Deer Valley, UT- The fourth stop of the NMBS sent the Inland Construction Mt Bike Team to the high altitude of the Deer Valley Resort. The lack of oxygen wasn’t going to stop the boys from putting forth some solid efforts. Charlie Pendry demonstrated the good form he has been building by finishing a stellar 15th place in Saturday’s cross-country race. Pendry had a clean start and flawless bike function, which sent him powering to the front of the field. Pendry worked his way to as high as 13th place on the day, before succumbing to mid-90’s degree temperature, and slipping back to 15th.

While Pendry was on his way to his best result of the year, Daniel Corum was working his way through the field to get some much needed series points. Half way through the second of four laps, Corum popped out of the woods onto a short paved section only to find a Deer Valley maintenance truck stopped dead in its tracks. Corum swerved to avoid the truck only to be snagged by a piece of steel hanging off of the truck’s trailer, sending him flying over the bars and mangling his rear wheel. Corum nursed in his disabled bike in for a few points at the end of the day.

In the Junior-X race, Inland’s Matt Rotroff performed, what he called, “damage control” in dealing with the high-altitude conditions. Matt stayed within himself to finish a solid 7th place in the cross-country race, further enhancing his bid to make the Junior National Team.

The next day’s Short track race saw even better action from the Inland boys. In the Pro race, Pendry and Corum were both able to get a clean start and shot toward the front of the field. They both had such good starts that they almost took each other out in the second turn of the race. Pendry continued to press his advantage and worked his way into the lead group. Corum stayed in the top-25 for much of the race. When it was all over, Pendry had bettered his previous day’s result by establishing a career high 11th on the day. Corum slipped out of the top-25 to finish 39th. Matt Rotroff did a little more “damage control” and finish 6th in the Junior-X Short track event. Matt was able to put a little distance on his key rivals to help boost his already high rank in the Junior-X Short track series.

Upcoming Inland Construction events:

June 24, Georgia Cup MTB Series, Columbus, GA
July 1, SERC Series, Clemson, SC
July 8, Georgia Cup MTB Series, Ellijay, GA
July 19-22, US National Championships, Mt. Snow, VT
July 26-28, Sugar Mountain NMBS #5, Banner Elk, NC