Maplelag MTB Racing

Winter Bike Race Flyer

2012-02-08T10:11:00.001-08:00

Scroll down for course photos.

Winter Bike Race Course Recon

2012-02-01T17:56:00.000-08:00

Sunday February 26th we will be holding our first ever winter "fat bike" race. The start time will be 10"30am. It will be one distance, with awards for classes. All types of bikes open to ride but depending on conditions, the "fat bike" may be preferred! This is a low key fun event. The course will run on lakes, swamps, bootleg snowmobile trails, snowpacked gravel and forest roads, bushwhacking through the woods, ski trail and a short section of singletrack mtb trail. Distance is around 8 miles. Ride time should be anywhere from 5o minutes to two hours. This post is to show a little bit of what the course will look like. Of course, weather can change how things look and could be either hard pack and fast or fresh snow and slow! The course is also subject to change, depending on race day conditions. With Lotvola Cup on Saturday, plan on making a weekend out of it at Maplelag! Special rates for participants. Call or email for information: jrichard@arvig.net

Start on the lake in front of main lodge.

Ride along the edge of the lake.

Make way to Bullhead bay!

Snowmobile trail through Bullhead bay.
Fresh coyote scat on the trail.
In to the woods from Bullhead bay.
Out of the woods on to Bulhead lake.
Bullhead lake.

End of lake through marshy area.

Ditch riding after riding through the woods. Left on to Sugar creek rd.
Sugar creek rd.

Left off of Sugar creek rd. Bushwhack through woods to ski trail.
Hike a bike through woods. Ski trail in distance.

Take left on North Loup ski trail. Ride on skate deck. (closed until race day)
Fast and fun rollers on North Loup.

Right off of North Loup to Roy's Run ski trail than left on Sugarbush trail rd.

For the first time in 15 years, someone plowed Sugarbush trail. Darn. Much easier riding.

Right off of Sugarbush trail then left on to Maplelag driveway than left on last section of mtb singletrack to finish the loop! Check back for latest updates and information.

Race of the Year

2011-11-06T11:20:00.002-08:00

Thanks to everyone who voted the 2011 Laddies Loppet the “race of the year” of the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series

Big thanks again to our volunteers and outstanding staff that helped make it happen. Information about mountain biking at Maplelag on the bike trail report page.

Lakeside Singletrack Riding at Maplelag

2011-11-06T11:20:00.001-08:00

Twin Lakes Singletrack Video

2011-10-28T08:45:00.000-07:00

Singletrack Escape

2011-10-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

The Minnesota series wrapped up the last weekend in September at St. Cloud and the Singletrack Escape. A handful of riders toed the line to battle one more time against series competitors. Great job to everyone racing the Minnesota series and thanks for waving the flag.

Skinnyski recap

Link to YouTube video clip of St. Cloud

Denny Barry post race.

Jake Richards ready to ride the rock garden section en route to a fifth place overall finish and secure 3rd place overall in the Elite class.
Jeff Beck post race.

Keep the wheels moving!

Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival

2011-09-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

A good representation by the team at the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival in Cable/Hayward, WI., racing in the 16 mile Short and Fat, the Fat Tire 40 and the Cable Crit Cross on Sunday.
Midwest MTB Report race report on skinnyski.com with results and more great photos. Nicely done Bruce Adelsman of skinnyski.

Alye DeRoma finishing strong in the Short and Fat en route to a top 10 female finish and first place in age group.
Dan DeRoma pushing to a 65th place finish and 2nd in the age group.

Jay and Jonell back in action on the tandem in the Short and Fat.
Jake Richards racing in the 40 for the first time recording a 59th overall finish.
Brandon Charboneau on Seely Fire Tower Climb. Placed 817th Overall.

Mason Bacso on Fire Tower hill, placing 164th overall.

Always smiling and positive Steve Wenzel after completing another 40 in 349th place in 2:41:41
Jeff Hall of Team Hollywood, (Maplelag partnered with team H-Wood), nailing down a top 15. Former winner of the Fat Tire 40 and Short and Fat.

Mr H-Wood himself having fun in the 40.
Kristi Henderson taking on her first 40.

Other team placings (sorry no photos) include Matt Engen at 706th place and breaking the 3 hour barrier, and Denny Barry at 1003 place, just missing getting under 1000
Sunday was Crit Cross racing action. Mason, Jake and Jay in the start of the A final.

Jake bunny hopping the barriers and would eventually take the win in a nice battle with Joseph Maloney.

Mason Bacso crossing to a spot on the podium with a third place finish.

Jay rolling across fourth as the rain was coming down nicely making for perfect conditions. 3 of 4 team riders in the top four.
Jon Richards going low during the Sunday Funday bike limbo. Jon won the event.
Jake taking another bunny hopping title. Was third in the hill climb.

Great job to everyone this past weekend. Lots of great riding the next month or so....keep the wheels moving!

Laddies Loppet Mountain Bike Stage Race

2011-09-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, awesome weekend of mountain biking at the home base as 25 riders waved the flag in great form (and Eleni making noise nicely!). I think pretty much everyone had one of their best races of the season at some point of the weekend. A good indication of how this team is as they display their awesome riding skills on the challenging course at Maplelag. Great job to everyone who toed the line and thanks for doing such a great job of representing. We are proud of everyone and honored to have such a solid team.

Mason Bacso starting the weekend out by hitting the lake jump, throwing down a 360.

Nephew Ripley Garden racing in Kids Comp. "Uncle Jay, I want to do two laps in the short track, not one".

Nephew Garret Horsager charging at the finish line after having chain trouble.
Nephew Grant Horsager dicing it up in Kids Comp.
Ben Wenzel not giving up after breaking a chain.
Jeff Beck weaving through the trees. Jeff had the Paramount tent set up helping out riders with any tech issues.
Jack Richards racing Kids Comp. Jack did all three stages this year. Proud of Jack.
Tony Schmitz on the new Twin Lakes singletrack. Tony designed the race shirts.

Denny Barry showing the youngans how it is done in Sport on the lakeside drops.
Michael Cisek lakeside.
Tom Heilman racing Sport.

Corey Coogan Cisek putting everything on the table and picking the good line in the short track. Consistent second place finishes.

Matt Wenzel having a great weekend stepping on the podium often and taking second overall in the stage race for Comp.
Steve Wenzel having a top notch weekend as he leads a group in the short track.
Matt Horner also having one of his best weekends of the season.
Dan DeRoma hitting the Maplelag trails for the first time, racing Comp.
Sam Oftedahl mixing it up in the short track, pulling Hollywood through. Hollywood's new team kits waving the Maplelag flag nicely. Top three finish in the cross country. Almost bridging the gap to second.
Lars Ellefson doing battle with Devin Curran. Lars was running good in the xc until his rear derailleur blew up.
Jake Richards leading the chase group in the short track en route to his best ever finish at fourth.
Mason Bacso going all out in short track.
Alye DeRoma climbing lakeside, en route to a fourth place finish Elite women. First time racing at Maplelag.
Love this picture. Wyatt and Devon Horner chatting it up with Cole Johnson pre-race. Cole has been waving the shorts during the season.
Jens Richards throwing it down in short track.
Andrea Horner making for an exciting race in short track.
Eric Oftedahl posting consistent top 7 results over the weekend and top five stage race.
Jake and Jessica Stelter rolling the tandem in the time trial.

Thanks again to everyone and awesome job racing.
Keep the wheels moving!

Black's Grove MTB Race

2011-09-01T20:12:00.000-07:00

A relatively quiet weekend of racing for the team as we gear up for the big Laddies Loppet weekend here at Maplelag. Team riders Lars Ellefson, Jeff Beck, Tony Schmitz and Denny Barry hit up the 2nd running of the Black's Grove mountain bike race. Lars recently returned from the summer in Oregon and took the win! Tony provides a full recap on this fun trail system.

Lars post race after the win.
Trail local and builder Denny Barry flying by.
Tony chasing through the woods.
Tony's report:

Sunday August 28th was the 2nd Annual “Blacks Grove River Crossing” in Wadena, MN. Another low key grassroots event that has popped up in North Central Minnesota to showcase it’s fun, tight and twisty singletrack.

A beautiful morning with temps in the low to mid 60’s greeted around 20 riders as they rolled to the line as the Mayor of Wadena was firing up the charcoal for the post race picnic. A quick 3-2-1-GO! and we were off, with a fast prologue loop around the inside of the park sorting things out before entering the hard, fast conditions in the singletrack. There was a nice fast and flowy start through some open field pines dropping down across a bridge for our first “River Crossing” before entering the tight and twisty.

I was feeling pretty good hanging in a group of four riders before slowly falling back a bit and then feeling some pressure coming from behind me by Wadena local and trailcrew volunteer Todd Hale and also Jack Ellefson who I had a fun battle with last year on this course. Then, as I slipped on a corner just prior to a ledge drop along the river and went O.T.B. and yard sale'd. While picking up the discounted items (bike, sunglasses and making sure I didn’t loose the tools from my jersey pocket) Jack and Todd both went by me only to catch Todd later on after throwing his chain. Then the fun began keeping it tight with Todd and another Wadena trail local Thad Schulz making for a good cat and mouse for the whole last half a lap ending in a sprint finish with Todd getting me by a bike length and hearing Thad hammering behind me, making it one of the most fun races for me as I’m usually stuck between groups and riding solo for a majority of a race.

Taking top honors were Lars Ellefson, who recently got back from Oregon spending the summer XC skiing and mountain biking, followed by 10 time X-Games SnoCross Medalist Tucker Hibbert and last years winner, Fergus Falls’ fast and fit David Jenson.

A great hometown event again with the Mayor of Wadena, Wayne Wolden not only grilling hamburgers and brats, but presenting Spirit Award pins to Terry Olsen and Trisha Marczak who had a nasty fall, injuring her hand but stayed strong to finish the race. A kids race was also held prior with local boy Isaac Hale taking the win along with Eleni Schmitz and Joe Najjar smiling their way across the finish line.

I definitely plan on making this a yearly race stop and hopefully this race will stay on the same weekend each year making it a great warm up for next weekend's Laddies Loppet at Maplelag.

Black's Glove Results

Look forward to seeing a lot of the team members this weekend!

Gear Grinder-Salsa 2-4-Flugly-Border Battle

2011-08-22T19:26:00.001-07:00

The summer is starting to wind down but we are entering one of the best times of year for riding and racing! The team is keeping the wheels moving and waving the flag nicely! Steve Wenzel and Brandon Charboneau filed recaps from the Gear Grinder and Salsa 2-4 which are posted in the skinnyski.com Midwest mtb report.

Last weekend the team made a strong showing at the inaugural Flugly race at Johnson Park in Moorhead. Ben, Matt and Steve Wenzel along with Matt Engen, Jeff Beck and Jay and Jake Richards took on the challeging 3 mile course that was fast and tricky with quick turns and obstacles that kept riders on their toes. Props out to Jeff who did a lot of trail work getting the course dialed in for race day.

Sunday was the Border Battle which saw Minnesota and Wisconsin riders dice it up at the White Tail Ridge trail system for fast and power type racing.

After racing the day before in Moorhead, Jake traveled across the entire state and raced up to the 19-24 class so he could earn points for the overall in Minnesota and posted a 26th place finish among a huge field of 70 Elites.
.

Eric Oftedahl slicing through the trees en route to a 17th place finish in Elite.

Sam Oftedahl rolling to a 12th place finish.

Casey Hildenbrandt posted his best finish of the WORS season, taking the win in Elite Jr. and wining by over 12 minutes! Nice job Casey!

Matt Horner racing Comp en route to a 11th place age class finish.
Andrea Horner posting one of her best finishes of the year taking second place overall among the Sport women that had a solid field of 36 riders.

We have been working hard on the Laddies Loppet course and the track is taking great shape. The new Twin lakes singletrack will be part of the course this year and should be a blast.

Jens checking out the Loppet course this week after helping with pulaski work on a corner.

Keep the wheels moving!

Great Hawk Chase-Battle of Camrock

2011-08-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

Team riders hit up the series in both Minnesota and Wisconsin this past weekend.

Keeping his form rolling nicely, Casey Hildenbrandt posted another strong finish in the JR Elite class taking third overall. Denny Barry raced sport in Duluth and posted a 66th place overall and 2nd in his age group.

Jake Richards riding the last section of singletrack, battling with a group of riders to post a 6th overall place finish in the Elite class.
Eric Lebow waving the flag at Great Hawk Chase. Riding this year for Peace Coffee. Once a team member, always a team member.
Mason Bacso having a great race in the Elite class in his first year of racing.
Tony Schmitz racing Sport posting a 39th place overall and 4th in his age group.
Eric Oftedahl coming around the corner en route to a 9th place overall and scoring valuable points for the team. Full results from the Great Hawk Chase.

Next up will be the Border Battle in River Falls where Minnesota and Wisconsin riders will tow the line against each other for some great racing not before racing in North Dakota at the Gear Grinder where a few team members slated to make presence.

Keep the wheels moving!

Butte 50-Wausau 24-Singletrack Attack

2011-08-03T19:33:00.000-07:00

A great weekend of racing for the team, waving the flag nicely, once again in three states. This time it was Montana where Matt Engen and Steve and Matt Wenzel competed in the Butte 50, Casey Hildenbrandt racing at the Wausau 24 and a good portion of riders competing at the popular Singletrack Attack at Hillside Park in Elk River.

Steve, Matt and Matt post race at the Butte 50. The guys reported a fun, epic course and tough riding but a great time. Enjoying some riding this week in the Bozeman area.
Wyatt Horner racing in the Singletrack attack, riding through the puddle proper.

Devon Horner slicing the singletrack in Kids Comp.

Jeff Beck racing Sport at Singletrack Attack.

Eric Oftedahl racing Expert en route to a top 5 finish.

Denny Barry off the start in the Sport race.
Brandon Charboneau heading out in the Comp race.

Sam Oftedahl chasing down Jack Hinkens and Brendan Moore en route to a solid 3rd place finish.

Here is Sam's report:

I woke up for this race & knew another hot race was on order for today.Thankfully Hillside is shaded from the sun,but that's not going to give much reprieve from the thick sticky air.
When I arrived I went about the usual routine of signing up & getting ready.
Warming up(although this was unecessary given the heat,it was trying to stay cool)The body felt ok,but it's hard to make any predictions.The "warm up" consisted of spinning easy a couple times down the road & staying in the shade.
It was time to line up so I settled in 2nd row.The countdown came & we were off.The start went off & was tucked in 5th or so behind my bro.Up the "big hill" he let me by.As we came to the top turn around I witnessed Scotty go OTB as he tried to go around Devin on the inside.I spoke to him later & he said "there was nothing he could do when he saw those rocks".At the bottom of the hill & back on the road it was Brendan off the front with a gap & Berry,Heath,& me chasing.Somehow I managed to bridge up to Brendan before the singletrack so I was going to try to hold his wheel as long as I could.I knew he was recovering from the start but I was stuggling to stay with him.He eventually found a groove & slowly walked away until he was eventually out of sight.
Shortly after I saw Jack coming up on me so I slowed to let him by.As he passed he said"I was riding the singletrack better than he was".I had to laugh because it was him who was passing me.I gave him the "atta boy!" & sent him on his way to chase Brendan down.
From that point on I was in no mans land so I put it in cruise control trying to drink as much as I could wherever I could.In the end I came in 3rd overall.Big thanks to Jonell for handups.I couldn't have survived without those bottles.

Coorey Coogan-Cisek and Alye DeRoma at the start in Women expert en route to a 3rd and 4th place finish, respectively.

Other Singletrack Attack riders competing include Matt Horner and Dan DeRoma in Comp, Andrea and Jordan Horner in Sport.

Click here for full results from the Singletrack Attack race.

As mentioned above, Casey Hildenbrandt was racing in the 24 hour event, Wausau 24 and recorded the 4th fastest time on lap 1, top Jr and reports "on one of the climbs I dropped Adam Swank and Chris Peariso...I was so stoked" Casey's form coming around as he gears up for the races later in the season including the Chequemegon Short and Fat.

Nice job riding by everyone. Thanks for representing so well!

Keep the wheels moving!

WORS Alterra- Southside Sprints

2011-07-27T13:22:00.000-07:00

Racing action this weekend saw WI JR Elite rider Casey Hildenbrandt have one of his top races in the JR field taking second. Read his full report in the Midwest MTB report on skinnyski

Casey racin' at Crystal Ridge ski area.

Corey Coogan Cisek clicked in to the road bike to race in the popular Southside Sprints in Minneapolis. Corey reports:

"I did the "Southside Sprint" crit in S. MPLS and it was a blast.  It took place in a nice little neighborhood and there were a ton of spectators.  It was a good technical course with one small hill.  Most exciting, I stayed with the pack or 123 ladies the entire race, which was a huge achievement for me.  Historically, I have struggled with the speed if the course does not have a reasonable sized hill.  We will be at Elk River this coming weekend."

Its great to see team riders keeping active regardless the activity. Thanks to all for waving the flag for team Maplelag/Paramount Sports/Hollywood and skinnyski.com

Keep the wheels moving!

US MTB National Championships-Telemark Forest MTB Race-Mon Du Lac Dirtspanker

2011-07-21T06:47:00.000-07:00

The team was waving the flag nicely in three states this past weekend. Sam Oftedahl raced in the Telemark Forest mtb race in Cable WI area, breaking away from a group of six to take the win. Well done Sam!

Jake was racing at USA Cycling National Mountain bike championships. Riding the rock garden above en route to a 16th place finish in the Cat 1 Jr 17-18.

Pre-riding the Super D climb before 15 minutes of sweet descending. Solid 15th among mountain specialists.
Driving the corner hard in the short track. Nice battle with WI rider Myles Beach, taking the sprint for 16th.
Denny Barry riding trails in the Helena, MT area before coming back to race at Mon Du Lac.
Read Denny's report on the skinnyski report as well as full recap from Nationals in the Midwest MTB report on skinnyski.
Other riders racing in Duluth include Jeff Beck posting a 6th place age group finish and 34th overall in Sport. Eric Oftedahl had a nice race in the sauna like conditions taking 5th overall in Expert.
Team member Paul Cullen, now living in Helena, showing Brian Murdoch and Denny his backyard playground.

Keep the wheels moving!

Buck HIll Birch Bump-Firecracker

2011-07-13T21:46:00.000-07:00

Racing action resumed for the team last weekend with steamy conditions in both the WORS and MNMBS.

Strong showing by the Elite riders at Buck Hill highlighted the weekend with Jake Richards posting his best finish as an Expert in 4th, Sam Oftedahl in 5th, Eric Oftedahl in 7th. On the female side, Alye DeRoma placed a solid 3rd in the women's race. Taking the win in Sport Women was Andrea Horner. Great job to these riders on the solid results.

Andrea Horner en route to the win in Sport women.

Jordan Horner in Sport women en route to a 7th place overall female finish.

Once again the Horner family started off the day with Devon taking third overall in Kids Comp and brother Wyatt in 16th. Father Matt lined up in the Comp race to take 17th overall and 4th in his class. Dan DeRoma also raced Comp taking 45th overall.

Racing in Wisconsin at the Firecracker WORS, Corey Coogan Cisek was 13th in Elite women out of a starting field of 20 riders. Casey Hildenbrandt was 5th in CAT 1 Jr Elite and Michael Cisek was 77th overall in the Sport race and 7th in his age group.

Race reports from Alye DeRoma and Corey Coogan Cisek posted in this weeks Midwest MTB Report.

Keep the wheels moving!

Subaru Cup-Jamestown Epic-Wheelhouse Classic

2011-06-30T15:02:00.000-07:00

Last weekend of June saw riders spread out among three states! Jake, Casey and Corey raced in the Subaru Cup with Jake pulling out a top five finish among top Jr riders in the country and Casey posting a solid race at 10th place. Corey had one of her best placed finishes coming in 5th in her class and only 4 minutes off first. Nice job to the Subaru Cup racers!

Steve and Matt Wenzel along with Matt Engen raced in the Jamestown Epic enduring sweet muddy conditions.

Racing in the Minnesota series saw riders hitting the sweet course at Memorial Park.

Dan DeRoma recorded a 58th place overall in his first year of racing.

Denny Barry sent a report from his race:
I was really feeling like I was flying first lap , passing a few here and there , and being at my almost out of control limits . I was sliding out a little every so often, staying out of trouble though , just having exciting moments of back end catching front , or front heading towards trees on sharp turns , all the time thinking it's roots , rocks and all that other stuff that gives bike twitchy feelings . Midway through second lap , clouds cover sun , sweat dripping , sunglasses come off , and that's when I see the the wet trail , that I couldn't see with my sunglasess on ..... bike slipped less on remainder of second as well as third lap . And it also went slower . The Spin Cycle had lots of riders strewn all over in the brush as I went by them on first lap , I should of figured out something , other than '' thinking'' I was fast

Read Steve's recap along with Jake's recap from the Subaru Cup and the Wheelhouse classic on skinnyski

Corey leading the field off the start at Subaru Cup.

Eric Oftedahl leading a group of riders in the Expert field on the sweet course in Red Wing as Jake catches some air. The Elite class led the team once again with 4 riders in the top 16 en route to a 2nd place team finish. Nicely done Sam and Eric Oftedahl, Mason Basco, and Jake.

Team Riders: If you have pictures from your races, please pass along so I can post on the team blog!

Keep the wheels moving!!

Afton Avalanche

2011-06-21T13:57:00.000-07:00

Racing action this past weekend saw a good portion of team riders hitting the steep slopes of Afton Alps for one of the tougher climbing races of the season. First off...big CONGRATS to Devon Horner for taking the win in the Kids Comp race. His brother Wyatt also posted a solid result coming in 7th overall. Nice job kids!

The Horner family continued solid representation with Andrea Horner taking second overall in Sport female and daughter Jordan coming in 10th overall among females.

Mason Bacso did his first Expert race flying the Maplelag colors and posted an impressive 22nd place overall.
Denny Barry after the Sport race finishing 2nd in his age group and 88th overall.

Matt Horner flying down the slopes before hitting a rock and flatting out.
Jake Richards slicing through the singletrack en route to a fifth place finish overall among the Expert field and his top placing as a expert. The top result should move him in to second overall in the standings. Keep up the great work Jake!

Matt Wenzel competed in a triathlon in Bismarck, ND in preparation for the EXTERRA in Jamestown this weekend. Thanks again to everyone out representing!

Race to Sunset-Lutsen 99er-Woolly Race-Big Ring Classic

2011-06-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

A busy weekend for the team with riders moving the wheels in ND at the Race to Sunset, Matt Engen racing the Lutsen 99er in MN and the Woolly Race and Big Ring Classic as part of WORS, in WI.

Two teams represented at the Race to Sunset at Sleepy Hollow Park in Bismarck. Matt and Steve Wenzel, Jeremy Dirk, Tony Schmitz represented the two teams with the "ChainWhippers" team taking third place among the mixed teams.

Matt Wenzel, Tony Schmitz and Jeremy Dirk ready for a day of racing at Race to Sunset.

Steve Wenzel taking a break in between laps. Check out Steve's blog for a nice recap of the day.
Matt Wenzel riding strong throughout.
Michael and Corey Coogan Cisek upon completion of the Woolly race in St. Croix WI. Corey was the second female overall and Michael rode a solid race (results not posted)

Matt Engen rode in the inaugural Lutsen 99er and recorded a 30th place overall among the 40 starters. Matt reported a long day in the saddle but super sweet trails in the north shore area of MN.

Denny Barry was in the Crosby area, checking out the new Cuyuna trails on Saturday and reports: "Cuyuna is as difficult as you desire to make it: rideable by most and challenging to all if so desired"

Casey Hildenbrandt hit up WORS#3 in hometown of Wausau. Casey reported having "the race of his life" until a mechanical ended his day. Casey fired up for the upcoming Subaru Cup. Way to keep the head up Casey and..... keep the wheels moving!

Midwest MTB Recap on Skinnyski.com

Bluff Riders Charge- MNMBS MT Kato

2011-06-10T07:08:00.000-07:00

(Jeremey Dirk before training on the Laddies Loppet course last weekend, in preparation for the Race to Sunset event in Bismarck, ND this weekend with other Maplelag team riders)

Race #2 in the MNMBS saw a good portion of the team hitting the slopes and trails at Mt Kato ski area outside of Mankato, MN.

The Horner bro's kicked things off in the Kids Comp race with both Devon and Wyatt pulling out top 10 finishes. Devon finished 4th overall and won his age class and Wyatt finished 6th overall and also won his age group.
Devon and Wyatt in Kids Comp

In the Sport race, Andrea Horner raced to a 2nd place overall in the female class and 57th overall. New member Michael Cisek placed 65th and 6th in his age class. Denny Barry raced to a 90th place overall and 3rd in his age class. Jordan Horner climbed to a 10th place overall among Sport women and first in her age group.

Andrea and Jordan climbing in the Sport race

In the Comp class, Matt Horner rode to a 52nd place overall and 12th place in his age group and Dan DeRoma was 69th overall.
Matt Horner keeping cool in the Comp race

In Elite class racing, Corey Coogan-Cisek recorded a top five finish among a small but strong field including Allison DeRoma who was a starter on the day.

The Elite men had two top 10 finishes with Sam Oftedahl in 5th and Jake Richards in 6th. Other placings in the Elite race was Eric Oftedahl in 22nd place and Wausau, WI based rider Casey Hildenbrandt in 46th place. Sam and Jake upon completion of the Elite race.

Great job to all the racers and good luck to everyone this weekend!

Series Racing in Minnesota and Wisconsin

2011-05-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

Team racing action last weekend saw riders hitting up the state series in MN and WI. Mudfest in Minneapolis with the first race in the Minnesota series at Salem Hills. Jeff Beck, Brandon Charboneau, Jake Richards, Lars Ellefson and Sam and Eric Oftedahl hit the line for some wet and sloppy riding. In Wisconsin, Casey Hildenbrandt recorded a solid 4th place finish in Jr Elite.

Jeff Beck racing in Sport.

Jake Richards racing JR Elite. In the top five first few laps of the race before falling back a few spots to a solid top ten finish at 8th place.

Lars Ellefson caked in mud. Like Sam, bike mechanicals forced them off the bike. Eric Oftedahl recorded a top 10 finish at 10th and Brandon posted a 44th place overall in Comp.

Nice racing all....keep the wheels moving!

Cable Classic-Rasta Rally-Double Dog TT

2011-05-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

The racing season is starting to crank up with more team members toeing the line. Last weekend saw racers competing in the Cable Area Off Road Classic, the RASTA Rally in Rhinelander and Corey Coogan competed in the Double Dog Time Trial in south Minneapolis.

Lars Ellefson near the front in the Cable Classic. Took a wrong turn like a lot of people on the day but finished up 28th overall.

Jake Richards at the start of Cable Classic. First race of the year posting a solid 21st place finish.
New team member Alye DeRoma at the start of the Cable Classic mixing it up with the men. Finished 5th overall among females.

Dan DeRoma all smiles at the start en route to a 105th place finish.

Dan, Jake, Lars and Alye post race. Nice job folks!
Casey Hildenbrandt #22 at the start of RASTA Rally. Finished 7th overall in the long race. Casey is waving the flag for Rib Mountain cycles in select races but look for the Maplelag kit at the key Midwest races. Read report from Casey and more photos and results from the weekend on skinnyski.com
Corey Coogan tuning up for the season, competing in the Double Dog team trial. Corey rides for Ridley in the cyclocross season.

Next up is the first Minnesota series race at Salem Hills park in Inver Grove Heights. Good luck and keep the wheels moving!

Season Opener in Minnesota-Eric Thompson update

2011-05-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

Last weekend a couple team members, Eric Oftedahl and Lars Ellefson took advantage of an early season mountain bike race held at Hillside Park in Elk River. Eric went on to take the win in the Advanced division and Lars had a mechanical but still got some riding in on the day completing a lap with his dad, Jack. Full recaps from Eric and Lars are on the Midwest MTB Report on Skinnyski..check it out!

Eric racing in WORS cup last year.
Lars at WORS Cup last year.

Eric Thompson, elite team rider, recently completed his schooling at Les McRaes college and is gearing up for a big cyclocross season. Eric sent an update on his racing plans:

This season my aim is completely towards cyclocross season. After last year at cyclocross nationals I've been trying to plan out and concentrate on training for the elite cyclocross season starting in September after Chequamegon. Having said that, mountain bike as well as road races are going to be a part of my schedule this summer and fall. I plan to start out with a small amount of racing in the beginning of the season to allow for longer rides and training weeks, and at the middle to end of the summer I plan to increase my racing to build intensity.

During all of the summer and leading into the fall I will be racing for team Maplelag (including Chequamegon). The team has a great vibe and I am very thankful for all of your support you provide. Last year's race season was awesome and I would enjoy continuing it on for this season. In preparation for the cyclocross season I do plan to try and find a national team in order to help with travel expenses as well as equipment needs". Good luck Eric!

Eric racing to a 4th place finish in last years U23 National Championships.

Keep the wheels moving!!

Mountain View Rec Area

2011-05-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

With a team consisting over 30 riders racing in different classes in states across the country, we definitely see some great results. But the team is not all about the results. Many of the athletes help out with coaching, clinics, and sharing the love in not only mountain biking but also Nordic skiing. We also have riders helping build trails to improve and create riding opportunities for others. One of the team riders, Tony Schmitz, has been leading the charge in building singletrack at the Mountain View Rec Area which is located just outside Detroit Lakes. I rode part of the track last fall but met up with Tony this week to ride what he and others have completed this Spring. It is a great start to what will be a really fun trail. It isn't super long but combining the ski trails and other possibilities in the area, you can get more than your fill of moving the wheels in the twisty and turny. Other team riders who have helped build the trail include Jeremy Dirk, Ian Fritz and Jake Richards.
Tony riding one of the new sections built this Spring.

Riding over "Jeremy's creation".

The ski trails at Mountain View are starting to buff out nicely. Very fun terrain with fun, fast rolling hills. Be sure to check this area out not only for mountain biking but also skiing in the winter. Keep up the great work Tony!!

WORS 2011 Opener-Iola

2011-05-03T07:17:00.000-07:00

The xc racing season kicked off last weekend in Iola for race #1 in the Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS). Team rider Casey Hildenbrandt, living and racing out of Wausau, raced in the JR Elite and posted a solid 3rd place.

Casey's report:

Arriving to the venue with Ben Koenig and his parents, we went to pick up the number plates which are sick this year! Usual warm up with lots of nerves for the first race of the year. The cat 1 juniors start at the back of the elite field and we had to move our way through the field only doing 4 laps.

Ready to race!
(Gary Frost photo)

The start was fast but crowded. I made my moves leading the juniors after the couple minutes, then getting passed right away by Mitch B. On the next downhill I got nervous with rigid and locked up the brakes, skidding off the track. Lost about 5 or 6 spots running up the 25 yard hill. Ben Koenig had been in 2nd in the pro field up the start hill and then his quick link on his chain came loose and he was in last in the Pro/Cat 1 Field I'm pretty sure. By the end of the first lap I was sitting in 5th or 6th.

Halfway through the second lap I latched onto Myles' wheel and got moving. At the start of the 3rd lap Myles and I had moved up into 3rd and 4th. He fell off my wheel on the start hill and I started slightly cramping up the rest of the race...trying to use what I've heard from other people about cramping. Hydrate and spin. I spent the next 40 minutes in the saddle so I could finish the race. The last ten minutes or so I pushed as hard as I could to the finish. Ben fought all the way back up to 16th! I ended up 3rd.

Thanks to Maplelag Resort and Rib Mountain Cycles for making it possible! See you out there this year hopefully!

Riding in Red Lodge

2011-04-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

Went to Red Lodge, MT with the family for Easter vacation. With the singletrack covered in snow Jake and I brought road bikes along for some riding. From the town of Red lodge there are at least 5 options for road riding. The Beartooth highway was the highlight. Even though the road wasn't open all the way up to the pass, you could still ride 12 miles up from Red Lodge to the barricade than another five miles from there. The week we were there we were fortunate with dry weather and roads. Pretty lucky for spring in the mountains.
Heading up.

One more switchback before running in to snow.
April 26th, 2011. 5 miles from the barricade the snow gets deep and not rideable.
Heading down.
Nice rolling road to the south of Red Lodge.
Heading down west fork Rock creek road north of Red Lodge.
West fork road was closed 8 miles from Red Lodge but when opened continues for another 6 miles.

A nice cycling destination with quiet roads and the summer there are numerous options for mountain biking including up at the ski area.

Mountain Bike Trail Report

2011-04-27T07:29:00.001-07:00

Spring riding is upon us! The recent run of dry weather has dried up the trails enough for riding. We have not received any rain this week. There is still trail work to be done such as clearing trees, picking sticks and putting up signs but the trails are open for riding. A few low areas still holding water to watch for otherwise the riding has been great for early season.

First section of singletrack on the Laddies Loppet course.

Top of Suicide hill. Free of snow for first time since October! Part of Laddies Loppet course.
Technical section on Twin Lakes singletrack. The TL singletrack endured the winter nicely. We blew out the leaves before the snow fell so the track is easy to see.

Twin Lakes singletrack.
With the trails drying up late this year, and the way the schedule is playing out, it doesn't look like we will be able to host a short notice spring race like we did last year. If anything changes, we will post accordingly.

Keep the wheels moving!

Latest Trail Report- Laddies Loppet Course

2011-04-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

The past three days of warm temps and rain on Sunday has pretty much cleared the snow from the trails at Maplelag. There are still some ice sections here and there and the frost is out, at best, 4-5" down. We are looking at least two weeks before the trails will be open for mountain biking. Last year we hosted a short notice mountain bike race in the Spring, thanks to an early melt and unusually warm March. We were hoping to host another short notice race but with Easter very late and limited weekends available, hosting a Spring race looks tight at this point. We might try to do an event early May and will have information available here.

Mile marker one on the Laddies Loppet course. Clear of snow for the most part but needs a good couple weeks of "drying".

Lakeside singletrack drying up nicely. First to dry up proper with exposure to the sun most of the day.

Many low areas are holding water on the ski trails but most of the Laddies Loppet course avoids these areas. It will be a wet Spring though with water tables at record levels.

Ragnarok 105

2011-04-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

The Weather Channel did a spin off during the NCAA basketball tournament having brackets of cities that had the toughest weather in the country. The great city of Fargo came through as the tournament champion!

The team has a handful of riders living in the Fargo area, including Steve Wenzel who competed in the Ragnarok 105 last weekend. Steve commutes daily, rain, snow or shine, each day to work, and riding in the countries toughest weather provided good training for the Ragnarok. We like to call Steve the toughest commuter in the country.

Steve racing at Laddies Loppet short track, 2010 (skinnyski.com photo)

The Ragnarok is a grass roots riding event limited to 105 riders. Conditions were good for this years event and Steve logged 9 hours in the saddle in route to a successful day moving the wheels. Nicely done Steve.

Reads Steve's full report on his blog.

Riding in Santa Fe New Mexico and the Dale Ball Trails

2011-04-10T23:48:00.000-07:00

The second week of April, Jonell and I went down south to New Mexico for some r and r in the Santa Fe area. The main purpose of the trip was to relax and enjoy a week together! I brought the mountain bike along with plans to ride an hour or two each day. I did a little research before going down to see what was available for mountain biking and every search the Dale Ball trails popped up. Since we had snow last so long after the ski season was done at Maplelag, I spent free time skiing on snow covered trails instead of riding. In Santa Fe I was content to riding on gravel and back roads getting in some easy miles to start the riding season.

After we got settled in the hotel, I was pleased to find out access to the trails were about 3 miles from the hotel. Most of the hotels in the plaza area of Santa Fe are the same distance away so riding from the hotel to the trail head makes for a nice spin before hitting the trail. I first hit the south section and having the spin up was nice because they are steep off the bat. The trails are very well marked with signage at each intersection. The town of Santa Fe sits around 7000ft and the high point the trail reaches I think is around 7800 ft.

After an initial steep climb the trail buffed out a bit but only for a short while. I was expecting all the trail to be like this since close to town and figured the trail saw a lot of traffic. Once back in the more wooded part, the trail was technical with sections that were not rideable.

The trail I would rate as more advanced, for sure, with some fun technical sections with lots of rocks and tight switchbacks.
More open flowy stuff along the side of the mountain.

With a switch to rocks and fun twisty turny.
The time of year we were there, the weather was cool but sun was intense. The trail was a lot more protected than I expected. One night it rained maybe a half inch and the next day the trail condition was perfect with a tacky riding surface. The rain really brought out the smells and highlighting the brush.

More exposed trail with view back towards Santa Fe.

The trail is well marked with signs at each intersection with corresponding numbers.

Out and back track climbing to a high point.

Nice views at the top with a fun descent to follow.

Fast flowy section but technical rock section shortly after on descent back down.
Couple of days rode some back roads. Mainly paved lanes to homes out in the hills.
The Hyde Park Rd/Hiway 475 is a nice road to get some road miles on. It eventually makes way to Santa Fe Rec area. I didn't put a lot of miles on this road but did find a point to access the Dale Ball trails from it. Would make a nice longer warm up. The road is a little rough maybe for road bike but with knobbies, perfect.
Lot of side gravel roads to explore. The plaza at Santa Fe is loaded with tons of restaurants and excellent biker food. Some of the top choices were The Shed, fantastic local flare, Pasquals: more New Mex food, Il Vicino for wood fired pizza, Coyote Cafe, contemporary bit spendy, to name a few. This past winter season was a lower snow year in New Mexico but the month of March would be a great time to visit to ski and ride dry trails! All in all a great place to ride mountain bike and definitely plan on coming back! The last day we went up to Taos and checked with the local bike shop on trails to ride. Three rides recommended in the area ranging from 6-10 miles in length with rating of moderate to advance. Most of the "good" trails were still snow covered in the high country with 25 miles of singletrack at the Taos Valley Ski Area.

Spring Riding?

2011-03-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

It has been a long winter for sure. Local mountain bike riding has been resorted to the gravel roads as most singletrack is buried in 1-2 feet of snow! We are hoping to have a short notice mountain bike race this Spring. Either the end of April or early May. We will update as the snow begins to melt.

Few riders have headed south for some riding. Denny Barry was in Arkansas the other week checking out the Syllamo mountain bike trail.

Mile marker 1 on singletrack, March 30th, 2011. Buried in about 2 feet of snow.
The lakeside singletrack and southern exposed sections have less snow but still 3-4 weeks out until hopefully rideable.

Birkie Stories Ski Season Wrap

2011-03-16T15:48:00.000-07:00

With the ski season winding down, thoughts are turning to mountain biking. It has been a great winter in the Midwest with lots of snow and fantastic skiing. A couple of Birkie stories posted below from team members, Sam Oftedahl and Lars Ellefson.

Steve Gromatka racing in Lotvola Cup.

Steve Wenzel racing in the Lotvola Cup.
Lars Ellefson leading the pack from Twin Lakes. Read Birkie story below.
Tony Schmitz in Lotvola Cup.

Anne Ellefson racing in Lotvola after racing in select races during the season.

Sam Oftedahl finishing strong at Mora Vasaloppet 58km. Birkie Storie here:

Like last year,John Munger graciously let me stay at his cabin just outside of Hayward near OO.Chip Tabor his brother & girlfriend,Piotr Bednarski,Charly(friend of the Mungers) where among the others that stayed for the weekend.

Unlike previous years,the theme for this years Birkie was COLD!.We woke up to -12F & clear skies.The forecast was calling for single digit's above 0 with some cloud cover,but the clouds rolled in later then they expected.

As the morn dawns..well..not quite.the morn ritual went like this,& since I shared the kids room with Piotr I got to see how a "pro" does it:Wake up at 5:30..get suited up..bib on(don't forget to put the chip on)..go for a 10min wake up jog...try to shovel down some food...grab your bag,make sure you have everything & out the door..all by 6:00.

On the way to the parking/busing lot you are found to be among a convoy of cars heading to the same place..at 6:00am?!.So we park & head over to stand in line for a bus..all the while hoping we get one one soon because I can't feel my fingers!.On the bus you hope you haven't forgotten anything because there is no turning back now.The ride is only 15-20min so it's just enough time to get feeling back in my hands for the next round of freezing them.We get off & start the long hike over to the start.As we arrive we are amazed to see it is almost deserted!.There should be throngs of skiers running frantically around,but not this year.I think the cold was keeping everyone inside till the very last minute.

Piotr was in the 1st classic wave so he had no sitting around.He was quick to get on his ski's to make sure the kick was good.I offered to drop off his bag for him so he could have as much time as possible to stay warm & calm.

So he went off..I quick threw his bag in the drop off & got ready.It was really cold so there was no standing around,which was something everyone else was doing.Skiers running,jumping,shaking,flailing arms doing whatever they could to stay warm.

I decided to try the ski's so I went out on the practice donut.I only did 1 loop as my ski's felt really good & then headed to the warming tent to stay warm.My toes got cold so I decided to out toe warmers in.Thank God I had some.

10min to start...I quick took my warm ups off threw them in my bag & dropped it off.In the starting chute everyone was shivering from the combination of cold & race jitters.I tried to stay as calm as possible so I didn't waste precious energy.

The gun goes off....I focus on being smooth & fast & try to stay in a draft.It's flat for 2k or so,so you don't want to be going hard.The next section is the "power line".Namely because it's a really wide,straight clearing for a power line.There are some good size hills here so you don't want to be going redline.It's real easy because you still have some adrenaline going through ya.I'm telling myself to stay calm & smooth because there is still 45k or so of tough trail to cover.As we turn onto the birkie I find a group & settle in making sure I'm gliding as much as possible & staying smooth & relaxed.It's like this for most of the race.There is some changes in pace & work on the front but nothing to write about.I'm taking as much as I can at the feeds as to prevent cramping which is almost inevitable in the last 10k.

The group I'm with is about 6 strong & we are working together nicely.That is until the last 15k,where I feel everyone is starting to get antsy.A couple guys try to go off but are reeled back in.Because of fatigue starting to set in the attacks are futile.The pace is still high,or seems that way because I'm getting tired.

10k rolls around & I'm really starting to feel it.I'm third in line & go to look back & no one is there!.The two I were with where still going good so I really focused on trying to stay with them & because the lake was coming up I wanted/needed a draft.

I can barely keep my legs under me across the lake but I'm still with the guy's.There are a lot of people in the hurt locker as we pass them.Trying to put every ounce of energy into going forward & staying upright.Onto mainstreet & the crowd is cheering.It's hard not to sprint even if you where in last place because of the noise.I'm across the line & I'm spent!.The first aid workers are checking everyone for frostbite.I could still feel my face so I'm ok.

Another Birkie in the books..but looking forward to writing another chapter next year.

To everyone who helped make this race possible..Thank you!

Story from Lars:

Birkie morning dawned with one thing. COLD cold weather. When we left our small cabin in Solon Springs, WI at 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning our car thermometer read -17, ouch it was gonna be a cold one! (By the way the cabins/hotel there are great little place to stay)

We had a quick and uneventful drive up to Cable, parked, and loaded on a bus that shuttled to Telmark Lodge. It was busy as ever and there wasn't a spot not occupied inside. I can only imagine what this race would have been like without the lodge open, which was very close to happening.

After getting our bibs I went over what to wear which can always be a struggle on such cold days (the constant over heating, then getting chilled on downhills) by the time I was dressed and had gotten my boots on it was time to head towards the start. Man it was cold. I had no warm up and could only jump around to keep the blood moving. I was in the start pen almost 30 minutes before my start. It's just the way the birkie goes. Finally after moving up through each start pen we were at the line! I had cooled off and could not wait to get going.

I had no warm up so I was surprised when we took off and it was super fast! It was my first full birkie so I started in wave 1, it was super crazy with everyone battling for a spot in the elite wave.

I took off pretty conservatively but stayed at the front of the pack. Things stayed that way as we skied over the powerline and into the woods on the birkie trail. I skied off the front of the roughly 10 person pack a few different times but decide to settle in and ski the pace of the pack. Especially not knowing what to expect for my first 50km. We kept moving at a face pace, first catching the elite women and soon the elite men, usually who were not happy to see us.

I got some energy at the first two feed stops and I knew that would be important to survive. Bad news though as I missed the next two feeds due to traffic or dropping cups. dang.

At about 35km I noticed Matt Dugan (michigan tech skier) and I had a small gap from wave 1, and we decided to take turns pulling. This worked for about 5km until all of the sudden I started feel pretty darn weak and I realized I was heading towards a famous birkie bonk!

From about 43km until the finish I was in suffer fest mode. Slogging along looking for any extra aid I could get, I got a cup of heed and felt a small boost but I was still losing ground fast! When I hit Lake Hayward it felt like an eternity across as I stared at the skier in front of me. I finished and I think looked okay on Maine Street. Whew a relief but very good time in my first Birkie.

As soon as I was done I went straight for soup and warm clothes. It was a very cold day, and well I stayed warm skiing I was frozen as soon as I stopped moving.

I learned a lot in my first birkie. It reminded me of what I have learned from long mountain bike races (that you must eat and drink enough and do it early on) I will next year be more prepared and have a bottle and gu with me. Also I should make the Elite wave next year so that will be a different experience.

Capped off the great day finding out my sister Summer was the Womens Korteloppet Champion which is a big accomplishment!!

CX Nationals/Riders Waving the Flag Across the Board

2010-12-13T11:34:00.000-08:00

Even though the mountain bike season is distant memory with the trails being buried in beautiful snow, team members are waving the flag nicely across the country. The big news last weekend was the podium finishes by Eric Thompson at Cyclocross Nationals in Oregon. Eric's dad John recaps and also links to the press below.

Eric digging hard in the U23 race. (Trailwatch.net photo)
In the U23 race he placed 4th and this was after he crashed on the last half lap of the race. It was unbelievable seeing him up there with the top U23 riders in the country, and he looked very comfortable doing it. At one point about three quarters of the way through the race he attacked Jerome Townsend and opened up nearly a 10 second gap! I thought he had 3rd place in the bag, but Jerome clawed his way back and the two of them rode together for the rest of the race until Eric's crash with a half lap to go. This was without a doubt a breakthrough race for Eric.

The collegiate race was even more exciting. Zach McDonald and Eric quickly separated themselves from the field and by the midway point probably had 30 to 40 seconds on everyone else. Again Eric looked very comfortable at the frenetic pace, but unfortunately at two laps to go, Eric snapped his derailleur off in a deep mud puddle and had to run a third of a lap to the pit where I had his second bike waiting. He chased hard to the roar of the crowd and finished in 5th place, the last podium spot. As a bonus he had a lengthy interview in front of the large crowd and helped his college team (Lees McRae College) win the overall national title. This was a weekend to remember!

Cyclingnews coverage
Cyclingdirt coverage
Article on Yahoo Sports

The ski season kicked off in the Midwest with the Wolverine Challenge in Ironwood, MI. The races are part of the qualifiers for Junior Olympic Nationals which will be held in Minneapolis in March of 2010. Jake Richards competed in the J1 division, finishing 9th in the skate race and 17th in the classic race among the top j1 skiers in the Midwest. Coverage on skinnyski.com (Scroll down to Wolverine-JOQ)
Speed-skating isn't a sport that gets a lot of coverage in the Midwest which is interesting when you consider there are over 10,000 lakes in Minnesota. Obviously a lot of kids who skate, play hockey. Eric Oftedahl is part of a close knit group of speedskaters out of the Twin Cities who trains and races on the ovals in the metro and other cities in the Midwest. Eric is above showing great form and waving the flag about as good as you can get.

This past weekend at Maplelag we had a high school ski camp and Maplelag teamer Kyia Anderson and her husband Kris, helped out with ski clinics working with the Bloomington Jefferson team. Thanks guys!

Thanks to all team members for representing team Maplelag in various activities. Keep the wheels moving!!

State MN CX/ UCI Racing

2010-11-30T19:08:00.000-08:00

Hard to think about bike racing when winter is full on here at Maplelag but a few results to note as of late.

Steve and Matt Wenzel along with Matt Engen, competed in the MN State CX Championships a few weekends ago. Conditions were truly epic with 8 inches of snow falling the day and during the races. Read Steve's report.

Eric Thompson continues to wave the flag in southeast united states, competing in UCI races and scoring important UCI points. John Thompson reports:
Eric had a great race today finishing 5th despite crashing over the handlebars after Marco LaLonde went down in front of him (someone crashed in front of Marco starting the chain reaction). Eric is OK. What's impressive is that Eric fell back to about 15th place after the crash but chased hard through the field and rejoined the leaders (Matter, Frattini, etc.) for the final sprint. With the 5th place finish he earned valuable UCI points for call up at U23 Nats in a few weeks.

Check out the article in Cycling News.

North Carolina State CX Champion!

2010-11-09T06:48:00.001-08:00

Team member Eric Thompson raced in the North Carolina State Championships and won the Pro/1/2 Class. Congrats Eric!!

Eric giving chase.
Check out the article in North Carolina Cycling News.

Eric and Sam Oftedahl picked up the poster on behalf of the Elite Class win in the MNMBS 1st Place honors. Great job again to all team members on a excellent season in the MNMBS!

Fall Riding

2010-10-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

Even though the mountain bike race season is completed for the year, the riding has been incredible the month of October. The Laddies Loppet course is in excellent condition and has seen good rider traffic this Fall. All the leaves were blown off the course after the leaves came down and the ski trail segments cleared as well. We completed the new mountain bike singletrack trail by Twin Lakes and riding has been awesome. Check out the Maplelag website for more information about this trail.

Team member Denny Barry with friends Thad and Terry after a outing on the trails Friday afternoon. Incredible riding weather with sunshine, calm conditions and upper 50's.

Jake riding on the new Twin lakes singletrack.

Keep the wheels moving!

Cross Season

2010-10-14T19:53:00.001-07:00

The Cyclocross season is in full swing. A handful of team riders have been hitting the races with Sam Oftedahl posting a top 5 finish at the Wirth Classic last weekend.

(Sam floating through the mud with ease as riders struggled with the challenging, more mtb type course)

Team rider Lars Ellefson, out in Durango, CO gearing up for the ski season, raced in the Wells Bro cx race in Durango and filed a report:

A great day to be on the bike! Jack Hinkens and I headed up to Durango Mountain Resort at 9000ft to get our suffer on at the Wells Bros CX Race.

Todd had set up a sweet and challenging course with stairs, bridges, a good climb and some fast descents.

The mood was pretty layed back at the start which was nice, I still felt a little pressure since I looked so fast rocking my new Maplelag skinsuit!

Anyway, Jack took the holeshot and set a pretty good pace off the start.... I decided not to bury myself as i've found out this is not smart racing so high up! I was on my mountain bike and it was actually okay out there! there was a rough, rooty rocky section at the top of the climb and I could get through it a lot faster then on a cross bike! By the 3rd lap I had passed Dylan Stucki who had a flat and was running for a new wheel. And the by the 5th lap I had passed Andrew Llewellyn who also had flatted. I was suffering out there and 50 minutes seemed to drag on. There was pretty good crowd and Troy was announcing and getting everyone pumped. Flats were a major problem as about 2/3 through the race I went by Jack who was out with a bad luck flat. I was pretty much alone the last 3 laps and barely made it but finished on the lead lap. Todd was flying so I felt pretty good about not getting lapped. It was fun local race with some good competition and a great workout! Top three were Todd Wells, Matt Shriver, Brenden Schafer. I believe I endend up 6th in the A class. On the way down Jack and I had the idea to go jump cascade falls. Well it's been a month since we did it and it WAS SO COLD! I won't forget the look on Jack's face. Good recovery, and a good day.

Has been an incredible month of dry weather. Here at Maplelag we completed the new singletrack loop by Twin Lakes. The trail is open for riding and riders are welcome to help buff in the course. Get those Fall rides in before deer hunting and the snow flies!!

Racing in Cloud Town-Singletrack Escape and PorkChop Challenge

2010-09-29T12:18:00.001-07:00

Most of the team members wrapped up the mountain bike race season this past weekend hitting the final race in the MNMTB Series, the Singletrack Escape at the Jail Trail in St Cloud. The race was put on by the Mid Min Cycling Club under the strong leadership of Kris and Kyia Anderson, Maplelag supported athletes. Kyia retired this year and had a retirement party on Saturday that was attended by Jake.
The Elite class had its best showing ever on the year three riders in the top 10. Sam Oftedahl took the win and his brother Eric scored second. Jake Richards was 6th overall after running in the top three until the last lap. With the strong showing, the Elite class took top honors not only on the day but also the overall title after the 11 race series. Overall the entire time finished 5th. Congrats to all team members on a very fine season.

Denny Barry racing Sport.
Jeff Beck racing Sport at St Cloud.
Sunday was the Pork Chop challenged at Riverside Park in St. Cloud. Jake raced in Cat 3 and took the race after a back and forth battle with Merrill Lutsky.

Steve Wenzel was racing in Canada at the Swamp Donkey (check on the right side for recap from this race) and Matt Engen participated (along with Steve) in the Red River Bicycle festival at Johnson Park in Moorhead. The team supported the event.

Lots of great riding yet this fall. The new singletrack at Maplelag is nearly complete. Check back next week for the latest report.

Keep the wheels moving!

Chequemegon Fat Tire Festival

2010-09-24T07:02:00.000-07:00

The team was represented nicely at the Chequemegon Fat Tire Festival in Cable-Hayward-Telemark Wisconsin last weekend. Steve Wenzel and Denny Barry rolling down at the 40 start.

Sunday Funday was dominated by the Maplelag/Paramount team with a 2nd, 3rd and 4th finish in the Crit Cross Final and 1st place by Trent Warner in the Crit Consolation. The team also did well in the fun events displaying the true character of the team. Awesome stuff.

Jake Richards threepeating in the short and fat.
Steve Wenzel in the crit cross.
Trent Warner en route to a first place in the Crit Cross Consolation. Team members were the only ones to ride the stairs!
Casey Hildenbrandt on Sunday. Casey placed a solid 6th place finish in the short and fat and will be a contender next year for sure. Casey sent a nice note, recapping the weekend:
As we dropped dad off for the 40, I got dropped off at the start of my race. I hung out with the awesome Maplelag team and family before the start, and headed to the line. Matt Weik, saw an opening right behind the preferred starts, and got me a spot up there. I still had some work to do to get up to the front group. I went far outside and put my head down to get up there. After a while I was starting to feel good. Just as I started to feel better, we hit the Birkie trail and teammate Jake nailed it and launched a perfect attack. Pushed the rest of the race chasing down 2nd and 3rd, but didn't catch them with a mistake on a corner. Came in 6th on the day for my first short and fat. I was so glad Jake got the win. Congrats to him and everyone else who participated. I packed up and headed back to the hotel after dad finished with a top 60 after taking a nice digger and losing the chase group. We headed back for awards after we got to the hotel, and then sunday came around. I was interested to see what the crit cross would bring... It brought some awesome fun! Dad and I got to qualify together which was nice and pretty fun. Then Jake, Matt, and I headed over to do the hill climb..which worked as a good warm up for the crit cross. I came in 4th in the crit cross when it was said and done. Then it was over to do the rest of the sunday funday events. Jake killed the bunnyhop clearing 26", and also won the hill climb. Matt won the balance beam ride. I won the slow race with the bag of sand on the handlebar. An awesome weekend, right up there with the subaru cup! Definately will be heading up next year, with bigger and better goals.. Fun racing with everyone including Matt, Jake, Jack, Steve, Dad, and Hollywood. Shout out to Jay, the Richards and Wenzel family, and to everyone else for your support and encouragement. I couldn't ask for a better team! Maplelag is awesome!!!

Steve with Matt Engen after the 40 finish. Matt has done 23 consecutive 40s!! Matt and Jay rode on the Cheap team back in the 90's.
Matt Wenzel on Sunday. Matt pushed the pace in solid fashion on Sunday taking the third spot in Crit Cross.
Jens doing the hill climb on Sunday.

Denny Barry all smiles after competing in the 40 and states:

Fat tire 40 was a hoot - 3:04 last year fell to a 3:21 this year --I finished higher in standings this year but was looking to be sub 3 ...
the mud puddles made it interesting --some more so than others ....... but all GOOD !

Congrats again to all team members. Good luck at the Singletrack Escape in St Cloud the last MN series race of the year. Go get em!

New Mountain Bike Singletrack

2010-09-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

The past couple of weeks we have been working on new singletrack over by Twin Lakes. We are just over halfway done. The plan is to have a 20-30 minute loop. The trail is open for riding and hopefully next Spring we will do a Spring Opener race and have one big loop using the existing Laddies Loppet course and the new singletrack for a point to point race lasting 1.5hrs to 2hrs. With ski trails to the west, the potential is to make a longer loop the for now we will keep it short and sweet and see how it goes.

New trail being built by Twin Lakes.
Beautiful scenery along the trails.
Oscar and Seregy from Russia have been helping on the trail.

Last weekend, a few of the team members hooked up for some pre-Chequemegon training and rode the new trails. The trail is starting to get ridden in nicely and set up. A lot of neat features and a nice addition to the trail system. The week after next we will have a couple of trail days if anyone is interested in helping complete the trail. Check back for times and dates. Good luck to all team members racing the mighty Chequemegon this weekend!

Laddies Loppet Mountain Bike Stage Race Weekend

2010-09-07T19:52:00.001-07:00

An awesome weekend on the home course racing at the Laddies Loppet Stage race. Super proud of all our team members and my nephews racing waving the flag for the home team. The team won the overall among all other registered teams including a first place finish by the Elite and Sport teams. With one race left in the series, the team sits in fourth place in the omnium with a chance to move up to third after St. Cloud. Nice! The Elite class is holding down first place. Great job once again to everyone. Everyone raced their hearts out with a great attitude to boot. Awesome stuff.

Jens Richards in Kids Comp.
Nephew Grant Horsager in Kids Comp.
Nephew Reagan Garden in Kids Comp.
Wyatt Horner in Kids Comp.
Garrett Horsager in Kids Comp.
Wyatt Horner in Kids Comp.
Jack Richards singing the National Anthem before the start of Sunday's races. Jack rode with...
....cousin Ripley and nephew Ripley in Kids Comp. Nicely done Jackson.
Taylor Horner in Citizen.
Ethan Brekke racing in Citizen, wearing the first Maplelag team jersey from 1993, Team Zizibakawadaboo!!
Jeff Beck in Sport.
Tony Schmitz in Sport.
Denny Barry in Sport.
Jordan and Sport.
Andrea Horner in Sport.
Eric Lebow in Expert.
Corey Coogan Cisek in Expert.
Matt Horner in Comp.
Steve Wenzel in Comp.
Matt Engen in Comp.
Trent Warner in Expert.
Jeremy Dirk in Comp.
Matt Wenzel in Comp.
Jake Richards in Expert.
Sam Oftedahl in Expert.
Eric Oftedahl in Expert.

Keep the wheels moving!!

Leadville 100 and Great Hawk Chase-MNMBS

2010-08-26T19:29:00.000-07:00

Summer is winding down but maybe the best time of the year for mountain biking and racing. Lots of events going on and great riding with temps starting to cool down, no bugs and sweet trails.

Matt Engen competed in the Leadville 100 earlier this month. Read his race recap in the skinnyski report. Team riders Matt and Steve Wenzel along with Jake Richards joined Matt in Colorado for a week of sweet riding in the high country.
Last weekend team members hit the race at Lester Park in Duluth for race #9 in the MNMBS.
Jens Richards above in Kids Comp.
Jack Richards in Kids Comp.
Wyatt Horner in Kids Comp.
Devon Horner in Kids Comp.
Eric Oftedahl in the front in the Elite race. Eric flatted on the day but still rode strong recording the finish.
Sam Oftedahl finishing up 2nd on the day in Elite. Sam was leading the race at times and had a good battle with Erik Tonkin from Portland who is a top Pro in the country. Tonkin raced at Maplelag during the UCI race in May 2007.
Matt Horner in Comp posting a solid 8th place overall.
Jeremy Dirk in Comp. Jeremy has been hitting the entire race series this year in Minnesota. Excellent!
Eric LeBowe cashing in on his exclusive training. Nicely done!

Jake Richards posting his best ever finish in the Elite class with a fifth place finish overall.

A busy weekend on tap with riders spread out all over the Midwest than the home race at Maplelag with the Laddies Loppet stage race weekend. We have to do a team picture on Sunday so tentatively plan on meeting before the Sport race for a group shot.

Keep the wheels moving!!

Birch Bump at Buck Hill and Border Battle in WI

2010-08-09T19:35:00.000-07:00

Not only has the weather been hot the month of August, so has the racing. Team members have been blazin' it up the past two weekends, hitting Birch Bump at Buck Hill and the big Border Battle at White Tail Corporate park in River Falls, WI last weekend. Congratulations to the Elite class in taking top honors at Buck Hill. A good battle going on with Peace Coffee, title sponsor of the Minnesota Series, for the overall. Currently the team sits sixth overall in the omnium and looking forward to a strong finish to the season.

Start of the Elite race at Buck Hill as Sam Oftedahl and Eric Thompson keep the front of the field in check.

Jeremy Dirk in the front in Comp at Buck Hill. Jeremy pinned a top 10 finish at the Border Battle this past weekend. Nicely done!!
Eric Thompson running second at Buck Hill who was out in front for a while en route to a third place finish. Eric nailed a top 10 at the Border Battle, just a minute and a half from the top five in a stacked field.
Sam Oftedahl hanging on to Eric Thompson's wheel before passing him at the end for second. Sam was 11th at the Border Battle.

Eric Oftedahl having a great result with a sixth place finish at Buck Hill. Eric O was running good at the Border but ripped a sidewall and had to drop.
Elite female rider Corey Coogan taking the final singletrack turn and a fourth place finish overall at Buck. Corey was 9th at the Border Battle.
Jake Richards moving up in the Elite men. Jake was running top 10 before flatting on the last lap and running the rest of the lap to finish 25th.
Eric Lebow rolling to a 31st place finish in the Elite class.

Denny Barry rolling nicely in the Sport race.

Casey Hildenbrandt recorded a 11th place finish in the JR Open race at Border Battle.

Look for recaps from team riders in the skinnyski recap on Wednesday.

Good luck this weekend to team riders racing in 24 hour events and Matt Engen who is doing the Leadville 100. Keep the wheels moving!

2010-07-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

A solid representation by the team this past weekend, hitting the Minnesota series race at Hillside Park in Elk River and USA Cycling National Championships at Sol Vista ski area Colorado. Check out the recaps, results and photos on skinnyski.com
Great job to all riders who raced.

Jonell and Jake made the trip out west to Nationals, hooking up with Sam and Eric Oftedahl, Lars Ellefson as well as Trek-Co Op rider Jack Hinkens. New team member Corey Coogan Cisek was also in Colorado, stepping up on the podium in the Cat 1 30-34 for third place.

Jake in the Super D, rolling to a 14th place finish. Jake also raced cross country recording a 23rd place and 11th place in short track, Cat 1 Jr 17-18.
Lars in the Super D en route to a second place finish and trip to the podium. Lars also scored podium time in the cross country taking third in Cat 1 19-24.
Matt Wenzel racing Sport at Hillside. Matt had chain issues but got repaired and rolling again. (photos taken by Bruce of skinnyski at Hillside)
Denny Barry racing in Sport class.
Andrea Horner
Jeff Beck.
Jordan Horner.
Steve Wenzel.
Tony Schmitz.
Jeremy Dirk.
Matt Horner.

2010-07-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

Relatively quiet weekend for the team. Newest rider to the team, Corey Coogan, raced in the Chippewa Valley Firecracker recording a solid 14th place finish among a field of 30 riders. Ben Popp of Endurance Athlete hit the dirt after 15 years recording a 65th place finish in the Comp class.

Comments from Corey

 It was a fun time and a great course. They have added even more
 single track since last year (as always, nothing very technical, but
 it's a lot of fun to ride fast).  Everyone I talked to really had a
 lot of fun out on the course.  I did well enough.  I felt decidedly
 like I had a gear missing (Eau Claire's kind of a sprint), but
 having done 2 weeks with lots of Lv 3 time and avoiding all level 4
 per Piotr in preparation for climbing and altitude, that's to be
 expected.  As far as mud, it only sprinkled during the sport race
 and the sun (and the dust) came out for ours. It was a surprise to
 drive into pouring rain on the way home."

Racing action this weekend will see riders at the Singletrack attack in Elk River as part of the MN MTB Series and handful of team members will be racing at the US MTB National Championships in Sol Vista, CO. Good luck to all team members this weekend.

Wheelhouse Classic

2010-07-07T12:43:00.000-07:00

Team riders hit up the Wheelhouse Classic in Memorial Park this past weekend, race #5 in the MN MTB Series. After the Horner family and Denny Barry diced it up in the Kids Comp, and Sport races on a tackish course, it was another mudder for the Comp and Expert racers.

Jordan Horner in the Sport race in route to a 6th place finish, one spot and one second after mom!!

Denny Barry in the Sport race, en route to a 2nd place finish in the age group.

Other nice placings at Memorial Classic include top 10 finishes in Comp by Matt Horner (9th) and Jeremy Dirk (10th)

Elite races had two riders in the top five with Sam Oftedahl in 2nd and Eric Thompson in 4th.

Great job team riders!!

After race #5 in the series, the team sits fifth overall among all teams, all classes combined and only four points out of fourth place! Keep up the great racin'

2010-06-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

Six of the team members competed in the Subaru-WORS Cup/PRO XCT race this past weekend. A great representation by the team with some great finishes. Full results to be posted on the Subaru Cup page.

Sam, Eric, Jake and Lars before the start of the CAT 1 race.

Casey Hildenbrandt coming in to the finish during CAT 1 Jr racing action.
Eric Thompson dicing it up in the PRO Men race. Have a safe and happy Fourth!!

2010-06-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

A relatively quiet weekend of racing. Eric Oftedahl hit up the Woolly race coming in 4th and Casey Hildenbrandt dropped in one of the Wisconsin Endurance events and placed 7th out of 44 riders. The team will be represented well at the PRO XCT race in WI this coming weekend. Good luck to all riders racing!!

Eric Oftedahl keeping Charly Tre in check at Woolly.

2010-06-14T18:35:00.000-07:00

Fantastic showing by team members in ND, MN and WI this past. The "western team" was racing in North Dakota and placed 4th among the 10 hour teams. Casey Hildenbrandt won the JR Open in WORS. Read the recaps in the Midwest MTB report on Skinnyski.com

Lars Ellefson rolled in from Durango and joined the dozen or so team members at the muddy Mon Du Lac for race #3 in the Minnesota series, posting a solid 5th place finish. Nice job! Read his race recap here. Check out the coverage on skinnyski. A pure mud fest. Good times!! Hope the bikes cleaned up well. Yikes!

2010-06-08T20:33:00.000-07:00

Team was represented nicely at the Afton Avalanche this past weekend. Five racers in Expert, three in Comp, two in Sport and the Horner bros in Kids Comp. Click here for full results. And check out skinnyski.com for photos.

Andrea and Jordan Horner upon completion of their races in the Sport race. Good battle between mom and daughter with Jordan placing in front of mom by five seconds!

A busy weekend on tap with riders hittin all three states. MN riders hitting Mon Du Lac in Duluth, with the return of Eric Thompson (who was under the weather last weekend) and Lars Ellefson rolling in from CO for a few weeks. The Wenzels and Matt Engen will be at Race to Sunset in Bismarck, ND and Casey will be racing the Showdown in WI. Good luck, have fun and way to keep the wheels moving!

2010-06-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

A mostly quite Memorial weekend on the racing front. One of our newest riders, Casey Hildenbrandt of Wausau, WI was racing WORS in his hometown and filed a report on the race:

"The race on sunday... stayed with the insane lead out for the start. Fourth wheel into the singletrack. After the first lap, I was third, leading the group from third to seventh. Some road tactics came in as a team was playing games with the rest of us. Two team extreme guys, two expo, and myself. The extreme guys went, I covered, then fell off. Got passed by Nate Labecki, expo, and couldn't keep up. Lack of legs, (which are starting to come onto form i believe)... then I got a gap on Caleb, but about 2 miles into the third and final lap, Caleb caught me, and I only stayed with him for a mile. Then I dropped off, and started to cramp. The heat and lack of riding due to school got to me. With school done, I am ready to ride!"
Racing on tap this weekend at Afton Alps. Congratulations to the Elite Team in the MNMB Series Competition for first place at Salem Hills!!

2010-05-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

Series racing in Minnesota kicked off this past weekend and the team was out in full force. Sam Oftedahl and Eric Thompson recorded podium finishes in the Elite race with Sam recording 4th and Eric 5th. It was Eric's first mountain bike race since competing collegiality on the road. Also in Elite, Jake Richards recorded a 24th place overall and 2nd in age group and Eric Oftedahl recorded a 48th place after falling victim to a flat and having to run back to the car to get parts to repair and get moving again. Trent Warner racing in his first Elite race was 61st overall. Maplelag sponsored athlete Kyia Anderson was third overall in female Elite.

In the Comp class, Matt Horner led the team with a 13th place overall finish. He was followed by Jeremy Dirk in 60th overall.

In Citizen Taylor Horner was 128th overall and her brothers Devon and Wyatt finished 8th and 21st respectively overall in Kids Comp. Great job to all riders!! if I missed anyone, please let me know. Keep em' moving!

2010-05-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

The mountain bike season is starting to heat up with two races this past weekend, the Cable Area Off Road Classic and the Spring Fling at Hillside Park in Elk River MN. Lars Ellefson raced the Mountain States cup#2 taking the win in Cat1 19-29 stxc and 4th place in the XC. Nice job!

Jake and Sam getting ready before the start at Cable.

Jake sprinting for 25th at Cable.

Sam after the finish, posting a solid 2nd place finish overall. On Sunday Sam hooked up with brother Eric to race at Hillside in Elk River. Erik took the win followed by Sam and Jack Hinkens. Trent Warner and Paul Cullen racing as well with Trent finishing 36th and Paul 28th.Eric out in front early at Spring Fling and staying there. Next up is the first Minnesota series race. Keep the wheels moving!

2010-05-10T18:53:00.001-07:00

Team member Eric Thompson was racing this past weekend at Collegiate Nationals in Madison, WI. Eric's dad John provides a recap of the crit:
Eric had arguably the best race of his life on Sat. night at the D1 crit. It was so exciting, I'll never forget it for as long as I live! With nine laps to go he bridged solo up to a two man break that had been off for two or three laps. He worked together with them to stay 10 to 15 seconds ahead of the field until three laps to go when they got caught. Eric attacked the field AGAIN at this moment and went clear stirring the spectators into a roar each lap he came through the start finish chicane ahead of the field. With one lap to go he still had five seconds on the field but they were well organized and closed him down just 300m from the line. Sooooooo close! Eric still hung on for 27th out of a field over 100, an impressive finish when he had absolutely nothing left in the tank. It's a bummer that his teammates couldn't help him disrupt the chase, but with an average speed of 28mph for the hour and hard racing the day before it was all they could do to sit in the pack. Eric's team took second in the overall omnium in a close battle. Collegiate racing is a lot of fun, next stop Truckee, CA, but before that the MNSCS and WORS races. Eric's revved to be coming home next week and will make it in time for the Inver Grove Heights race.
Eric diggin' and drillin' !!

Season Opener

2010-04-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

This past weekend the team opened up the season with a camp at Maplelag Resort and a short notice race on Sunday. It was great to see all the team members waving the flag and stretching the legs for the first race of they year. Great job to everyone in the first race. Trent Warner was down in Iowa racing at the Decorah time trials and recorded a top 25 finish out of 108 riders. Eric Thompson is racing collegiality on the road for a few more weeks and Lars Ellefson also competed in a road race near Durango, CO.

A fun season of racing and riding is on tap and was great to kick it off at the "home base". Keep the wheels moving!

New Team Riders

2010-03-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

Sam Oftedahl, Eric Thompson and Eric Oftedahl.

The Maplelag/Paramount team has added two more top level riders to the team this year, Eric and Sam Oftedahl. Highlights for the "O Bros" include Sam as the 2008 Overall Elite winner in the MNSCS and Eric most recently won the MN Cat 3 State Cyclocross Championships. Both riders finished in the top five Elite 2009 MNSCS. In addition to Eric Thompson, we are excited to add these riders to our team as not only solid riders but darn nice people.

We have also added the Matt and Andrea Horner family to the team this year. Jordan, Taylor, Devon and Wyatt make up the rest of the family and represent family grass roots racing to a T, all part of the image the team seeks to represent. We look forward to a great season with all the new riders and returning members.

2009-12-17T19:58:00.000-08:00

We are excited to announce the addition of Eric Thompson to the Maplelag/Paramount team. Eric raced his first race in the new team kit at US Cross Natz this past weekend in Bend Oregon in the U23 race, placing a solid 11th. Eric also raced in the Collegiate race and recorded a 5th place finish. Nicely done Eric! Glad to have you on the team.

2009-10-02T08:09:00.000-07:00

The race season is winding down with the final race in the MNSCS last weekend. It was a great season for the first year with some great results. A few of the highlights the end of the season include Steve Wenzel completing the Leadville 100 race won by Lance Armstrong, Paul Cullen taken the Sport win at Spirit Mountain MNSCS race, Jake Richards defending his title in the Chequemegon Short and Fat, Trent Warner battling for the top spot at St Cloud MNSCS en route to second and the Maplelag/Paramount Sport team taking third place overall in the team competetion to name a few. Results are great, for sure, but being a good representative on the bike is just as important and thanks to everyone who waved the flag for the team in fine fashion this season. We would like to expand the team by a few riders next year, mainly in the Citizen class, and if you are interested, drop me an e-mail. jrichard@arvig.net. Still some great riding to be had this Fall and good luck to everyone on late season races including the cyclocross scene.

Jake Richards on the podium at Chequemegon.
Paul Cullen with team member Denny Barry at Spirit Mountain.

Jeremy Dirk moving up at Buck Hill.

Tony Schmitz racing in the short track at Laddies Loppet stage race.
Matt Wenzel hitting the first lakeside drop, Laddies Loppet xc.

Matt Engen start of Laddies Loppet XC, Sport race.

Team members Steve Wenzel and Matt Engen on fire tower hill in Chequemegon 40.

Trent Warner at St. Cloud.

2009-08-13T18:41:00.000-07:00

Can't believe it is mid August!! The season is nearing the latter part of the season but still lots of great events to take place including the stage race at Maplelag. A handful of team riders competed at US Nationals with the highlights being Lar's Super D National Championship (photo above) and the second place finish by Jake Richards in JR Super D. Trent Warner had a nice race in his age group as well coming in 7th. Steve Wenzel is competing in the big Leadville 100 this weekend and be sure to check his website for training in CO leading up to the big event. Great job to all the team members so far this season.

Keep the wheels moving!!

Jay Richards

Jake Richards

Trent Warner

Steve Wenzel

Matt Wenzel

Lars Ellefson

Jeremy Dirk

Tony Schmitz-Designed the kits!

Paul Cullen

Denny Barry
Matt Engen

Bjorn Adelsman