Teva Mountain Games 2009

Vail, CO played host to one of the biggest weekends in athletic events, once again bringing the Teva Mountain Games to town and attracting talent from all over the nation. With the current economy, Teva proved to be an attractive draw for many top elites and pros, as the significant prize money could more than make up for the reasonable entry fees. Competing in the Ultimate Mountain Challenge, Brooks and James took on 4 events to race for the overall crown. The Ultimate Mountain Challenge consisted of 4 events over 2 days; the white water down river kayak sprint and mountain bike cross country race on Saturday, followed by the 10k mountain trail run and the Vail Pass road bike time trial hillclimb on Sunday. Tiffanie joined in by competing in the same mountain bike and trail run races.

James arrived for the weekend with a nasty stomach flu, yet joined in on all the fun and never let it stop him. With a clean run in the white water, he continued with a solid mountain bike and then ran a blazing time in the trail run, finishing 19th in his age group. At this point, he was 7th overall for the Ultimate Mountain Challenge, and held on to his position as he raced through the snow, hail, and rain during the final road bike leg. Upset stomach and all, James sailed through the competition and finished 7th in the pro division of the Ultimate Mountain Challenge.

Brooks went up against James in the Challenge, also racing in the pro division. He quickly checked off a clean run in the kayak, and followed with a solid race in the mountain bike. The next morning dawned with the trail run, and Brooks posted a great time, finishing 23rd out of 77 in his age group. Finishing up the weekend, he fought through the same afternoon storms to race up to the top of Vail pass in the road bike. Setting a strong pace, Brooks managed to join the ranks right next to James, finishing in 6th place overall in the pro division of the Ultimate Mountain Challenge.

Tiffanie opted to play just twice during the weekend, starting with the mountain bike cross country race. Fighting through traffic on the technical single track, she managed to find her own space halfway through the race, and held on to a podium finish. Her 3rd place finish (W’s Expert) earned her a trip to the awards ceremony, and gained her recognition in a national-level race. The next day brought the 10k trail run, and she continued her strong showing by placing 4th out of 52 runners in her age division.
Thank you to all for helping us to gain recognition and great results at the
always popular Teva Mountain Games. As always, stay tuned to http://
boulderarteam.blogspot.com for more information and news!.