Midwest MTB Racing Report

This fall, in particular October, is going down as one of the nicest on record. I can't recall a September and an October to date like this one. The ideal riding conditions is making for some sweet end of season shreddin'. This weeks report includes a recap from the final races in the Minnesota and Wisconsin series, a couple mountain bike related items to note and the look ahead to the last weekend the Midwest Mountain Bike Report will cover for this season.

Red Wing Classic

Rescheduled because of inclement weather earlier in the season, Memorial Park outside of Red Wing was host to the final race in the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series. With a little bit of extra time to plan, organizers decided to add events on Saturday to increase participation numbers. A short track and time trial was added featuring fast courses and fast riders! Ben Olson of greater Perham made the long trek south to participate in both days and files a full report:

With a long summer of MNMBS family racing we were ready to get to Red Wing and put the series to a close. Great summer of racing, but when most of the venues are over 3 hours away it makes for some long weekends.

We arrived bright and early on Saturday morning with cool temps to sign the boys (Jacob 9 & Marcus 7) up for Saturday's Time Trial and Short Track events while registering them Heidi and I decided (actually I think it was pressure from other riders) to sign up for the Saturday fun also. Having so much fun doing these at Maplelag during Laddies Loppet weekend we did not take much convincing.

Time Trial - Things were a little bit of a scramble after that. Not ready myself to do the TT, I quickly went and changed and hurried back. There wasn't any order as to how the TT would run so I quick jumped in line to try and get out before some of the Citizen and Kids Comp riders so that I wasn't catching too many riders during my loop. That worked out well. I only ended up catching a couple riders and was able to turn in the fastest sport div. lap time. The TT was a great way for my wife Heidi and my boys to preride the course and they also turned in really good times. The course was in really good shape but surprised that the leaves had not been blown off the course. This left a couple corners to be a little bit of a surprise. Not knowing just how hard you could push it...

Short Track - The day was turning out to be very nice. The temps had warmed up quite a bit since registration and perfect for racing. The ST racing was scheduled similar to how a typical MNMBS race day. The kids were up first, followed by Heidi and the citizen racers and then myself. The course had a few tight corners with lots of long straight sections with one punchy hill at the end. The turnout for the day was not quite what I had expected, but there was some good completion at the sport level. We did a total of 7 laps. A few of us were battling for that top spot for the first lap or so and then it became a race between Allan and I. He and I traded lead roles for the next 2-3 laps. I pushed hard on a couple pass attempts and then realized he wasn't going to shake easy. Up on the bluff in Red Wing there was a little breeze and you could sure feel the legs screaming harder when in the lead rather than when tucked in behind someone. I then let Allan lead us around the last three laps or so. Just before the punchy uphill finish there was a nice downhill that I noticed Allan and his 29er would gain a little on me each lap. I would catch him on the uphill, but knew that I better make my move prior to this downhill in case he decided to kick it up on the way to the finish. Last Lap-About a hundred yards before the turn into the downhill I made my move and was able to sling shot around him. This gave me added speed for the downhill and uphill finish for the #1 spot. Short track is definitely fun, but always wondering how much legs you are leaving for the cross country race on Sunday.

Sunday Cross Country Race - Another brisk morning made for a cool start for the boys Kids Comp and Heidi's Citizen races. They were not cold in the least once racing began and all had a great time Sunday as well. Both Boys are looking forward to bigger wheeled bikes since they have outgrown the ones they have ridden the last couple years. Doing a cross country race with 24" wheels (Jacob) is hard, but with Marc's 20" wheels, that has to be tough! Very proud of both our boys. Reports after the Kids Comp where that the course had been blown clean of its leaves. That was great news. I was feeling pretty good going into Sunday's race with how things shaped up on Saturday. The turnout was much better and was good to see the familiar faces in the chute. 11:00 and we were off. There was a really good push from about 5-6 of us right from the get go all the way around the prologue. I entered the single track in 2nd place and was very happy with that. Knowing the long sweeping open right hander that was coming up I positioned myself to take the inside line and was able to take the lead. I did a good hard push to try and pull from the group. I was able to do that, but with one accompanying me. I was really starting to feel the legs burn. Maybe from Saturday or maybe I was just getting pushed by Alex that hard. He was right on my wheel and took the lead from me on one of the open sections. I clung on to his wheel and then it happened... about a mile from the start/finish...one corner felt a little squashing on the rear tire and sure enough I had a flat. I then decided to run my bike out to the start/finish where my extra tube was. Was able to get things aired back up, but clearly the finish I was hoping for was no longer in reach. The first lap I figure took me about 25 minutes longer than it should have. I was able to regain about 10-12 spots back and finish about 20 minutes behind the leader. It felt good to finish. I don't DNF very well... Next year...Tubeless...   (Photo: Rob Ogren)

Results 

WORS Final

Todd Nutter reports on the final race in the Wisconsin series:

The nationally recognized Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS) held its finale on Sunday in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The Sheboygan Bicycle Company MTB Challenge has been the closer for WORS for many years and remains a favorite for hundreds of participants. With perfect weather and trail conditions, racers prepared for what would prove to be a fast and exhilarating competition.

Young pro female rider Cooper Dendel (Quick Stop Bike Shop) has been the overall points leader since she beat out Abigail Strigel (Honey Stinger/Bontrager) at the WORS opener in Iola. Strigel had been the overall series winner for the past several years, but did not compete in enough races this season to overtake Dendel in series points.

The men's pro race race was a heated battle for a spectacular final event of the season. An early lead was taken by Cole House (Intelligentsia Coffee/Broken Spoke) with Tristan Schouten (Rolf Prima/Attitude Sports) hot on his wheel. Following closely were Nathan Guerra (Vision Cycling/Attitude Sports), Brian Matter (KS Energy Services/Team WI), Joseph Maloney (KS Energy Services/Team WI) and Justin Piontek (Adventure 212/Specialized).

According to House, several of the leaders were taking turns attacking the group for a break away. Matter sat back for the first few laps, following at around fourth place. House and Schouten got tangled up in what was most likely a failed pass attempt. The incident left Schouten unable to finish with what appeared to be a separated shoulder.

Further mishaps left Guerra dropping from the lead group after flatting in a water crossing. This left a much smaller lead group. Matter, much like Dendel, already had the series victory clinched before arriving at the venue. But, the Sheboygan local had never before taken the top spot on his own home course. This was the only WORS race that he had yet to conquer.  (Photo: Extreme Photography)

Knowing that Cole House is a very dominant sprinter, Matter's strategy was to put some gap on him before arriving at the finish line. House has out-sprinted Matter on this course before and Matter did not want to repeat history. House was right there to grab the second step of the podium while Matter's teammate, Joseph Maloney finished in third. Justin Piontek came in fourth.

Full report with photos as posted on Cyclingnews.com 

2015 Otter Creek 55

Dennis Kemmesat one of the race directors of a new mountain bike event in North Dakota reports: "The date is set - new singletrack is going in - the Otter Creek 55 Endurance Mountain Bike Race/Ride and festival at Harmon Lake sponsored by Epic Sports is on for 2015. Mark your calendar for July 11, 2015. Pick your poison - something for everyone - 16 mile, 29 mile and 55 mile events - a multi-lap event on 13 miles of sweet North Dakota singletrack surrounding beautiful Harmon lake with a variety of terrain to challenge you - lung burning climbs(over 4000ft for the 55), ripping decents, rock gardens,trees, and a whole lot of fun!! Cash prizes to the top riders in each age group, live music, and lots of liquid refreshment post race. Don't miss it! Look for registration details coming soon."

I had a chance to ride Harmon Park during the summer and really enjoyed the prairie single track that wove in and out the coulees around Harmon lake just outside Mandan.

Looking Ahead

The final race in the Minnesota Cycling League heads across the border for the series finale at the MNMBS race of the year venue in 2013, Whitetail Ridge. "Whitetail Ridge is the location for the last race of a 5-race series and the season championship of the MN High School Cycling League. High school and middle school-aged mountain bike racers will come to the line for one last race to see who will be the Overall Champion for their category. Sun. Oct. 26, starting at 9:00am, the races will begin. Throughout the day, 14 mountain bike races will be held: Varsity, Junior Varsity, Sophomore, Freshman and Middle School - with a separate race for boys and girls in each and 2 divisions for the larger categories.

Whitetail Ridge, a favorite among racers for its rolling trails cut into side slopes through the forest, will be the course for the season championship. There's a long climb shortly after the start, and several smaller climbs in the back sections followed by passing zones up on the meadows.

"Our coaches and student-athletes are poised for fierce competition at Whitetail Ridge," said MN League Director Josh Kleve. "This course will provide an opportunity for them to showcase the hours and miles of training they have put in this season. It will be one exciting race after another."

Latest and full press release from MN High School Cycling League 

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/Podiumwear mountain bike team and enters his 24th year of racing and promoting mountain bike races.