Midwest MTB Racing Recap
A busy weekend of racing past with point to point action in the UP of Michigan and series racing in both Wisconsin and Minnesota. A look ahead to the heavy schedule of events this weekend and a few mountain bike related items to note, caps off this weeks report.
Keewenaw Chain Drive
Brian Matter repeated as champion in the 32 mile race as upcoming star Tyler Gauthier made him earn it with a sprint finish to determine the winner. Ryan Baumann, Todd McFadden and Tom Carpenter rounded out the top five respectively. Gauthier stated on Twitter "Love racing in the UP, great course, great competition and people..."
On the female side in the 32 mile race, Duluth resident Dianna McFadden took a convincing win over Cooper Dendel and Andrea Matter. McFadden finished in the top 30 overall among the 77 total participants in the 32 mile race.
Red Wing Classic
After enduring almost 10" of rain leading up to the event, the hill course at Memorial Park outside Red Wing looked good to go, albeit a few greasy spots for Minnesota series racing. The course got good reports for the early races but halfway through the Comp/Expert races, the skies opened up and turned the race into a mud event. "Heavy rain caught everyone off guard and turned into a mud fest" reports Eric Oftedahl. People either love racing in mud or despise the effort, both during the race and bike overhaul afterwards. Brendan Moore and Jenna Rinehart continued their winning ways after Mt Kato as Elite rider Devin Curran sums up the day dealing with what humankind can't control, Mother Nature. (Photo: Matt Johnson)
Cold wet muddy and confused is how my race ended yesterday, not sure how all things are going to shake out.
Race started in the sun with nice temps and perfect trail conditions. I hit the single track sitting in forth or fifth, up front is where Iwanted to be. The twisty one track carved like I have never seen, going fast and staying off the brakes. Hit the Hair-way-to-steven the first time perfect and down in to the reroute. Punching out of one of the climbs I rode over the Grouse, bird seemed to be fine as I saw it on laps to come.
Second lap was more of the same charging and being aggressive and again off the breaks and on the gas.
Third lap started with the rain starting to fall, before entering the single at the start it was already getting greasy and loose. Mid lap things started to get bad for me, lost the ability to see and the glasses came off and from there it got tough to keep the bike up. The off camber trail was hard to run let alone ride.
Coming through into the last lap the race director was saying that the race was called so I came through the start/finish line and dropped my mud heavy bike to the ground...... the destruction of bike gear left me dizzy and a bit grumpy.
All the work that I have been putting in is working I feel good and now need to build for the next race. Kids bike has gotten overhauled, mine gets it tonight.
Battle of CamRock
One thing you can count on in the Wisconsin Off Road Series is the good battles in all classes with the constant large fields which make it the largest cross country mountain bike series in the country. This past weekend was no different as tight battles concurred up and down the classes on a course carefully built by a huge network of volunteers. Taking the win in the Elite race was Nathan Guerra who, the day before, posted a top 40 finish in the PRO XCT series, placing 34th, just over 8 minutes back in the race won by Ryan Trebon in one hour fifteen minutes as XCO racing implements shorter races resulting in exciting tight racing. Abbigail Strigel continues her domination in the Elite females, taking yet another win over Susan Stephens.
Olympic Team Named
Mountain bikers selected to compete in this years 2012 Summer Olympics to be held in London, England, include two repeat participants as well as two new riders. Todd Wells, Sam Schultz, Georgia Gould and Lea Davison (former winner of the Chequemegon Fat Tire 40) will wave the flag of stars and stripes competing and against the world's best. Recap at Singletrack.com
Minnesota High School Mountain Bike Teams
At press time, nearly 14 teams have registered or have intended to start a high school team in the growing Minnesota High Cycling League. Individuals can also compete but the organization has made it easy for teams to start with just a few members.
Looking ahead
The Wisconsin series goes back to back weekends with the Red Flint Firecracker held at the Eau Claire County Expo center. Always a popular venue with a big camping atmosphere and activities outside of racing. The location attracts a handful of Minnesota riders with a bit closer proximity to the Twin Cities and with no series racing in Minnesota this weekend, expect a few more. More details on the event and upcoming WORS events in the latest newsletter.
The Chequemegon 100 mile and metric events take place in around the Cable/Hayward trail utilizing the incredible network of trails in the area. "If you get lost, there is nobody to come get you. If you get tired, there is nobody to come get you. There is no emergency service out there. No matter what happens, you are responsible for you", states race organizers. Truly an epic event and any twist from Mother Nature will make it only more interesting.
The second running of the Lutsen 99er takes place this coming weekend featuring deep woods riding on forest roads and trails that put smiles on the endurance freaks. With Lifetime Fitness sponsoring the event, slots are available to participants in both the Leadville 100 and Chequemegon Fat Tire Festival.
Mountain biking will be part of the cycling portion of the City of Lakes Tri-Loppet held in and around Minneapolis and also include a 8km paddle, 11km mountain bike and 5km trail run. Winners of the family team earn a certificate to be used at Maplelag Resort.
Pipestem Creek Trails, Jamestown, ND will host a poker run-style race/ride that features all of North Ridge Trail, horse trails, off-trail, and gravel road riding. No trail map, no preriding, riders will look for the next trail marker from the one they are at. Seven “check points” where riders grab a playing card for their poker hand. This race is semi-self supported with unmanned aid stations at 3 points. No times taken, just places with great prizes.
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 22nd year of racing and promoting mountain bike races. |