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!

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!

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

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

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.

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.

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.