Midwest MTB Racing Recap
This week's report includes a recap from Casey Hildenbrandt who raced WORS #6 in Franklin WI, some insight on the mountain bike connections at 2011 Tour De France, and the look ahead to this weekend.
Alterra Coffee Bean Classic
With rain falling the days leading up to the Alterra Coffee Bean Classic (race #6 in WORS), there were concerns over course conditions and even a possible cancellation from riders traveling as the event had to be cancelled last year because of wet conditions. But the course ended up being fresh -- 2nd place Elite rider Brian Matter blog posted: "Rain the previous day made things nice in the singletrack. A little slippery in some spots, but mostly tacky to rip the corners in most of the singletrack."
WORS Jr Elite rider Casey Hildenbrandt provides the recap from his race:
Ben Koenig and I headed early Saturday night and arrived at Maciej's in Waukesha late. We unloaded the bikes and did a quick downtown spin. Woke up early Sunday morning and headed out to breakfast and then headed to the course. A short drive and we arrived to the venue, got all registered and headed out for a warm up. We rode the first 3/4 of the course since we were not able to pre-ride Saturday.
Starting at the back of the Pro/Elite Cat 1 field as usual is not a great spot to start. I ended up slipping a pedal and was last to get going I believe. No where to really pass after the start hill had me sitting not good. Finally hit singletrack and was getting in a groove, and then I washed out on a root and slammed down pretty good. That really woke me up and made me push harder I think. Passing and more passing the rest of the first lap to get where I should have been if I were to have a good start, and then I settled in after the first lap.
I just kept pushing, but not pushing too hard after I blew up at the last WORS race in Eau Claire. After he had a flat tire, I hooked up with Maciej and followed his wheel through the woods for maybe ten minutes before he dropped me. Found a good pace riding with some faster Elite guys after that and ended up finishing 2nd on the day for Cat 1 Juniors behind Ben Senkerik, congrats to him on the win and killing it all year so far. Finally a decent result after a frustrating month and a half of bicycle racing. (Photo by Jason Henry)
Next on tap is Wausau 24 this weekend which is a fun event to hang out at and ride your bike fast! Come check it out if you're in the area! Thanks to Rib Mountain Cycles, Maciej and Polska, Kate and Bubba for hand ups, and of course to everyone else that was cheering me on and kept me pushing. Shout out to Elite Tyler Gauthier who told me to keep pushing on during the race, it's appreciated.
Results:
Video: Elite Men First Singletrack
Mountain Bikers in the Tour De France
I have to admit, going in to this years tour I was a bit disgusted with the doping scandals in recent years and loss of faith when claims were made of clean teams but riders were still doping. It's hard to ignore cycling though, when it is a deep passion, and one of the most exciting tours in years found me watching more than I expected. When Cadel Evans won this years version of the Tour De France, it brought a smile to many mountain bikers. Those that raced against him during his mountain bike days recalled certain memories that popped up among social networks. I definitely remember the years Cadel was drilling it at the front in World Cups and one of the neatest things is that Minnesota's own Jeff Hall raced multiple times against Cadel taking the JR title in the America Championships in one of the race battles.
Brian Matter also reminisced racing against Cadel with a fun twist:
"I really enjoyed watching the Tour this year...cool though is the fact that in 2000 I outsprinted Cadel in a road race in Tucson called Colossal Caves. We both missed the 5 man break and in the end I outsprinted him for a 6th and Evans was 7th. At the time Cadel was winning World Cup mtb races so I was pretty pumped. I just looked for the training diary evidence, but couldn't find it....you'll have to trust me. So using common sense and logic though...if I beat Cadel back in 2000 I probably should have registered for the Tour this year! Oh wait...Tristan beat me yesterday...so he probably would have won the Tour, I would have been 2nd and Cadel would have rounded out the podium???"
Two other riders in the top 10 have strong mountain bike connections with 9th place and top USA finisher, Tom Danielson having raced mountain bikes in the beginning of his cycling career including a National title in the collegiate ranks. Jean-Christophe Peraud, who rounded out the top 10, having competed in world cup mountain bike races just this year.
Looking Ahead
One of the favorite 24 hour races in the Midwest takes place this weekend with the Wausau 24 at the popular 9 mile trail system. The course has been changed a bit this year due to logging but a 11 mile lap on tap for some great racing in the Wisconsin woods. Registration remains open right up until this weekend if you are looking for some last minute serious time in the saddle.
Singletrack Attack
The MNMBS heads back south just a bit for racing action at the popular Hillside mountain bike park. Voted the top race in the series last year, race director Rich Omdahl and his crew always puts out a top notch event on the super flowy bermy course that always puts smiles on the riders faces. Even though there is less than 100 feet of total vertical elevation in the park, there are no big extended climbs... that's not to say there is no climbing though! The full course still has over 1000 feet of climbing per lap. Most of the climbs are very short, and some of them are steep as well, reports Rich. Beginner riders should not be alarmed as the course is very rider friendly and a great course to check out as a first time racer.
Keep the wheels moving!
 | About the author... Jay Richards maintains a very active lifestyle. He somehow finds time between managing a full-time resort (Maplelag) and bringing up a family of four boys with his wife Jonell, to compete in both mountain bike and a few cross-country ski races. Jay rides for Maplelag Resort, manages the Maplelag/Paramount mountain bike team and enters his 21st year of racing and promoting mountain bike races. |