Midwest MTB Racing Recap

by Jay Richards
October 5, 2010

With cross season in full swing and the Minnesota mountain bike series wrapped up for the year, not much racing action last weekend to report. This weeks report checks in with Jack Hinkens and the collegiate racing scene (with a special report from Lars Ellefson on the Wells Bro Cross race), an update on area trail building and a look ahead to the final race in the WORS schedule.

Collegiate MTB Racing

Jack Hinkens was named to the Nationals team and will be competing at Northstar at Tahoe Resort in Truckee, California October 14-17. Jack's latest report on the college scene:

As my college search began about one year ago, I knew that I wanted to be somewhere that my passions and interests could be shared with friends. I also had a desire to be part of a collegiate cycling team. Fort Lewis is a great college and Durango is an epicenter of mountain biking so it was an easy choice.

I am in one of the quieter dorms on campus. My room mates are respectful. I have one of the best views from my dorm room. There is an empty dirt parking lot outside my window that I get to watch people do burnouts on! I am lucky. This semester I am taking general requirement classes which include; Technical Writing, Semantics, African History, and Introduction to Business. My professors are all patient, interesting, and willing to work with you one on one.

Aside from the boys' soccer team, the cycling team is much more respected than any other team at Fort Lewis; there are close to 150 members. I think the cycling team has close to fifteen national championships in the Division 1 category. Every Tuesday night there is a team meeting where coaches Dave Hagen and Matt Shriver review the weeks' events and go over the following week with us. On Wednesday nights there is a training Short Track race held on campus trails called the Factory Trails. Overall the team is very well organized and supported.

The Collegiate Mountain Bike season lasts seven weeks, starting the first weekend of school. The first five weekends are conference races put on by colleges throughout Colorado. The other colleges we compete against are the University of Wyoming, Air Force, Colorado College, CU Boulder, School of Mines, Western State, and Colorado State University. There is one weekend off, then Nationals is in Truckee, CA. Due to racing in other events during the first few weeks of school, I was only able to make it to two of the weekends (there are usually two races every weekend). In order to qualify for the Fort Lewis National team, you need to finish at least two races and start a third. This rule is strongly enforced by USA cycling. It makes selection fair to everyone on the team because then no one is being judged on previous race results. My first collegiate race went well and with the help of a team mate, I won the Winter Park XC. In the Snow Mountain Ranch STXC, I was third. While most everyone else had fulfilled National requirements I had not. I raced and won the Golden STXC put on by The School of Mines last weekend. There will be four women downhillers, four women cross country racers and four of each for boys on the National Team. I will be one of the cross country boys.

Cyclocross is huge in Durango! There is a Four Corners CX Series that has eight races all within an hour drive from Durango. Of the eight races, three of them are a five minute walk from my dorm. I will be doing a little travel to some UCI races; Boulder Cup and USGP Fort Collins as well as CX Nationals. The last two weeks I have been taking most days off the bike aside from the racing on weekends. During the week I have been doing some light trail running and roller skiing with my Minnesota friend Lars. Judging on what I hear from Lars, Colorado is not nearly as cool as Minnesota in the cross country ski department, but there are still a few races that I will try to get to. Some of these include the Vail JOQ, Durango JOQ, and the Owl Creek Chase Super Tour. Qualifying for Junior Olympics is not a goal for me. I just want to be out there to have fun with the Durango Nordic team and support my friends Tad Elliot and Lars Ellefson.

Wells Bros CX Report

Lars files a report on the Wells Bros Cross race.

A great day to be on the bike! Jack Hinkens and I headed up to Durango Mountain Resort at 9000ft to get our suffer on at the Wells Bros CX Race. Todd had set up a sweet and challenging course with stairs, bridges, a good climb and some fast descents. The mood was pretty laid back at the start which was nice, I still felt a little pressure since I looked so fast rocking my new Maplelag skinsuit!

Anyway, Jack took the holeshot and set a pretty good pace off the start.... I decided not to bury myself as I've found out this is not smart racing so high up! I was on my mountain bike and it was actually okay out there! There was a rough, rooty rocky section at the top of the climb and I could get through it a lot faster then on a cross bike! By the 3rd lap I had passed Dylan Stucki who had a flat and was running for a new wheel. And then by the 5th lap I had passed Andrew Llewellyn who also had flatted. I was suffering out there and 50 minutes seemed to drag on. There was pretty good crowd and Troy Wells was announcing and getting everyone pumped. Flats were a major problem as about 2/3 through the race I went by Jack who was out with a bad luck flat. I was pretty much alone the last 3 laps and barely made it but finished on the lead lap. Todd Wells was flying so I felt pretty good about not getting lapped. It was fun local race with some good competition and a great workout! Top three were Todd Wells, Matt Shriver, Brenden Schafer. I believe I ended up 6th in the A class. On the way down Jack and I had the idea to go jump Cascade Falls. Well it's been a month since we did it and it WAS SO COLD! I won't forget the look on Jack's face. Good recovery, and a good day.

Swansons Cut Loose on Cuyuna

Doug and Dan Swanson, prominent cyclists from the Twin Cities area, spent the summer building the new Cuyuna trail near Crosby, MN. The trail is currently 22 miles in length and will be officially open in the Spring of 2011 after the winter snows have compacted the trail proper.

Dan sent a note on the trail:

Things are going really well. The trail is going to be epic. The trail isn't open until next spring but we have completed our portion. Some bridges and maps still need to get in place along with the DNR figuring out all the emergency response. They are requesting people stay off the trails until opening. We spent all summer up there working full time with a crew of roughly 10 guys. The trail was flagged for us, so we didn't design it but did have some input on sections. Doug and I and a few others have been test riding it and reworking sections to make the flow better. I think everyone is going to be happy with how it rides. The trail is about 22 miles total in length.It has some expert areas, some good downhills and climbs and the views are amazing.

Berming it in Becker County

Work has begun on a new mountain bike trail at the Mountain View Rec area in Becker County, just outside Detroit Lakes, MN. The rec area created a ski trail system that was a popular visit for local skiers and now a mountain bike trail is being built. Volunteers being sought out to help complete the trail. Article in Detroit Lakes Tribune.

Here at Maplelag, we are nearing completion of a new singletrack loop near the Twin Lakes trail system. The new trail is open for riding and will be used in the future as part of a big loop point to point race to be held in the Spring.

Looking Ahead

The Wisconsin Off Road Series wraps up its season with the popular Wigwam Mountain Bike Challenge, which continues to be staged at Sheboygan's Jaycees' Quarryview and Evergreen Parks. The course is mostly single and double track. Course features a blend of pinewoods and then suddenly enters a spectator vantage-point. Sand, gravel, asphalt, mud, grass, pine needles, roots, and the famous "Sheboygan Slickrock", the course has a bit of everything. There is one steep downhill and one very steep climb, the "Equalizer".

Keep the wheels moving!