Midwest MTB Report

by Jay Richards
October 5, 2023

The first week of October is here! It's hard to believe with the summer-like weather as of late (at least until the weather changed midweek, bringing more fall-like conditions). Personally this is always the best time of year to ride with the season's fitness hanging on and the dirt typically in that coveted “hero” state. Although the race season is winding down, there are still a few local races remaining, and the high school season has been going strong but is also wrapping up soon with the state championship at Mt. Kato in a few weeks. On a bigger stage, the Life Time Grand Prix moved one race closer to the end of ther series this weekend, while the only mountain bike World Cup races to be held stateside this season took place at Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia. This week's report includes exclusive interviews from both our featured rider this year, Jenna Rinehart, who recaps the “Rad” race in Colorado as part of the Life Time Grand Prix, and Minnesota born and raised John Wessling, who was one of a handful of Americans representing the US at the Snowshoe UCI World Cup. Rounding out the report is a highlight of recent fundraising efforts by CAMBA.

The Life Time Grand Prix Rad Dirt Fest

Minnesota rider Jenna Rinehart of Nicollet Bike Shop in Mankato, MN made her way to Colorado over the weekend to compete in the second to last race of the Life Time Grand Prix. We caught up with Jenna after the weekend to see how things went as she prepares for the final race later this month:

Another Grand Prix race in the books! Congrats on the solid placing at 12th! I was following along and it looks like you rode a steady and consistent race. How did the race unfold?

Thank you! It feels really good to finish with another solid result in the series.The start was sketchy and hectic. It was a mass start with the men and amatures and they had hundreds of us funneling into a sidewalk and then bike trail less than a mile from the start of the race. There were a couple near misses with cars, then a crash, and then another pinch point with a single file entrance where riders were off their bikes. I ended up finding myself a bit further back than I had hoped but thankfully safe. This left me chasing and going way above my high altitude limit. I ended up just missing getting on a big group that contained a bunch of the top 10 women and had some major lung burn going on in the first 8 miles of a 6+ hour race. The rest of the day ended up being a game of trying to get in the right groups as drafting was key for this race. I ended up finding myself with a few other women at different parts of the course. At mile 60-70 ish I was by myself for a while until I got caught by a group of 4 containing 2 women and 2 men. We worked together the rest of the race until the last few miles. Unfortunately I was on the verge of cramping and had spent all my matches so I wasn't able to really put up a fight in those last miles. I lost the 2 women I was with right at the end but felt relieved to cross that finish line after over 6 hours and 112 miles.

I imagine there are many variables in a race of this distance and magnitude with such a strong fast field, especially at altitude but did things play out okay for you?

There are so many things that can go wrong in these long and challenging races such as mechanicals, nutrition, and things like crashes that are out of your control. You definitely need a little luck on your side just to finish. The races are so diverse in the LTGP which means you have to figure out how to survive races that aren't maybe always suited the best for you. The altitude ones are definitely the hardest for me especially when I'm not able to acclimate. Going into this race I had two main goals; to finish and to see if I could improve on my last high altitude gravel result at Crusher. I'm happy to have accomplished both of those goals and finished the day 12th overall and 9th in the LTGP.

You've had a fantastic season and a great base of training and racing. Has this helped with your confidence when you roll to the line?

I'm really happy with the consistency I've been able to do through such a long season and variety of races. I think just years of riding and racing has helped me be better prepared but this year is definitely the most miles and time I've ever spent on the bike and I'm still learning a lot of things. I'm not working with a coach so sometimes it can be a little hard to figure out the right balance of riding vs rest especially when you add more intensity into the workouts. I'm not sure about the confidence as sometimes I tend to lack this a bit. But I think the more you race throughout the season especially when you do a bunch of big races back to back you get into a bit of a rhythm and don't get as nervous for each one. I try not to think about the end result so much before or during the race and just try to focus on the moment and each section of the course.

How was the transition from racing Chequamegon a few weekends ago to competed in the higher elevations in Colorado on more of a gravel course?

Honestly it was a little tough. I think I was feeling a bit tired from 3 weekends of back to back racing. A few of my co-workers were sick at the shop that week so I was trying my best to not overdo it and also get sick. I wanted to keep pushing but I ended up taking a little more rest between those weeks. With this being my 3rd high altitude race this season I was mentally prepared for how it was going to feel those first days of riding the course. Sure enough I felt pretty awful the first two days on course. Just slow, no power, and heavy breathing. With the crazy surges at the start of the race I can't say I felt much better race day either. I just tried to mentally push past that and be okay with that lung burn feeling.

Any adjustments on the bike as far as equipment or set up? Did you feel like you dialed in the nutrition okay?

The only thing I really changed for my bike setup was my tires. I was so indecisive about this haha. Even after getting to pre ride most of the course earlier this summer. Most of it was pretty smooth gravel but there were a couple rowdy sections where wider tires would be nice and a lot of climbing where light weight matters. In the end I ended up going with narrower Specialized Pathfinder 38's instead of 42's that I had been running. I'm getting a lot better with my nutrition at these long races. Not perfect and still learning a lot but I think I'm improving from the start of the season.

You've got a few weeks until the final race in Bentonville. What will be the game plan for the final event as far as preparation and training? How do things look for final standings? Any chance to move up a spot or two, which by the way is totally awesome you are sitting in the top 10!

I don't think there is a whole lot of fitness I can gain in the next couple weeks but the goal would be to keep my body well rested but my engine still sharp. I plan to race the Little Sugar MTB race the week before the final LTGP Big Sugar gravel event. I hope I will be able to recover enough between the weeks. It was just too hard to not pass up the opportunity to race my MTB again in a really stacked field. For training I will do a few harder mountain bike rides mixed with a couple longer endurance rides. The overall LTGP standings are super tight and it seems like anything can happen and shift quickly just after one race. The next two places are only 2 points up on me but the rider behind me is only 2 points back. Fingers crossed I can hang on to a top 10 overall!

I am sure it feels like it has been a long season going back to the first race in the spring but also seems like it has gone by fast! Do you have any non racing cycling plans when the season is over?

Sea Otter feels like forever ago but it also feels like the season flew by so fast. Mentally I'm not feeling too burnt out but my body is probably needing some rest. I'm really excited to spend some time hiking with my dogs and friends again. I also like to mix things up with a bit of running especially when the weather is not as nice. And of course when the snow flies I hope to get some good skiing in.

Life Time Grand Prix Website

Life Time The Rad Dirt Fest Results

UCI World Cup at Snowshoe, West Virginia

The UCI World Cup made this season's only stop in the United States, hitting the technical track at Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia for downhill, short track, and cross country racing action. Minnesota native John Wessling was at the races and has made a storybook progression to earn his first World Cup points:

Congrats on your first World Cup! Watching you progress as a rider the past few years and seeing you were chosen to compete in this World Cup is so cool. Tell us how you were selected to compete?

Thanks Jay! I never thought this would happen, but I'm so happy it did. I scored some UCI points and was able to sneak into the USA lineup for the last two world cups of the year.

Getting right to the race....how did things unfold from start to the end?

The race was exactly as expected: Wide open right from the gun. I was getting served slices of humble pie every second of every lap. Off the start there was a pinch point where I lost a ton of time as 90+ riders were trying to get into a singletrack section, but other than that it was a lot of chasing and racing the clock trying not to get pulled. I was able to make it an hour and was stoked on it.

Knowing it would be a relatively short hard effort, how was the preparation for this event to compared to recent races you have done?

I prepped a lot differently heading into these World Cup races. I cut my overall volume down a lot and just kept it simple with two really hard days a week and the rest of the week was really easy. I was around the 15-18 hour program each week this year for the most part, but I cut it down to 10-12 hours a week leading into this. It's been a long season, so any extra fatigue wasn't necessary for two 60-90 minute XCO races.

Looked like you had a great support crew. Tell us about that! How were the crowds/support in general and what did it feel like to represent the USA?

My wife Ariel crushed the feeds as usual. She was really excited to feed next to Nino and Pidcock's crew. She actually made me laugh pretty hard after the race as she said most of the people feeding didn't know how to hold a water bottle the right way. My good friends Peter, Sharmila, and FBD came out to watch. The overall crowds were freaking insane- some of the sections were so loud I couldn't hear myself think. A lot of USA chants and loud horns on the sketchy downhills. I appreciated everyone cheering as I needed the boost!

The course had some technical sections guessing it was good it was relatively dry?

All week there was a ton of moisture on the roots and rocks, so the downhills were really hard to make going fast without crashing. I watched many big names have big crashes, so I felt much better as I was terrified of the techy root downhill all week. On race day most things dried out well, but the one thing that caught me a bit off guard was how rough it got. Being the last race of the week, everything was more exposed and the braking bumps and ruts were extra big. It reminded me a lot of motocross- ruts, bumps, and new lines developed that were faster on race day. One thing I have to say is that the TV flattens those hills out and tech sections out haha. I was more impressed about how fast everyone goes downhill than uphill. Those top racers SHRED!

I know you have been really dialing in nutrition and have a question for you...BCAAs or protein post race/training and why?

Both! Post race or a hard day of training I always aim for 30-40g of protein and ~75g of carbs within 15-20 mins of finishing the workout. The protein I use ( Herbalife24 Rebuild ) has BCAA's in it, so I have those bases covered.

Speaking of training...what is Troll Training and your involvement? How did the name come to be?

Troll Training is a training company I co-own with Minnesota motocross legend Alex Martin. His nickname throughout his career was "Troll" due to how short he was and his hair style, so our training company name was easy to pick haha. We work with athletes all over the world in a ton of different sports- cycling/mountain biking and xc skiing being two of my favorites to work with.

Bring us up to speed on the rest of your season...it has been a long one!

Mount Sainte Anne World Cup will be my ~30th-ish bike race this year. It's been a long season and I don't plan on racing anymore after the last World Cup! I'm thankful I am healthy enough to race this much. Bring on 2024!

UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Snowshoe Results

A CAMBA Push

In 1993, CAMBA began building a network of recreational trails in the Hayward, Seeley, Cable, and Namakagon areas and stakes claim to have the best trail networks in the nation. Since then they have expanded their efforts to the southern shore of Lake Superior, creating singletrack trails at Mt. Ashwabay near Washburn and Bayfield, bringing their network to over 130 total miles of singletrack trails.

In addition, they have also mapped and marked over 100 miles of off-road bike routes that utilize two-track roads and other forest paths, and have identified and mapped hundreds of miles of gravel routes throughout the region. In the winter, CAMBA maintains approximately 70 miles of snow bike trails. More than 35,000 silent sports enthusiasts enjoy the trail network annually.

Donate to CAMBA Trails

Keep the wheels moving!