Wednesday, June 8, 2005

Sun Summit team climbs to dominance

Cyclists nab three firsts in Tour of Provo


By MICHAEL AMES
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At last weekend's Tour of Utah the Sun Summit Junior Cycling Team was a dominant force, taking first place in three of four divisions. The race was no weekend cruise; coach Greg Stock described climbs that "made Galena look easy."

Based in Provo, the Tour of Utah gathered over 400 regional racers from California and Colorado in addition to the reliable Utah and Idaho cyclists. The Sun Summit Junior Cycling team and head coach Stock were the Wood River Valley's only representatives.

"They rode beyond by expectations," Stock said of the numerous wins in tough conditions.

The race pitted Sun Summit racers against some of the nation's top junior athletes on climbs that truly made Galena seem a warm-up.

Idaho S.H. 75 climbs 1,800 feet in six miles on its way to Galena Summit. Saturday's opening climb in Provo climbed a grueling 1,900 feet in four miles. Sunday's climb was worse at a Baldy-beating 3,700 foot climb over 12 miles. As a comparison, the infamous Alpe d'Huez climb in the Tour de France, measures at 3700 feet in a shorter nine miles.

Still, Stock said that his team "was totally up to it," realizing that these tough days were necessary steps before the unusually early National Championships begin on June 20 in Park City (Utah) and Salt Lake's Antelope Island.

Stock's high expectations proved to be warranted as Scott Krankkala, Max Durtschi, and Davis Hague each finished first in their respective age divisions.

Stock's oldest racers, Mikey Matteson and Reid Pletcher, challenged National Junior Cycling team member, Utah's Chris Peterson, in the 17-18 class.

Though Peterson would eventually take the overall first place, Matteson and Pletcher worked well to stifle his effort in Saturday's Criterium. Through a concerted team effort of alternately drafting and leading Peterson, the two Ketchum riders kept the elite cyclists from winning the very technical criterium.

"He was stunned," said Stock of the Peterson's unexpected loss to the Matteson-Pletcher combo.

With nationals just weeks away, the Sun Summit team has been dodging recent storms to train whenever it can.

"It's been a little bit of a scramble with the weather," Stock said, adding that hot temperatures at Provo this past weekend produced "a lot of sunburn on our Idaho skin."

Before nationals, the Sun Summit cyclists will race at the Tour of Eagle in Eagle near Boise this coming weekend, and then again in the Ketchum Criterium on June 19.

Class placings from Provo:

10-12: 1—Davis Hague. 13-14: 1—Max Durtschi. 3—Jimi Hague. 15-16: 1—Scott Krankkala. 17-18: 2—Mikey Matteson. 3—Reid Pletcher.




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