Midwest MTB Report
Long days, fresh air, and a strawberry moon, doesn't get much better this week for riding. Sure appreciate these days after the sauna on Sunday. This weeks report includes first hand recaps from Samuel Elson who was mixing it up with the top JR riders in the country at the Missoula, MT PRO XCT race, Casey Hildenbrandt who trekked to the UP for racing at Michigan Tech trails, and Griffin Myslivecek who competed in the Chequamegon 100 Metric version. The Strava ride of the week and the look ahead caps off this weeks report.
Missoula PRO XCT #4
JR Rider Samuel Elson who was mixing it up in the top 10 Minnesota Elite races last year made the trek out west to compete against some of the top JR riders in the world. Although Sam hasn't been able to hit the Minnesota races this year, focusing on the National event, he's put in some massive miles and training, working through a knee injury to put in a solid weekend of results in Missoula.
Sam's report:
I lined up this past Saturday for my first ever UCI Junior World Series cross-country race in Missoula Montana. I was pretty nervous about having to do 4 laps with 950 feet of elevation gain per lap at Marshall Mountain. To make the race even harder, I was racing against the top 4 kids in the country, including Christopher Blevins, who is ranked #1 in the world for juniors. Lining up 20th out of 26 juniors, I had to go out really hard to get to an ideal position. It got strung out pretty early, with Blevins taking off within the first 5 minutes, never to be seen again. I ended up in a solid group of 3. I hung with the 2nd and 3rd ranked riders for a lap and a half, before they dropped me on the A line(a 6-foot drop). I rode all by myself for the entire 3rd lap. A couple guys caught me at the beginning of the fourth lap, but I was able to out power them at the top of the mountain to take 4th place overall. Hard to enjoy the last descent riding through grape-sized hail and pouring rain, turning the single-track into a lazy river. Super stoked to earn my first UCI points, and be able to stand on the podium with the #1 ranked junior in the world.
The short track race was the next morning, and it basically had the same exact field, minus the #1 ranked kid. The race was 20 minutes +2 laps. The race started with 27 riders, and quickly got down to a group of 6 riders, including myself, off the front. I felt surprisingly good, and probably did more than my fair share of attacking, as did a couple of the other strong kids from Saturday's race. I didn't like my odds in a sprint, so I attacked at the start of the last lap going into a short single-track section. I got a small gap, and then put my head down and went as hard as I could to widen the gap to 15 seconds at the finish line to secure my first ever short track win.
Overall, this was the best racing experience of my life and I couldn't be any happier with my results.
Chequamegon 100
Racers returned to Chequamegonland this past weekend for more singletrack bliss. A trail thrashing at the MT Borah Epic forced organizers to alter the course a bit. Mother Nature threatened again with possible rain but it wasn't the rain that didn't happen that made things possibly a extra challenge, it was the warm temps.
Griffin Myslivecek participated in the Metric version and fills in his accomplishment of making it to the finish line:
Despite forecasts claiming 40-70% chances of rain leading up to the race, we managed to stay dry. The heat on the other hand took 23% of the 245 racers out of the race causing many to DNF. Matt Ryan took first in the Metric with a time of 5:32:27 and Diana McFadden led the women with a time of 6:49:52, the last rider came in with a time of 11:26:35. Dominic Talerico took first in the 100 with an impressive time of 6:59:35 and Heidi Beck came in at 9:04:50, the last rider coming in with a time of 18:10:38. Due to the rain, and trail damage from earlier races the CAMBA trails had this year, the 100 was cut down to 82 miles, and as always the Metric was closer to 69-miles as apposed to the claimed 62.
Personally, this was a different race for me this year. The month leading up to the 100 I had one ride under my legs - the Detroit Mountain series race. I couldn't find my camel-back due to our recent move, so I only rode with two bottles. After playing catch-up, due to my 15 minute late start, I ran out of water 5 miles shy of the 42-mile check point (which was actually at mile-48). Upon arrival, I was set on DNFing. After eating several peanut M&Ms, gold fish crackers, an oat meal cream pie, an icy-stick, and a downing a bottle and a half of water, a buddy came by and said, "What are you doing?! You should be lapping me..." The social encouragement from Dan Luebke, LaCrosse, WI, 360 rider managed to get me back on the saddle and finish the rest of the course with him. It was one of those races where I did more than I thought I was capable of, a very gratifying feeling.
Given my lack of training this year I almost dipped out on the race entirely, until I talked it over with a good cycling friend from Rochester who told me, "You only live once, you get to be 27 years old one time, that's it. You won't always be able to hop on a bike and do a ride like this..."
This race was a good reminder that the community of cycling is as fulfilling and meaningful as the ride itself. Thanks be to Odia & Tim, and the volunteers who made this event a success!
Live to Ride.
Keweenaw Tread Fest
Casey Hildebrandt make way north from Wausau, WI to the UP to take on the Yoopers finest in the Keweenaw Tread Fest. Casey was coming off a strong race at Mt Borah epic and was looking to build off of that result. He did just that taking his first win of the season! In the female 25 mile race, Minnesota star Sara Kylander-Johnson took the win.
Casey's report:
I made a last minute decision to sign up for the Keweenaw Tread Fest. The Keweenaw Peninsula, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as a whole, has always been a great place to escape away to. I was hungry for redemption after a few lackluster races thus far in 2016 and this was the perfect opportunity to get the momentum back before the next few events. Although last minute, it was an easy decision to head up to Houghton and rip on the Michigan Technological University trails!
Pete Karinen, a good friend of mine, has had a phenomenal season to date and lives only a few miles outside of Houghton. We chatted before the race and rode the first lap together at a pretty mellow tempo. I was more than content to follow him because I have only ridden a few miles of trails up there. On the second lap, they threw in a few additional sections of techy singletrack. I felt like the tempo was slower than I wanted, but before I could get around we were back on the original trails from the first lap. Pete and I began launching attacks and increasing the tempo. I felt like I was riding stronger on the inclines, so I began to pick it up on the seemingly endless climbs. The punchy course suited me well and I was confident I would be able to lose the Pete, truly a young phenom. Unfortunately, he dropped a chain so a small gap solidified. I pushed the tempo and opened up the gap to the finish. I could not quite remember the order of the singletrack, or if the remaining miles were the same as the first lap. I finally came back onto the ski trails for the few remaining meters and was thrilled to bring home my first win on the mountain bike this season.
I must extend a huge thanks to the volunteers and crew for putting on a stellar event, the fans for all of the cheers and love, and of course Hannah and Leo for the good vibes. Furthermore, my support this season from industry companies has been superb [The Underground Project, Borah Teamwear, Trek Bicycle, SRAM, Rock Shox, Wolf Tooth Components, and m2coaching]. We celebrated with a trip to Culvers - a triple cheese butter burger, large side of fries, and a large order of onion rings were enough for the drive home. Next up, WORS #4 at Eau Claire.
Cheers!
Strava Ride of the Week
With the summer solstice on Monday topped off with the Strawberry moon in the evening, I figured Monday would be a good day to select a ride. I was looking for photos of the sunset or moon. Once again it's a rider from the Fargo/Moorhead area. JC Larson was out for a ride at sunset and caught a nice pic of the moon which made the final selection.
Looking Ahead
Voted the best race of 2016, the Lutsen 99er offers not only a full marathon 99 mile event but also 69, 39 and 19 mile events. The race opens with a 5-mile, 1,000-foot climb. From there it's into the wild, with dirt, slippery weeds and hidden rocks challenging riders. Bogs, single-track loops and densely forested trails showcase some of northern Minnesota's most scenic terrain, with quality aid stations and helpful volunteers scattered throughout. It's not all lone biker vs. the wilderness: Portions of the course follow logging roads where riders can group up, open some conversations and make new friends. A final uphill section drains whatever power riders have left before they can indulge in the finish-line party. The event is sold out for this year.
With the relatively short distance from the Twin Cities, the WORS Firecracker event has not only been one of the more popular races among WORS racers but draws well from Minnesota. The 99er might pull riders away this year but a fun course awaits mountain bikers in Eau Claire at the Eau Claire County Expo Center. A full plate of activities at the Expo making for a fun weekend of mountain biking racing fellowship.
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/LaMere/Paramount/Jake's Bikes mountain bike team and enters his 26th year of racing and promoting mountain bike races. Have an event or mountain bike related information to share from the Midwest? Feel free to contact Jay at |