
Reed Cycle |
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3. Chris Hadley |
Salt Lake City, UT |
3:08 |
Go-Ride.com |
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4. Mitch Andrus |
Francis City, UT |
3:12 |
Go-Ride.com |
Downhill Results, Expert Men 19-29 (1 mile):
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1. Art Widmar |
Boise, ID |
2:54 |
Modesty Cycles |
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2. Denver Werre |
Boise, ID |
2:58 |
Tate’s Rents |
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3. Travis Elquist |
Pocatello, ID |
3:03 |
Rob’s |
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4. Rudy Hanson |
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3:08 |
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5. Wiley Furhiman |
Pocatello, ID |
3:26 |
Wild Rockies |
Downhill Results, Expert Men 30-39 (1 mile):
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1. Doug Frei |
Chubbuck, ID |
3:02 |
Rob’s |
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2. Leland Long |
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3:05 |
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Downhill Results, Hardtail (1 mile):
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1. Morgan Kent |
Pocatello, ID |
3:13 |
Rob’s |
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2. Mike Everts |
Coeur d’ Alene, ID |
3:31 |
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3. Kenny Coye |
Ceour d’ Alene, ID |
3:45 |
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4. Nick Silva |
Boise, ID |
4:16 |
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Downhill Results, Sport Men 13-18 (1 mile):
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1. Jordan Culp |
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2:58 |
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2. Daniel Reed |
Eagle, ID |
3:04 |
Reed’s Cycle |
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3. Jacob LaRoque |
Salt Lake City, UT |
3:18 |
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4. Nic Hadley |
Eagle, ID |
3:22 |
Reed Cycles |
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5. Aaron Mendoza |
Boise, ID |
3:24 |
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Downhill Results, Sport Men 19-29 (1 mile):
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1. Nathan Avery |
Chubbuck, ID |
3:03 |
Rob’s |
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2. John Maxwell |
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3:17 |
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3. Justin Weyburn |
Salt Lake City, UT |
3:26 |
Gladiator Cycles |
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4. Alex Burns |
Boise, ID |
3:37 |
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5. Dustin Richcreek |
Boise, ID |
3:42 |
Modesty Cycles |
Downhill Results, Sport Men 30-39 (1 mile):
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1. Scott Mendoza |
Boise, ID |
3:40 |
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2. Brad Duke |
Star, ID |
3:54 |
Duke Sports |
Downhill Results, Sport Men 40-Up (1 mile):
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1. Randy Earle |
Hailey, ID |
4:12.84 |
Cycle Down |
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3. Rolf Hebenstreit |
Ketchum, ID |
4:50.14 |
Jytte/Sun Valley Road & Dirt |
Downhill Results, Beginner Men 13-18 (1.5 miles):
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1. Cody Franzen |
Boise, ID |
4:20 |
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Downhill Results, Beginner Men 19-39 (1.5 miles):
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1. Mike Everts |
Coeur d’ Alene, ID |
3:51 |
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2. Kenny Coye |
Coeur d’ Alene, ID |
4:08 |
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3. Tyler Brown |
Boise, ID |
4:11 |
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4. Rob Florence |
Boise, ID |
4:35 |
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5. Sam Netsegil |
Lava Hot Springs, ID |
4:48 |
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