By Nate Gibby — CEDAR CITY, Utah — In his first ever cross-country mountain bike race, Apex/NBX/Hyperthreads rider Jules Goguely took the elite men’s division title while K.C. Holley (Kuhl Cycling) won her second straight elite women’s race in the Intermountain Cup’s Three Peaks Classic held in Cedar City, Utah.
As the Intermountain Cup cross-country series returned to the Three Peaks Recreation Area for the first time in years, the approximately 8-mile course featured 500’ of gain per lap with protruding granite slabs, single track dirt, and a handful of sand bogs to keep riders on their toes.
As a veteran road racer, Goguely outpaced the competition to claim first place on the podium for the elite men’s race in his first ever cross-country MTB race. With a tight pack of elite riders keeping pace throughout two of four laps, Goguely created enough separation on the third lap and held on throughout the final lap to edge out 16-year-old phenom Gabe Noorda (Summit) by 30 seconds and Chris Holley (Kuhl Cycling) by nearly a minute. “The sport is so fast that every turn matters,” said Goguely. “The course a nice power course… fast and hard.”
Chris wasn’t the only Holley to podium as his wife K.C. won her second straight Intermountain Cup in the elite women’s race. Erika Powers (Bingham Cyclery/Peak Fasteners) and Emily Guffin (9Seventy Racing) got out of the starting line quickly and maintained the lead up until the first of the single track. K.C. pulled ahead at that point and had created a 13-second gap by the end of first lap. She continued to create separation through the remaining two laps to win by nearly two minutes. On her victory K.C. said, “I felt like I played my week really well and that paid off today.”
K.C. and Chris Holley are Intermountain Cup regulars who place on the podium frequently. They have a four year old daughter and mountain bike together when they can between balancing family, full time work, and training.
In the high school divisions, Natalie Quinn (ImpactDevo/Bountiful Bicycle), Torrey Turner (Summit Bike Club) and Grace Jencks took the top spots respectively in the varsity girls category. The varsity boys category winners were respectively Luke Heinrich (Kuhl Cycling), Porter Hawkes and Andrew Draper (Maybird Reyes-Psych).
About I-Cup
Founded in 1991, the Intermountain Cup consists of X-country and endurance MTB races throughout Utah. With seven X-country races of approximately 25 miles and one endurance races of approximately 50 miles, the series covers some of the most pristine and difficult rides in the state.
Next up in the Intermountain Cup is the Wasatch 50, the lone endurance race in this year’s series, is. Held in Heber City, Utah on June 2, the trail features a 21-mile loop nestled between Jordanelle Reservoir and Mount Timpanogos.
More information about the Intermountain Cup MTB Race Series, including a full schedule and complete race results is available at intermountaincup.com.
