By Amy Jespersen
Members of the Carbon Composite Mountain Bike Team have been busy during the off-season participating at the Intermountain Cup Racing Series. As the premiere MTB racing series in the Intermountain West, the series combines the best courses in Utah with some of the most competitive racing in the country.
Incoming high school sophomore Tacoma Smith is coming off a heartbreaking Utah state race in the fall due to two flat tires in the first couple miles of the race. This spring, he raced against some of the toughest competition in the state and placed second in both the Three Peaks Classic in Cedar City and Soldier Hollow. He then went on to participate in the National Mountain Bike race in Bear Creek Mountain Resort, PA earlier this month. He qualified for finals on the first day of racing and competed against the fastest cross country riders in the country, finishing 52nd out of 120 racers.
Incoming junior Andrew Loveless has also had a busy spring and summer racing at FastTimes at Richfield, where he took first place. He also placed sixth and 15th at Soldier Hollow and Red Rock Rampage in Santa Clara, respectively.
Monson, Michael, MaCoy and Merritt Loveless are all following in big brother’s footsteps. All four boys raced at Red Rock Rampage and Soldier Hollow and had outstanding finishes. Monson and Merritt brought home fourth and fifth place medals while Michael and MaCoy found themselves on top of the podium at the Santa Clara race.
James Tullis, the returning region champion in the freshman category, raced at Soldier Hollow and finished in the middle of the pack against some of the best riders in the state. Carson Taylor, the returning region champion in the eighth grade category, has had a successful ICup series, racing in Richfield and finishing on top of the podium at Red Rock Rampage.
The Carbon Composite Mountain Bike Team has 45 student athletes this year ranging from seventh to 12th grades, including two racers from Emery High. This is up from 28 riders last year. The team will host the first race of the season on Aug. 26 at the Butch Cassidy mountain bike venue. Eleven hundred riders and their families will converge on Price, filling hotels, restaurants and campgrounds for the weekend, bringing a much needed economic boost to the community. Price will host two other regions at the Butch Cassidy venue on Sept. 16 and Sept. 30.
