Powder Mountain Hillclimb p/b Diamond Peak Mountain Sports

Eden, UT - The first ever Powder Mountain Hillclimb, presented by Diamond Peak Mountain Sports, was held this past weekend in the Ogden Valley. The road bicycle race, organized by Team Excelerator, attracted weekend warriors and elite riders alike. 50 cyclists lined up on SR 158 to tackle one of the toughest bicycle climbs in the west. Chris Hong, a rider for the elite Bob’s Bicycles team, said that this was one of the toughest races he’s ever done. Chris was using this race to tune up for the Tour of Utah which runs in August. He finished first in the Men’s Pro/Cat 1/2 division and third overall.

The battle for the fastest time to the top, an almost 6 mile, 3300 ft slog up to Powder Mountain Resort from Wolf Creek Utah, was fast and furious for the best climbers. 15 year old Keegan Swenson of Cole Sport, Nathan Cisney from Rooster’s Brewing Co. and Hong were absolutely railing it up the road. Hong attacked Swenson and was able to gap a bit, but Swenson’s steady tempo proved too much and Hong was eventually overtaken. It was then Swenson and Cisney who battled it out for top honors. In the last grueling mile Cisney wasa bale to pull ahead and finish in a standard setting time of 41 min 20 sec taking the overall and 1st in the Men’s Cat 5 division. Swenson was only 30 seconds back good enough for second overall and 1st in the Men’s Cat 4 class. Hong crossed the finish line 2 min 9 sec back.

Everyone who finished this race can consider themselves winners, says event

promoter, Ben Towery of Team Excelerator (shown here rockin' out). He was very pleased with the turnout and the quality of the riders who competed. The weather was absolutely perfect and the difficulty of the ride was countered by the beauty of the Ogden Valley.

Team Excelerator p/b Pinnacle Auto Company was well represented with 9 riders. Jerald Olsen, Kevan Steed, Greg Stuart, Kirk Johnson, Cub Newton, Mike Christoperson, Todd Anderson, Blake Mason and old friend Jim Gilland. All put in an outstanding effort and we thank them for representing the team well!

A very special thanks goes out to the sponsors of the race: Diamond Peak Mountain Sports, Rooster’s Brewing Co., Peregrine Health, Powder Mountain, Wolf Creek Utah and EBSI Websites.

Full event category winners:

Overall: Nathan Cisney (shown below right)

Men Pro/Cat 1 /2: Christopher Hong
Jr. 10-18: Kyle Wright
Men Cat 3: Manny Cypers
Men Cat 4: Keegan Swenson
Women Cat 4: Lisa White
Men Cat 5: Nathan Cisney
Male Masters 55+: Shannon Storrud
Male Masters 45+: Todd Flitton
Female Masters 35+: Vicky Nielson
Male Masters 35+: Dan Minert

Team Update

Team Excelerator p/b Pinnacle Auto Company is in high gear as the season moves forward. As you can see, our presenting sponsor, Pinnacle Auto Company has outfitted the team with a sweet Jaguar team car! Matrix Signs did an awesome job on the graphics as well! Look for the car at events around the states and of course when you take a trip to Lehi to shop for a car!

Two of our ladies will be riding the Little Red Riding Hood tour this weekend. Emily Price and Derai Paul will be in Logan to participate in one of the biggest women only rides around. Good luck to them both! We'll be there to cheer them on. On June 13th, look for TE to contest the Utah State Road Race Championships during the Little Mountain Road Race in Logan as well. Kirk and Marcy Johnson will also be riding on June 13th to support the fight against diabetes in the Tour de Cure in Brigham city.

And, as you can see from the pic below, TE doesn't just ride on the road. We have triathletes, mountain bikers and cyclocrossers as well. This is Rob Perkins, owner of one of our sposnors, Peregrine Health, running in the St. George Tri. We have some talented and dedicated athletes and we're proud to support them all.