Midwest MTB Report

A busy weekend of racing and riding as the first major point to point race went down in the Cable, Wisconsin area with the Mt Borah Epic and both Wisconsin and Minnesota served out races in their respective series. This weeks report includes exclusive recaps from the races, a report from a Duluthonian downhiller and news and notes of mountain bike happenings. And, of course, a look ahead.

Mt Borah Epic

In just three short years, the Mt Borah epic has become one of the most popular races in the Midwest. The race features some of the sweetest CAMBA singletrack in northwest Wisconsin and is a top choice for many Midwest riders. After taking off a couple of weeks of the bike completely, Josh Bauer has stormed the local race scene posting some solid results. Josh one of the new riders in the Midwest with tremendous upside and a wicked skill set to boot. Josh pulled off the double this weekend, posting a top five finish at Mt Borah and followed up with a second place finish behind the talented Jeff Hall at Mankato in the Minnesota series race #3. Josh provides and exclusive recap from Mt Borah:

Mt. Borah Epic. The name itself describes this race, it truly is epic. This was my second year doing the Epic and I was looking for a better result in 2015, in 2014 I was 6th place overall and about 10 minutes behind the leaders.

I honestly cannot get enough of the Chequamegon area, it is such a neat place to be and the riding is flawless. My dad, brother and I got a bit of an early start and headed towards Hayward Friday around noon, I wanted to get in about an hour ride and check out the course from the finish at Hatchery Creek. We arrived in Hayward around 3 PM and got a bite to eat and then headed to Hatchery Creek. It had been raining since we go into to Hayward. I knew that the ride would be a bit sloppy so I went full leg warmers and a rain coat to keep myself from getting to muddy. I hopped onto the course and it was pretty sloppy, puddles were starting to form and I got pretty covered. I decided to just keep my ride on the road so I exited and rode some tempo on the local roads around the Hatchery Creek. I thought for sure we would be in for a super sloppy race on Saturday.

It was a bit chilly Saturday morning with temps only in the upper 40's at the start of the race. It really couldn't of been a better temp for racing though, not too hot and not too cold. The trail dried out really nicely and there was only a few puddles here and there. About twenty riders between male and female got a call up and I was fortunate enough to get one. The Star Spangle Banner was sung and the race was off at 10:30 AM. It was a controlled start with a moto unitl we hit gravel on Randy Sack Rd. The front kind of bunched up a bit and I was ready to get the show under way so I went off to the side and gave it some tempo, the group followed. My teammate Jesse LaLonde and I switched off a bit at the front, I attacked both of the bigger climbs on Randy Sack to try and get separation early. We came up to our turn to Timber Trail and then our right into the ATV trail to get to the trail head. I heard some tires rubbing behind me and a "hit it" from Jesse, so I gave it some more gas. I was expecting someone to come around me right before we hit the singletrack but I entered first. I set a pretty mediocre pace but we had a good 5 person train going, I'll call it the Minnesota 5. Me, Jesse LaLonde, Eric Thompson, Dominic Talerico and Brendan Moore. Eventually Mason Bacso and David Carew joined us and the lead group was 7. I led this group of 7 through all the fun, flowy singletrack. It was nice to set my own pace off the front instead of trying to hold on.  (Photo: Todd Bauer)

We got to OO and I was still out front, no one had come around me yet. About 3 miles after OO I noticed a rider dangling in 8th getting close to catching our group. I asked Jesse if the pace was good and he kindly said "It could be a bit faster" I ramped it up a bit but it wasn't as fast as Jesse wanted it to be. Jesse asked me if he could get by and I rode to the side of the trail and a matter of seconds he was already 40 feet ahead of me. I got out of the saddle and tried to chase him down, his pace was so fast that I was unable to control myself on the bike in the tight twisty stuff. His attack blew up our lead group, I finally had to let off some gas and let Eric, Brendan and Dom by. I went from 1st to 5th in a matter of a couple minutes. Dom washed out on a pretty sandy corner and he wattled his way back on to his bike. I rode with Dom for about 5 miles and I realized I need to eat something before I was going to crash hard. The whole race is all singletrack, last year there was a 3 mile gravel road section that made it easy for you to get some food and water in, I was expecting that but it never came up as I only had 10 miles to go.

I had to let Dom slip away as I tried to pick the right time to drink and pound a Honey Stinger Gel. I raced the next 10 miles by myself and I could see Dom about 20 seconds ahead, I was trying to give it all that I had but the last ten miles are a doozy, with some short punchy climbs and lots of rocks and roots. My full rigid T6 Standard 29er was giving me kind of a beating but I kept fighting through trying to see if I could catch him. At one point I think I was maybe 10 seconds back but I just didn't have much left in the tank to catch him. I ended up crossing the finish in 5th and about 20 seconds behind Dom and 3 minutes behind the winner Jesse. I was extremely happy with my performance, I learned a lot on Saturday and gained tons of experience being of the front of the race. I want to congratulate my teammate Jesse LaLonde on his beautiful ride, it is absolutely amazing the talent the guy has, truly inspiring. I also want to thank Twin Six for all the help and support. Thanks Jay for giving me the chance to write this recap. Thanks to all the volunteers that helped make this event happen, the trails were in great shape and I don't think there is a better race currently in the Midwest. Can't wait for the Borah Epic in 2016.

Jenna Rinehart one of the owners of Nicollet Bikes out of Mankato stormed into the racing scene this weekend, taking a win in both the Epic and on the home course at Mt Kato, the Bluff Riders Charge. Jenna's recap from the weekend:

I had heard about the Borah Epic being an awesome event so I knew I had to try to get to it this year. The race started with a 3 mile gravel road to help separate the field before we dumped into solid single track for the next 32 miles! I had a good start and entered the single track around 25th place overall. Early on I could hear Sara Kylander-Johnson a few riders back so I increased my pace and tried to get out of her sight. I then settled into a good pace with a couple other riders for most of the race. The last 8 miles were pretty tough as it was hard to drink/eat during the race and I think it was catching up with me. I got passed by a few guys at the end but made it to the finish and held on for first in the women's race. I would definitely recommend everyone try to make it to this event next year. 35 miles on the CAMBA trails is amazing and the event is a fundraiser for the trails.

After the race I quickly headed back to Mankato for the Bluff Riders race at Mt. Kato on Sunday. The conditions were perfect. Tacky trails and a nice breeze. My legs were feeling a bit tired from the previous day of racing but I pushed through and used my home course advantage to take another win in the women's race. It's great to be back racing the mountain bike again. Looking forward more races this season!

Mt Borah Results

Bluff Riders Charge Mt Kato Results

Race #3 WORS Results Battle of Camrock

Related WORS: Crystal Lake Classic Recap by Todd Nutter

Duluth Downhiller

After testing the mountain bike waters with cross country racing, Duluth jr rider Max Fierax has made the transition to downhill racing, using the opportunistic terrain in the Duluth area for training. I touched based with Max this week to see how things were going and his plans for the upcoming season.

Well as far as getting into downhill goes I really got into it with the help of the guys at Mont Du Lac, on the Tuesday night shuttles. I started on the xc trails out there, then moved up to the Super D trail and now I can hit everything up there! I think subconsciously I was always looking for something with a little more travel, slaker head tube angle and wider bars. Finally Wyatt Gruben and Brian Pisani talked me into going and racing at Giants ridge, on my Cannondale Jekyll. Long story short, in my practice run I flew over the bars into some rocks and messed my ankle up pretty good. Some duck tape, an ice pack and a few ibuprofen later I was back on the bike and pulled off both race runs coming in 4th in the junior category.  (Photo: Michael Brower)

The Pro GRT or Pro Gravity Race Tour is the US nationals series for downhill mountain biking racing. This year the tour made huge progress, as of this season Pro and Jr. Ex racers can now build up UCI points in hopes of getting more Americans into the UCI world cup races!

This season will be my 5th season racing XC, in the beginning I wanted to win and be a great racer and meet lots of new people. Since then it's morphed into something else, now I race XC to see the people I have met in my years of racing and keep in shape! As a matter of fact I no longer even own a bike that has geometry that resembles an XC bike.

Right now my plans besides racing and training I'm focused on finishing my school! Haha otherwise I'm hoping that in August a few friends of mine and myself will go out on a trail ride trip someplace.

I generally train with a mixture of trail riding on my Intense Tracer T275 at Piedmont, Brewer and Hartley here in Duluth. When I get on the big bike aka Blaze aka my Intense 951 Evo I have a few spots to ride but primarily at Mont Du Lac and Spirit Mountain.

This season I'm set up to race the entire Pro GRT, my goal being to make connections with riders and companies as well as improve my riding to the point where next season I can race Jr. Ex and start racking up UCI points.

25th Anniversary Laddies Loppet Updates

Registration is now open for the 25th Anniversary Laddies Lopppet. BikeReg is handling reservations and to log in, use the password maplelag. New trail was completed last week that will be part of this years race course. The new loop "Hudson's Hula" is 1.8 miles in length and features fast flowing trail with berms and pumper bumpers. The trail is bit more progressive than earlier trail built at Maplelag. The new trail brings the race loop to just over 11 miles, featuring the infamous lakeside drops and the original hand built singletrack.

Lift Service Mountain Biking

Mountain bikers in NW MN are looking forward to the opening of the new mountain bike trails at the recently re-opened Detroit Mountain Recreation Area (DMRA) just outside Detroit Lakes, MN. Coming off the heels of a successful first winter of alpine the DMRA will feature XC flow trails, downhill trails, a skills park and a Strider learning area. Although DMRA has been closed this spring as trails have been fine tuned and shaped, riders have been checking out the trails since last fall with Strava segments already created. The official opening is set for June 26th.

The area was "re-born" when prominent businessmen formed a non-profit group spearheading a major crowdfunding campaign after determining operating privately with debt load and obligation to property taxes was not feasible and the county instituted a new transit tax to help offset outlying projects. The city owned park will have a Grand Opening event on July 11th with mountain bike legend Gary Fisher leading group rides and speaking about the sport. Fisher will also be participating in the local legendary event itself, the Northwest Water Carnival. The Northwest Water Carnival featured a mountain bike race for many years which included a loop at Detroit Mountain on the original hand-built singletrack that eventually went abandoned before the new trails built last fall and this spring were created.

A mountain bike interest group out of DMRA will be forming a new IMBA chapter, Lakes Area Mountain Bike Trails Alliance (LMBTA) and met earlier this spring with individuals and businesses with interest in mountain biking on developing future trails at DMRA and on tax forfeit land in Becker County. A connector trail will link the DMRA network to the Mountain View Rec Area just to the south that features a 3.6 mile loop.

(Photo: Highland Ski Area in New Hampshire / Mark Hayes)

Detroit Mountain will be just one of handful of lift service areas in the Midwest to offer lift service to mountain bikers to the top of the hill. This follows a trend in the alpine industry as more and more ski areas are developing trails to attract new riders to the sport while feeding the desires of those looking for old school trails. Ski Area Management posted a great article last week on lift service mountain biking and the growth in mountain biking in general in the ski industry that is worth clicking on. One of the featured areas is Highland Park in New Hampshire which was purchased by Mark Hayes for "a place I could ride with my friends". Hayes and crew built trails to their liking and eventually expanded from the east coast trademark of rocky and root trails to more progessive flow like trails that would attract beginner riders. 

Leb and Flow

Last week I failed to mention a trail system that I rode earlier this spring on a recent trip to the Twin Cities. Lebanon Hills is located in the southern part of the Twin Cities and judging by the number of riders on Strava hitting up the segments, looks to be one of the more used trail systems in the Twin Cities. With that said, a full report isn't necessary to explain the fun trail system that exists. This was the second time I have checked it out and both times the trail was busy with all riders of ability level and bikes which was awesome. There are still areas I wish to check out in the metro I haven't been to yet but I have to say Lebanon is probably one of my more favorite places to ride. Yes, I prefer the raw and natural trails but for flow trail action, the trail builders nailed it. I particularly like the rock garden sections on the the expert segments. If you haven't checked it out or are passing through the Twin Cities, hit it up!

Looking Ahead

Dirt Werx Race #3 Minnesota Mountain Bike Series

The Minnesota series goes back to back weekends, hitting up the popular Hillside Park trails just outside Hill River MN. Race #4 in the series is part of the Dirt Werx bike week. There will be five events taking place over the course of a week. Riders will have the opportunity to compete in five different disciplines, all of which will be rolled into a five-stage mountain bike race with overall awards. Riders can choose to do as many or as few events. No minimum requirements at all. And each of the five events will have individual awards as well. The xc race will count as points in the series. Tons of prizes and cash awards, a most excellent extended weekend of mountain biking on tap!

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 25th year of racing and promoting mountain bike races.