Midwest MTB Racing Report
Summer is winding down fast. Morning temps up north making it feel like October to start the week. It has been a great summer of mountain bike action and this past weekend was no exception as racers hit the banks of the Red River in Moorhead for the Flugly, early Chequemegon testing went down at the Pre Fat and the WORS completed racing in August at the Reforestation Rambler. Reports from the Flugly, Pre-Fat and the look ahead to the events this weekend that will close out the summer nicely.
Seeley Pre-Fat
Edina High school Senior Max Ellingson who is in his fifth year of mountain biking and co-captain of the Edina High School mountain bike team, made the trek to Seeley and provides a report.
The Seeley Pre-Fat is a race held in Seeley, WI. It starts out with several miles of punchy climbs and fast descents on the local ski trails. At 9 miles in, the races switches gears as the riders enter some old school technical singletrack. So technical in fact that only the expert class does some of it. After that the expert riders loop back for another round of singletrack while the sport and citizen head for the finish.
This is normally a fairly hard race, but the combination of tacky trails and cool temperatures during racing made it quite enjoyably. I raced in the elite class and because of a lapse in judgment on a critical climb at the start, I entered the ski trails way behind where I would have liked to be. Despite my bad placing however, I managed to blast my way down the loose descents and climb my way back up the rankings to a solid mid pack finish. In the overall however, Jeff Hall destroyed the elite field with a 5 minute gap to second place (someone needs to put weights on his bike…). In sport Chris Klohn took the overall; and in citizen the 11 year old Leo Bergner beat 2 adults in a sprint finish for the overall, congrats Leo! (Photo: HaywardWI.com)
This race would have not been possible without the Seeley Lions Club. With their work on maintaining the trails and singletrack, not to mention their great work hosting the race (and all the swag they gave away), they are a truly amazing group of people.
Make sure to check this race out next year, it’s one not to miss!
Flugly
Saturday I made the trek west to MB Johnson Park with my son Jens to partake in the "Flugly", named by event organizers coining the two terms "Flat and Ugly". It was touch and go leading up to race day if the event was going to happen as Mother Nature threatened the fast and flowy course with thunderstorms and rain. Friday night kicked off the final weekend in the Dakota Off Road Series with a hot lap. Racers ripped around the 4 mile track, cranking out fast times just before a rain shower moved in.
Saturday racers returned for either a Sport, Expert or Citizen division race. Sport racers started the day followed by the Expert race. Upon arrival and registering, Jens and I rode a half lap and we were smiling ear to ear with the uber fast and tacky conditions. After the pre-ride, I made my way to the start line with the largest Flugly field to date! Before sending riders off, Steve Wenzel flashed the radar on his electronic hand held device showing we would be lucky to get two laps of the four lap race before the skies opened up.
At the line, I knew race organizer Tom Heilman would be the one to follow as he, along with fellow FM Trailbuilders, helped layout and build the course which has had to battle high water spilling over the banks of the Red River in recent years, and knows the course blindfolded. We rolled out on a the entrance road followed by a fast grassy doubletrack that brought us to the singletrack. I entered in the third spot behind Tom, Bismarck rider Matt Christiansen and a hard chasing field of riders chasing for final series points.
About halfway through the first lap, the Matt C dabbled and I was able to get around him not before losing about a 30 second gap to Tom. I chased hard to close the gap to Tom but I wasn't gaining much ground on the tight and twisty. When we came back to the field where the start finish was located, I put the hammer down and was able to bridge the gap to Tom. Tom offered to let me pull but I said I was happy just to ride his wheel. Nonetheless, I went to the front for about half the lap than Tom went back around to take the lead again. Meanwhile local rider Greg Ames bridged up to Tom and I and was helping push the pace nicely.
On the third lap I went back to the front on the field segment and put a small gap on Tom. I was able to build on the gap when unknowingly at the time, Tom fumbled on a water bottle as he reported after the race. I continued to ride steady and felt more comfortable with the technical aspects of the course after each lap. At the end of the third lap, the skies opened up and a light rain started to fall. It didn't effect the conditions until the end of the fourth lap as the continuous stream of riders kept the course quite grippy. Near the end of the final lap, the corners were getting slippery only adding to the fun!
After the race, Jens and I rode another half lap before his Citizen race which was changed due to the greasy conditions in the singletrack. After the race, the slippery track didn't stop Jens and I from doing another half lap but getting a bit muddy. All in all it was a great morning of racing and kudos to the FM Trailbuilders for building a nice track in the FM area for local riders.
Looking Ahead
Laddies Loppet Mountain Bike Stage Race
Maplelag is host to the 24th annual mountain bike race now in its ninth year of the stage race format. Racing action kicks off on Saturday morning with a timed trial followed by exciting short track in the afternoon. Sunday features the MNMBS series cross country race. Leaders jerseys provided by Podiumwear will be given to the leaders in the stage race. Also new this year will be the marathon class, featuring 3 1/2 hours of racing on a 9 mile loop that features 1200 feet of climbing per lap. New singletrack was built last fall and completed this summer which will be part of the Sport/Comp/Expert loop. With nearly 250 people staying at the resort, a close knit family atmosphere has established making for a unique weekend. Home cooked meals, five bottomless cookie jars keep riders fed in between the racing and other activities including lake jumping, dirt jump and pump track shredding, bingo, facials, yoga and water activities. Even after 24 years of promoting, I am as excited as ever to have the resort filled with mountain bikers!
Copper Harbor Fat Tire Festival
Copper Harbor in the UP of Michigan is host to two days of racing fun on the IMBA trails. Cross country racing, downhill, enduro, lake jumping and live music, cap of the weekend events.
Spearfish, South Dakota is host to the Dakota 5-0. Fifty miles of a mix of open and wooded western style singletrack greet a limit of 650 riders.
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. |