Midwest MTB Racing Report
The recent streaks of cold weather feels like we should be waxing the Nord boards and burning some turns but that doesn't mean the riding season is coming to an end. Still some good runs to be had and the fat bike season is starting to warm up and, of course, the cross season is heating up near its racing season peak in the Midwest. This weeks report includes recaps from the MN High School cycling league finals at Mt Kato, a chilly Collegiate Nationals at Beech Mountain North Carolina, highlights from mountain bike related topics including a interview with Brendan Moore of Wolf Tooth components and a look ahead to the final big mountain bike race in the Midwest, the Iceman Cometh.
The unknowns of racing late in the season can include 70 degrees and sunshine or 20 degrees and snow. Riders were faced with the later on the opening day of the Collegiate Nationals at Beech Mountain North Carolina. Lacrosse product and now racing at Ripon College, WI Sophia Marchiando (who took the women's elite win in the final race in the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series) provides a recap after nailing down a top 20 in the short track and a very solid 6th place in the cross country.
It was a whirlwind of a weekend at Beach Mt, North Carolina for the 2013 collegiate mountain bike nationals. From snow to sun and mud to ice, the mountain tossed everything it had at us. Friday started it all off with a toe numbing short track. Fresh snow on the ground didn’t stop the racers from giving it all they had. My team, The Ripon Red Hawks had six riders compete in the short track event. Sadly in an unfortunate turn of events early in the week, Corrie Osborne was unable to race due to bruised ribs. Rosette Reynolds placed 12th while I came in 17th due to a fallen chain. For the boys, Marcus Reed-Thorsen finished 30th, Ben Senkerik 14th and Tony Kaatz 11th.
Following the blistering cold short track were the downhill qualifying runs. Josh Coit, Kyle Green and Marcus Reed-Thorsen were our three downhillers and all three qualified for the finals on Saturday. Saturday morning’s weather fared much better than Friday. The sun was shining and thankfully no new snow. The men’s cross country race started the day off with three laps of a pretty tough course. Starting at the base, the racers climbed up the face of the mountain on a slippery icy road. Once at the top they entered some really rooty and icy singletrack, and finally a technical downhill. The women had a bit better luck with the single track, but the climb had become so muddy and slippery people were spinning out all over the place. It was a quick race for the women who did only two laps. (Photo: Ripon College)
For the men, Senkerik finished 12th, Kaatz 31st and Reed-Thorsen 34th. Reynolds came in 21st due to a mix up with a tree on the first lap and I finished 6th. Later that afternoon was the final run for downhill. Our three boys were a bit shook up from crashing during practice runs, but they were ready to give it one last run. Our first boy down was Coit who finished in 12th with a time of 2:45.432. Next down was Green who took a nasty spill but was still able to pull of a 29th place finish with a time of 3:07.608. And rounding out the event was Reed-Thorsen who also hit the ground finished 32nd with a time of 3:59.740. Sunday morning started off with the dual slalom qualifying run in which all three of our boys qualified again.
The next event was history in the making with the first ever team relay. Teams of two, three or four riders race and what ever team finishes the four laps first is the winner. Our team consisted of Senkerik, Reynolds, Kaatz and me. It was a close race and on the last lap Kaatz passed two opponents and we finished with a 5th place podium finish. Finishing out the weekend was the dual slalom finals. Our three boys were ready to take their last run of the weekend. Coit got a top 20 finish, Reed-Thorsen 29th and Green 31st. Overall the Ripon Red Hawks finished 8th in the omnium, a good end to a crazy weekend.
Results
Coverage on CyclingNews
Report from Ripon College
MN High School Championships
The Minnesota High School cycling championships wrapped up a successful season with good growth, hitting the slopes of Mt Kato for the final race for another beautiful day of racing. (Photo: Todd Bauer)
Jordan Horner files a report from the final race:
Sunday had the best conditions you could possibly ask for. Beautiful weather, perfect trails, and great atmosphere. It was much different, for me, than the other high school races so far because I had to wait to race. I had been so used to getting there, setting up, and going to warm up right away to race at 11. Sunday all the varsity had to wait until 2 to race a different and more challenging course. I don't know about everyone else, but the waiting was so nerve-racking.
One really nice thing about racing at a different time than everyone else was being able to watch the races. It made me realize that there are so many talented athletes in every single class. The girls race was especially fun to watch, probably because I actually ran around to watch that instead of being confined to my chair during the boys race (my dad told me to relax until I really needed to move). There are some incredibly talented girls out there and I can't even name names because anyone who completed a course like that is amazing!
Mankato was by far the hardest high school race I have ever raced but it was also the most fun. Racing with Kelly has made me love this sport more than I ever have, and I've been doing this a long time! Gary said go and I pulled in right behind her and just hoped she didn't push it up the first hill too hard. There is so much climbing in that course and I knew I needed to pace myself just right. I let her get away a little bit on the first hill and flats but caught back up in Crazy Horse and the maze where things got tight. Kelly and I rode together from that point to the beginning of the third and last lap where she just pulled away from me. I guess the hours of training pays off because I could not keep up, but I kept trying. It was the most fun race of my life because I actually had competition and raced hard the whole time because of that.
I have to include a big thanks to everyone who helps put these races on, to all the parents and fans who cheer their hearts out for us, and to all the athletes who come out and race and just have fun. Without any of you, none of this would be possible or any fun. I am really looking forward to next year for a final year of racing before going off to college.
If you haven't been one of the nearly 8 million people to see Kelly McGarry stick a back flip over a 72 foot gap last week, check it out here. Crazy enough, he didn't win the event but ended up second overall. The free ride mountain biking scene continues to soar to incredible heights and its bone chilling to think how far it is going to go.
Anne Ellefson of Park Rapids qualified for the Xterra World Championships which was held this past weekend in Maui, Hawaii! Using mountain bike racing as part of her training this summer, Anne recorded a 16th place finish in her age group, swimming for 1 mile, mountain biking for 19 miles and topping the tri out with a 6 mile run. Anne overcame sickness days before the event to pull off the finish. Anne's report:
I am sooo glad I was well enough to get up and do this event. I cannot describe or soak it all in as of yet, the time here has been bigger than anything I have ever experienced and can hold...
The race day still comes back to me in spurts! Like the Japanese women on the mountain bike course crying out as she tumbled down a switchback, taken out by a brazilian guy...To hear her cussing and yelling in Japanese and the ensuing Spanish trying to apologize was so cool. I did not even consider all the diversity I would experience coming together for the love of a sport. I have new friends from Ecuador, Brazil, Oahu, Maui and more.
I have not a chance to look at results fully. I am sure you would need to do this event a few years and be well and trained for the crazy crazy bike course and heat to accomplish your set goal! For me to slow it down, soak it in, and finish the day with no injury or mechanical was so nice! I took the feel of a sea turtle: just go with the flow, and I was able to enjoy and suffer it all!
Giove Comeback
In the world of contact sports, there has been much talk about concussions and effects later in life, in particular, former players of the NFL.When I first got in to mountain biking the downhill racing scene was exploding and with the high speeds on technical terrain, there were some pretty horrific crashes. Missy Giove was probably one of the most flamboyant riders of the 90's, racing like no ones business. Giove had a run in with the law upon retiring from racing, getting caught smuggling some 400 pounds of marijuana across the country. She is finishing up a house arrest sentence after cooperating with officials on the drug ring business she was involved in. Giove is also dealing with post concussion symptoms but recently stated in a Men's Journal article she is considering a comeback to downhill racing despite doctors orders to not do so.
Wolf Tooth
Brendan Moore is probably most familiar to mountain bikers in the Midwest as one of the most dominant rider in recent years. Moore has used his mountain biking passion to feed his interest in a company he has started called Wolf Tooth along with Dan Dittmer and Mike Pfeiffer. Moore enthusiastically answered a few question about his company as they continue to grow.
- Who is Wolf Tooth Components?
We are a team of 3 right now: Mike Pfeiffer, Brendan Moore, Dan Dittmer. All three of us are mechanical engineers and avid cyclists. I have been a pro XC racer for years, Dan is an ultra endurance racer (he did Iditabike & La Ruta last year among other crazy races), and Mike is an XC and endurance racer that did his first race over 25 years ago and he is still rocking (his racing life spans from the 3rd ever Chequamegon Fat Tire 40 in 1986 to Cheq 100 this year). Our professional backgrounds are in the high-tech industry. - How did you come up with the name Wolf Tooth Components?
Mike, who founded WTC came up with that. It is a play on chainrings with the tooth, but also has an MN tone with the Wolf. Other than that, I think it was just a name he liked=) - How did you come to be?
Our company basically came from a desire for products that did not exist. We have been running 1x drivetrains for years but were very frustrated by chain-guides. We really wanted wide/ narrow rings for our 104 BCD cranksets on our fatbikes. As you know, we spend 4+ months a year riding fat bikes in MN and most days front derailleurs don’t work anyway (ice up) so we were running 1x already with chain guides. Finally, we are just passionate about bikes and love the mechanical aspect of bikes. This was an opportunity to break in to the bike component world. We won't be stopping at chainrings and have some other stuff brewing... - What makes you different than the rest?
First, all of our products are made in the USA. The machined parts are made right here in the North Metro of the Twin Cities! Even our T-shirts were made here in the USA =) Having manufacturing close to home enables us to very closely monitor quality and be very nimble in creating new products. Second, when you get your hands on one of our parts you will notice the high quality. We spend more than most manufactures to fabricate with very high tolerances, in small batches, with very experienced machinist, and of the best materials available. Third, specific to chainrings, we have a proprietary tooth profile that maximizes chain retention AND ring life. Other than being wide and narrow, they don't share any design aspects with SRAM's XX1 tooth profile. I have 1000's of miles and 100's of racing miles on my original 88BCD ring on my race bike (same 36t x 88BCD used in all 3 stages of Laddies Loppet at Maplelag Resort this year)
- Who are your clients?
Anyone that spends 95%+ of the time riding in one gear on their crankset! If you aren't using that front derailleur, why have it on there? - Any big name riders using your product?
We have lots of big name riders using them, but we can't talk about them all because of their contracts with other drivetrain companies! That said the Kona CX pro team is on the CX rings, we have Simon Zahner running them (20th in the first CX World Cup), and a handful of XC World Cup pros. - What is your mission and goals moving forward?
Our mission and goal is pretty simple. First is have fun at this new adventure. Bikes are fun and as I mentioned our passion, and we want to keep it that way! With respect to WTC products, we will produce highly desirable bike components that are not available or in our opinion not sufficiently designed/fabricated to deal with the rigors of bike riding and racing. Most of these will be focused on mtbk and gravel racing and riding because that is what we love and where we feel most of the gaps are. Chainrings have been a great start for us, but for the follow on products you should be able to mad-lib them into this sentence, "No one makes a good ______. We are going to design and manufacture the highest quality and best functioning _____ on the market. We will begin testing these new product next year..."
Cottage Grove Bike Park
Minnesota's Cottage Grove Bike Park hosted the Upper Midwest Advanced Trail Building School last month, with 30 participants learning bike park design and construction techniques from IMBA Trail Solutions. The park was built by volunteers and is a joint effort between the Minnesota Off Road Cyclists and the City of Cottage Grove, MN. It's an all-inclusive place to ride that features a tot track, pump tracks, dirt jumps, slopestyle course, skills area and a four-cross track.
Watch a video about the bike park's positive community impact. Huge shout out to the crew for building this. It would be great to see more of these parks in communities but a huge undertaking and mad props to all those making it happen.
Death to the 26
When I see this title, I have to chuckle. I am one of the few? holdouts on the bigger wheel movement, sticking with what has worked for me, 26" wheels on a hardtail mountain bike. I have toyed around with a 29'r and have entertained thoughts of going 27.5 but I just have to much fun on a 26 hardtail. Giant, which is my ride of choice, is making a big push for the 650b or 27.5" tire. There has been much debate but poster on this video makes a good comment:
"Science is numbers and you can't argue numbers but people 10 people can have 10 different opinions about the same bike (or anything else). 650b has been around for a long time, and just now - they are the be all to end all, so much so that Giant will kill off their 26" and 29" bike. Foolish thinking, keep making all 3 wheel sizes because people will buy what they feel is best for them. That's why car manufacturers make all the models of vehicle that they do, to sell more cars to more people"
Looking ahead
The big and popular point to point mountain bike race in lower Michigan, Bell's Beer Iceman Cometh Challenge, is a 29 mile point-to-point mountain bike race from Kalkaska to Traverse City, Michigan. Held traditionally on the first Saturday of November (except for years when the first Saturday of November is the 1st), The 24rd annual Iceman will feature Over $52,000 in cash prizes and $10,000 in merchandise prizes will be awarded.
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 23rd year of racing and promoting mountain bike races. |