Tag Archives: MN High School Cycling League

Bike Pic March 02, fond summer memories this spring-like weekend

This bike pic Saturday, brings back fond summer memories as this young biker chick demonstrates the fun of shredding the trail.

So adjust to the warmer temps and get into the zone when continuing your time outdoors and your #NextBikeAdventure. View all the great ideas and bike destinations in the latest Iowa or Minnesota Bike/Hike Guide. Then plan your next outing with family and friends, and check out more stories at Let’s Do MN.

Thanks for viewing today’s bike pic

Now rolling through our 20th year as a bike tourism media, enjoy! As we pedal forward, we aim to encourage more people to bike and have fun while highlighting all the unforgettable places you can ride. As we continue to showcase more places to have fun, we hope the photos we shoot are worth a grin. Enjoy the information and stories we have posted as you scroll through.

Do you have a fun bicycle-related photo of yourself or someone you may know we should post? If so, please send your picture(s) to [email protected]. Please Include a brief caption for the image, who shot it, and where. Photo(s) sent to us should be a minimum of 1,000 pixels wide to be considered. You will receive photo credit and acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram if we use your photo.

As we continue encouraging more people to bike, please view our Destination section at HaveFunBiking.com for your #NextBikeAdventure. Also, check out the MN Bike Guide, now mobile-friendly in our 15th year of producing this handy information booklet full of maps.

Bookmark HaveFunBiking.com on your cell phone and find your next adventure at your fingertips! Please share our pics with your friends, and don’t forget to smile. With one of our cameras ready to document your next cameo appearance while you are riding and having fun, we may be around the corner. You could be in one of our next Pic of the Day.

Have fun as we pedal into 2024!

Here in this bike pic, we captured this young biker dude having fun pedaling down the trail ready for the Minnesota High School Cycling Leagues Race #4, up at Detroit Lakes, MN this Sunday. 

Bike Pic Sept 9, ready for High School Race #2 at Lake Rebecca

In this bike pic, we captured this young biker dude having fun pedaling down the trail, ready for the Minnesota High School Cycling Leagues Race #2, up at Lake Rebecca near Rockford, MN, this Saturday and Sunday.  See our recap article of Race #1in Shindlers Way Park, Austin, MN. Rochester on August 26 – 27.

So, get into the zone when continuing your time outdoors and your #NextBikeAdventure. View all the great ideas and bike destinations in the latest Iowa or Minnesota Bike/Hike Guide. Then plan your next outing with family and friends, and check out more stories at Let’s Do MN.

Thanks for viewing our latest bike pic

Now rolling through our 19th year as a bike tourism media, enjoy! As we pedal forward, we aim to encourage more people to bike and have fun while highlighting all the unforgettable places you can ride. As we continue to showcase more places to have fun, we hope the photos we shoot are worth a grin. Enjoy the information and stories we have posted as you scroll through.

Do you have a fun bicycle-related photo of yourself or someone you may know we should post? If so, please send your picture(s) to [email protected]. Please Include a brief caption for the image, who shot it, and where. Photo(s) sent to us should be a minimum of 1,000 pixels wide to be considered. You will receive photo credit and acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram if we use your photo.

As we continue encouraging more people to bike, please view our Destination section at HaveFunBiking.com for your #NextBikeAdventure. Also, check out the MN Bike Guide, now mobile-friendly in our 14th year of producing this handy information booklet full of maps.

Bookmark HaveFunBiking.com on your cell phone and find your next adventure at your fingertips! Please share our pics with your friends, and don’t forget to smile. With one of our cameras ready to document your next cameo appearance while you are riding and having fun, we may be around the corner. You could be in one of our next Pic of the Day.

Have a great day with a safe and memorable summer!

In this Bike pic mountain biking out ahead of mom at Penn Cycle's Thursday Night at the Races, on Buck Hill. Photo taken near Lakeville, MN.

Bike Pic Aug 15, fun mountain biking out ahead of mom

This bike pic Tuesday, we found this mountain biking chick out ahead of Mom at Buck Hill, near Lakeville, MN.

So, get into the zone when continuing your time outdoors and your #NextBikeAdventure. View all the great ideas and bike destinations in the latest Iowa or Minnesota Bike/Hike Guide. Then plan your next outing with family and friends, and check out more stories at Let’s Do MN.

Thanks for viewing our latest bike pic

Now rolling through our 19th year as a bike tourism media, enjoy! As we pedal forward, we aim to encourage more people to bike and have fun while highlighting all the unforgettable places you can ride. As we continue to showcase more places to have fun, we hope the photos we shoot are worth a grin. Enjoy the information and stories we have posted as you scroll through.

Do you have a fun bicycle-related photo of yourself or someone you may know we should post? If so, please send your picture(s) to [email protected]. Please Include a brief caption for the image, who shot it, and where. Photo(s) sent to us should be a minimum of 1,000 pixels wide to be considered. You will receive photo credit and acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram if we use your photo.

As we continue encouraging more people to bike, please view our Destination section at HaveFunBiking.com for your #NextBikeAdventure. Also, check out the MN Bike Guide, now mobile-friendly, as we enter our 14th year of producing this handy information booklet full of maps.

Bookmark HaveFunBiking.com on your cell phone and find your next adventure at your fingertips! Please share our pics with your friends, and don’t forget to smile. With one of our cameras ready to document your next cameo appearance while you are riding and having fun, we may be around the corner. You could be in one of our next Pic of the Day.

Have a great day with a safe and memorable summer!

Bike Pic Oct 15, yeah it’s Friday time to for some fat bike fun

This bike pic Friday, a cool blustery day with snow to our north, it’s time to dig out the fat bike for some fun. Here we caught this biker dude getting ready with his fat bike to act as a trail official of the Minnesota High School Cycling League, for the last race next weekend at Mount Kato.

Get into the zone when continuing your time outdoors and your #NextBikeAdventure. View all the great ideas and bike destinations in the latest Iowa or Minnesota Bike/Hike Guide. Then plan your next outing with family and friends in one of Minnesota’s HaveFunBiking Destinations. An now, check out more stories at Let’s Do MN.

Thanks for viewing our latest bike pic  

Now rolling through our 16th year as a bike tourism media, enjoy! As we pedal forward, our goal is to encourage more people to bike and have fun while highlighting all the unforgettable places for you to ride. As we continue to showcase more places to have fun, we hope the photos we shoot are worth a grin. Enjoy the information and stories we have posted as you scroll through.

Do you have a fun bicycle-related photo of yourself or someone you may know we should post? If so, please send your picture(s) to [email protected]. Include a brief caption (for each) of who is in the photo (if you know) and where the pic was shot? Photo(s) should be a minimum of 1,000 pixels wide or larger to be considered. If we use your photo, you will receive photo credit and acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram.

As we continue to encourage more people to bike, please view our Destination section at HaveFunBiking.com for your #NextBikeAdventure. Also, check out the MN Bike Guide, now mobile-friendly as we enter into our 13th year of producing this handy information booklet full of maps.

Remember, bookmark HaveFunBiking.com on your cell phone and find your next adventure at your fingertips! Please share our pics with your friends, and don’t forget to smile. We may be around the corner with one of our cameras ready to document your next cameo appearance while you are riding and having fun. You could be in one of our next Pic of the Day.

Have a great day with a safe, memorable 2021!

Minnesota High School MTB races challenged by Mother Nature

After a successful MN MTB League Race #1 in Austin, MN, the last week of August. Races #2 and #3 of the Minnesota High School Cycling League were challenged by Mother Nature with wet weather, cancellations and a shorter race track. As racers and spectators arrived at Lake Rebecca, near Rockford, MN for Race Weekend #2 on September 7th the rain arrived soon after. But, even with damp and soggy race conditions, the racing excitement stayed strong for the day. With strong rains pounding the area through the evening, Sunday races had to be canceled. The following weekend rainy weather returned to haunt Race #3. But the community had a couple of tricks to keep the race running and stay-off another cancellation.

Race #2 photos by Todd Bauer and David Markman

MN MTB races, weekend #2

On Sat. Sept. 7, in-between light rain showers, 42 teams prepped their middle school racers for racing at Lake Rebecca. For some of these teams, this was their first race, due to a 2019 bye week system designed to manage field sizes.

Race #2 photos by Todd Bauer and David Markman

In between raindrops, the 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade racers were able to test their skills on the fast and flowing tracks at Lake Rebecca. But, the weather was not as kind for the high school racers.

Racing Sunday was canceled due to heavy rain

Due to continual heavy rain in the early morning on Sunday, Sept. 8, concerns of rider safety and trail damage were evaluated. A joint decision between Three Rivers Park District and Minnesota High School Cycling League was made to cancel the high school races.

“Everyone did an amazing job helping to tear down the venue, racecourse, and team tents after the cancellation,” said Josh Kleve, Executive Director for the MN High School Cycling League. “Granted no one wanted to cancel the races, but everyone knew, in the interest of safety, it was the right decision to cancel the high school races.” Click here for more Race #2 results.

Racers avoided another cancellation on Sunday of Race #3 by using a short crit course. photos Todd Bauer and David Markman

Race #3 highlights

A couple of weeks ago, starting on Saturday, September 14th, half of the 63 MN League teams (due to the bye-weeks) headed to Western WI for a full weekend of mountain bike racing at Summit Lake Farms in Stone Lake, WI. In addition to the races on Saturday and Sunday, some of the racers also took part in the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival, held in the Cable/Hayward area on Sat., Sept. 14.

At the Chequamegon Short and Fat event

The podium was filled with Minnesota League racers. Braeden Anderson, Crosby-Ironton, took overall first place and Zoe Camp, Southwest Mpls., was the first female across the line! Team jerseys from Prior Lake, Highland Park, Hopkins, Washburn, New Prague, Edina, and Blake/Breck were just a few of the teams which had racers competing at the event. Even the race announcers commented on the number of high school racers at the event and thanked the efforts of National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) to help get young kids involved in the sport.

Middle school racers got underway at Summit Lake Farm

Race #,3, photos Todd Bauer and David Markman

As the racing excitement wrapped up at Fat Tire race in Cable, middle school racers got underway at Summit Lake Farm. However, only the 6th – 8th-grade girls and 6th-grade boys were able to get their races in before the weather turned. After consulting with the team coaches, and evaluating the larger storm moving in, it was decided that out of the safety of the student-athletes, volunteers, coaches and spectators and to not damage the trail, the remaining races would be postponed until Sunday.

Sun. Sept. 15 – Heavy rain and wet trails led to a race format change

After a torrential rainstorm that evening, a review of the racecourse the following morning left race officials and coaches with a choice, cancel the high school races or shorten the course and run a crit race with marathon timing. It was decided to try the new race format and let the racers compete. So, instead of a cross-country race, racers were challenged to see how many laps, on a shortened course, they could complete in 30 minutes.

The high school races were on! With not a drop of rain in the sky and the sun shining, all of the high school racing categories were run in the new race format. Coaches, racers and spectators were supportive of the efforts to ensure the kids were able to race. Click here for more Race #3 results.

Tipping the race helmets to salute the community

“Big thank you again to our community for their support and help to avoid canceling the race completely,” said Josh Kleve, Executive Director for the MN High School Cycling League. “We are grateful to all the coaches and volunteers that stepped up today and helped us to continue the race day with a modified program. It was great to see people camping all weekend and enjoying the new venue despite the damp weather.”

A crit course was a success. Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

The MN League is the sanctioned NICA organization of mountain bike racing for middle school and high school-aged student-athletes, since 2012. View the full schedule of racing for the 2019 season.

About the Minnesota High School Cycling League

The Minnesota High School Cycling League is a state-wide independent activity provider for student-athletes in 6th to 12th grade. Their mission is to build strong minds, bodies, character, and communities through cycling, regardless of ability level. Each MN League season includes summer programs, a seven-race series, wilderness first aid certification courses and a Spring Leaders’ Summit for training and certification of coaches. The MN League exists by virtue of a range of fundraising activities, as well as generous donors, and MN League sponsors. For more information on the MN League, visit minnesotamtb.org.

The MN HS League headed to Southern MN for Race 3# of the season. Battling high temps and dusty wind gusts, September 16, mountain bike racers from across the state arrived in Gamehaven to test their skills in the third race of a seven-race series.

First MN HS Cycling League race in Austin, and more to come

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Freshman Boys D1 | Wyatt Peterson, Burnsville | Mt. Kato 2018 | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

Freshman Boys  Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

 

With the eighth season of the HS Cycling League race, the series started off at Schindler’s Way Trail, in Todd Park. The first race, of the series, had 798 racers from across Minnesota and Western WI. This is just a portion of the total number of racers from the MN League. With a 30% average growth each year in racers and families in the league, a bye-week schedule was added to manage field sizes. As a result, instead of all 63 teams competing, 45 teams from across the state of MN arrived in Austin to put their skills to the test in the first race of the season. View the Bye-Week Schedule for 2019.

Changes to the League Race schedule a success

The Minnesota League moved from holding all of their races in one day to a two-day race weekend. This additional day of racing allowed middle school racers to compete on Saturday and high school racers to have a full day of racing on Sunday. Racers, coaches, and spectators all shared their overwhelming positive reactions to the schedule change.

Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

 

6th-Graders added to Middle School Racing

The move to a two-day racing schedule also allowed the League to add in 6th graders to middle school racing. In the first race of the season, there were almost 300 middle school boys and girls who competed in their first race.

Race #1 results 

Individual and team results are now posted to the minnesotamtb.org site:

Race 1 – Austin Schindlers Trail Way – Aug 24-25, 2019

Race-1-Austin-MS-Individual-Results-2019

Race-1-Austin-HS-Individual-Results-2019

Race 1 Austin MS Team Results 2019

Race 1-Austin HS Team Results 2019

Austin Skills Challenge

Race #2 weekend  timeline at Rockford, MN

Racing action continues on Sat. Sept. 7 and Sun. Sept. 8 at Lake Rebecca in Rockford, MN. View Race Flyer

Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

The MN League is the sanctioned NICA organization of mountain bike racing for middle school and high school-aged student-athletes, since 2012. View the full schedule of racing for the 2019 season.

About the Minnesota High School Cycling League

The Minnesota High School Cycling League is a state-wide independent activity provider for student-athletes in 6th to 12th grade. Their mission is to build strong minds, bodies, character, and communities through cycling, regardless of ability level. Each MN League season includes summer programs, a seven-race series, wilderness first aid certification courses and a Spring Leaders’ Summit for training and certification of coaches. The MN League exists by virtue of a range of fundraising activities, as well as generous donors, and MN League sponsors. For more information on the MN League, visit minnesotamtb.org.

MN HS Cycling League begins its 2019 race season in Austin, MN

The MN High School Cycling League returns to Austin, MN this Saturday and Sunday (August 24-25) for an action-packed weekend of mountain bike racing. This will kick off the 2019 racing season for almost 2,000 middle school and high school students throughout Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.

Freshman Boys D1 | Wyatt Peterson, Burnsville | Mt. Kato 2018 | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

Freshman Boys D1 | Wyatt Peterson, Burnsville | Mt. Kato 2018 | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

Cycling League season highlights

Get ready Minnesota – a new race venue will be added for the Sept. 14-15 race. Each year, the MN League moves their race weekends to different venues across the state. This brings the sport to different locations around the region and to offer new and exciting race opportunities for the students. This year, the League is thrilled to be a part of the Chequamegon Festival the weekend of Sept. 14 and Sept. 15. Working with a variety of partners, including the Chequamegon Festival, a new trail has been built near Stone Lake, WI (Summit Lake Game Farm) that will become an exciting race venue for years to come – and a new mountain bike trail for people to ride and enjoy year-round. A special thanks to Tom Gujer and Chad McDonald for their help to make this trail happen!

Growing Interest and demand for younger mountain bike racers

They are all ready for challenge in Mankato at Mt. Kato.

They are all ready for a challenge. Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

As the interest in mountain bike racing has grown across the region there is also an increasing number of younger students interested in riding and racing with the MN League. To accommodate this demand, each MN League team has been given the option of adding in 6th-graders to their middle-school teams. They are thrilled to announce that there are over 160 sixth graders already signed up!

Schedule moves to two-day race weekends to accommodate growth

Due to a 30% growth in teams and racers, the MN League has adjusted their races from one day to a two-day racing schedule weekend for each scheduled race. Middle school racers will compete on Saturdays and high school racers will compete on Sundays.

“Last year, due to required race day schedule changes, we had to remove Sunday pre-ride time – this year, we were determined to find a way to bring back the ability for student-athletes to pre-ride and race on the same day,” said Josh Kleve, MN League Director, and Co-Founder. “By shifting the middle school to Saturday, this enabled us to add 6th grade, a long-requested addition, and spread the races out providing a more enjoyable experience for all of our middle school and high school student-athletes.”

Race Weekend Timeline at Austin, MN – Race #1

Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

For race #1 a full weekend is lined up at Schindler’s Way Trail near Todd Park, in Austin, MN. This Saturday, August 24th the middle school racers (6th, 7th, and 8th grade) will kick off the weekend schedule at 1 pm, with the last race of the day starting at 3:40 pm. Racing will resume on Sunday. August. 25th, with high-school racers starting at 9:30 am and wrapping up with the last race of the day starting at 3 pm.

With over 70 teams registered, the MN League has implemented a bye-week schedule to balance the riders across the venues. See the teams competing in Austin, MN.

For a full weekend #1 schedule of race start times, review the Austin Race Flyer.

The MN League is the sanctioned NICA organization of mountain bike racing for middle school and high school-aged student-athletes, since 2012. View the full schedule of racing for the 2019 season.

About the Minnesota High School Cycling League

The Minnesota High School Cycling League is a state-wide independent activity provider for student-athletes in 6th to 12th grade. Their mission is to build strong minds, bodies, character, and communities through cycling, regardless of ability level. Each MN League season includes summer programs, a seven-race series, wilderness first aid certification courses and a Spring Leaders’ Summit for training and certification of coaches. The MN League exists by virtue of a range of fundraising activities, as well as generous donors, and MN League sponsors. For more information on the MN League, visit minnesotamtb.org.

Cycling League JV2 Girls | Izzy Rasmusen #551, Alexandria Area | Mt. Kato 2018

MN HS Cycling League celebrates its sixth year with many honors

by Libby Hurley, MN High School Cycling League

Over 2,500+ people attended the MN High School Cycling Leagues annual Year-End Ceremony at Northrup Auditorium, on. Fri. Nov. 9, to celebrate and reflect on an amazing and historic season. Since 2012, when the MN League launched, each year, strategic changes or additions have been made to move the MN League forward to getting #morekidsonbikes.

Cycling League medals and trophies for 2018 | Northrup Auditorium | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

Cycling League medals and trophies for 2018 | Northrup Auditorium | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

Over the years, they have added races to the schedule, included middle school aged riders to the program, introduced a bye-week schedule and moved to ability-based racing. For 2018, they piloted the Giant Bicycles Dirt School Spring Riding Program, created divisions in middle school, added the Framed Bike Skills Challenge event and added an additional race date and bye-week to the schedule. As the MN League grows in size, schedule and program changes are done to accommodate and accelerate this growth.

In 2018, ending the season in Mankato with almost 1,600 riders, the MN Cycling League became the second largest mountain bike league in the nation. With over 25 NICA leagues across the nation, MN is part of a growing movement with the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA).

The MN League has become more than a racing program, it has become a youth development program. Each year the MN League adds hundreds of new student-athletes, coaches, volunteers, and spectators. Who’s ready for 2019?

Cycling League highlights and overall season results

Jaden Neimeyer, Hutchinson | One of the 2018 Student Athlete Speakers | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

Jaden Neimeyer, Hutchinson | One of the 2018 Student-Athlete Speakers | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

To celebrate the accomplishments of all, each year, four students are selected to offer their thoughts and thanks to coaches, volunteers, parents, and their fellow teammates. This year, Jaden Neimeyer, from Hutchinson offered his thoughts on volunteers, Olivia Fox from Wayzata expounded on the impact of the coaches, Grant Hietpas from Stillwater thanked all of the parents, and Vladimir Lind from Burnsville shared his positive reactions from being part of the MN mountain bike community.

As the crowd clapped and cheered for these four amazing students, the lights dimmed in preparation for the season-ending video from Todd Bauer at tmbimages.com.

Watch Video on Vimeo

New race locations and program changes for 2019

Josh Kleve, Executive Director for the MN Cycling League | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

Josh Kleve, Executive Director for the MN Cycling League | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

The 2019 race schedule of the MN Cycling League was well received by the entire audience. As the dates and locations were announced, cheers erupted from the crowd.

The new race location, just south of Hayward, WI, brought on the largest reaction. In 2019, the MN League will hold their own race during the Fat Tire Festival Weekend. More details on this race are coming, but it will be separate from the Short and Fat race.

2019 Race Dates and Locations

* Aug. 24/25 – Schindler’s Way Trail, Austin, MN
* Sept. 7/8 – Lake Rebecca, Rockford, MN
* Sept. 14/15 – Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival, near Hayward, WI
* Sept. 28/29 – Whitetail Ridge, River Falls, WI
* Oct. 5/6 – Detroit Mountain, Detroit Lakes, MN
* Oct. 12/13 – Spirit Mt., Duluth, MN
* Oct. 26/27 – Mt. Kato, Mankato, MN

6th-graders added to the middle school program

Exciting changes to the program include the addition of 6th-grade riders to the middle school program and instead of having one day of racing, the MN League is moving to a two-day race weekend which will allow a pre-ride of the course on both Saturday and Sunday. Middle school races will be held on Saturdays and High school races will be held on Sundays.

Watch for more details on these exciting changes.

Special acknowledgment – Coach/Asst. Coach of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Racers with Heart and the Jeff Robertson Award

Mike Busch, Mankato - Coach of the Year | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

Mike Busch, Mankato – Coach of the Year | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

The MN League respects their student-athletes and acknowledges their efforts to achieve a podium spot, however, the MN League takes this evening to celebrate a number of people who might not achieve a podium spot and their actions have set examples for others through their courage, determination, leadership or sportsmanship.

“I always look forward to this event,” said Josh Kleve, Executive Director of the MN League. “This is the last opportunity of the year for our community to come together, share stories, give thanks and pay respects to a few key people whose contributions are significant to the success of our league. This is their time on the podium.”

▪ Coach of the Year: Mike Busch, Mankato
▪ Asst. Coach of the Year: Ryan Erspamer, Duluth
▪ Volunteer of the Year: Eric Larson, Duluth
▪ Male Racer with Heart – Ian Hase, White Bear Lake
▪ Female Racer with Heart – Zoey Sheedy, Rochester
▪ Jeff Robertson Award – Todd Bauer, MN League Core Staff

OVERALL SEASON RESULTS

Congratulations to all! | Northrup Auditorium 2018

Congratulations to all! | Northrup Auditorium 2018

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

Congratulations to all on a successful season!

Final overall individual results are now posted to the website.
Full Individual results for Varsity, JV2, JV3, Freshman and Middle School.
View Full Results

TEAM RESULTS

High School D1 Team Results:
1. Stillwater
2. Edina
3. Southwest Mpls

High School D2 Team Results:
1. Crosby-Ironton
2. Highland Park
3. Chaska

Middle School D1 Team Results:
1. Stillwater
2. Prior Lake
3. Washburn

Middle School D2 Team Results:
1. Rochester Composite
2. Alexandria Area
3. New Prague

Final overall team results are now posted to the website.
Full Team results for D1 and D2.
View Full Results

EVENT AND RACE PHOTOS
View Photos. Photo Credit: Todd Bauer and David Markman – MN League Official Photographers.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Please take a minute to review our list of local and national sponsors. With their support, we are able to offer our youth development programs. When considering a purchase, be sure to visit and thank our sponsors for their support. Please encourage them to continue supporting the MN League and our student-athletes.

VIEW ALL MN LEAGUE AND NATIONAL NICA SPONSORS

minnesota-email-footer-2018

MN HS Cycling League JV2 Girls | Izzy Rasmusen #551, Alexandria Area | Mt. Kato 2018 | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

Highlights to the MN HS Cycling League championship race in Mankato

by Libby Hurley, MN HS Cycling League /Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

For the fourth consecutive year, the MN High School Cycling League headed back to Mt. Kato, for Race #7. This State championship race was held in Mankato, MN on Saturday, October 27 and Sunday, October 28, 2018. A favorite course for many young racers, the location, and venue easily accommodated the 3,500+ racers and spectators that attended the event.

Freshman Boys D1 | Wyatt Peterson, Burnsville | Mt. Kato 2018 | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

Freshman Boys D1 | Wyatt Peterson, Burnsville | Mt. Kato 2018 | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

MN HS Cycling League highlights

For two days, over 1,200 racers from 64 teams across the state of Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota. South Dakota and Western Wisconsin came together to compete in the final MN HS Cycling League race of the 2018 season.

Since there was a bye-week schedule in place for the season, each of the six previous races had a reduced number of teams competing, resulting in less impact to the event venues and students were able to compete against different racers. But, at this race event, all of the MN League teams were able to compete in one race; resulting in the largest MN League race to date.

Freshman Girls | Victoria Voss, Rochester | Mt. Kato 2018 | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

Freshman Girls | Victoria Voss, Rochester | Mt. Kato 2018 | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

As the team tents went up on Friday evening, the race course and community came together. People were laughing, dogs were barking, cheers of encouragement were heard along with excited voices shouting out greetings – the MN League race venue had arrived in Mankato for two days of action-packed mountain bike racing and not a speck of snow in the forecast.

This year, the weather cooperated, two days of brisk, bright days made for an amazing race weekend. Against a backdrop of brilliant fall colors, racers wound their way up the mountain, and then into the wooded singletrack, to complete a lap in the just under 4-mile course. Based on a rider’s skill level, the number of laps increases, with varsity riders completing four laps or 16-miles.

As the last race of the season, and for many seniors, the last race of their high school careers, the finish line was filled with cheering spectators and close finishes, but there were also tears and hugs, as competitors shook hands one last time.

Thank you to the folks at Mt. Kato for their support before and during the race. And, thanks to the team members and volunteers from the Mankato Composite team for their gracious hosting of our core staff dinner on Friday night and their volunteer efforts before and during the race.

Get ready Minnesota – racing will be back soon. Watch for news regarding the 2019 racing schedule, later this month.

JV2 Girls | Izzy Rasmusen #551, Alexandria Area | Mt. Kato 2018

JV2 Girls | Izzy Rasmusen #551, Alexandria Area | Mt. Kato 2018

MN HS Cycling League race #7 – Results and more photos

FULL RACE RESULTS
View Full Results

RACE DAY PHOTOS
View Race Photos. Photo Credit: Todd Bauer and David Markman – MN League Official Photographers.

LOCAL NEWS COVERAGE
Kristine Goodrich, covered the event for Mankato Free Press. View News Story

KEYC, a local Mankato television station covered the event. View News Story

HALLOWEEN FUN

Since it was Halloween weekend; amidst the cheering fans, there were a few interesting characters: a life-size banana, an elephant, Yeti, a giraffe and even a zebra! Tutus were out, tiaras were on helmets and there was even a racer that went by in a full bear costume.

RACE RESULTS

Freshman Boys D2 | Owen Skroch, St. Croix Composite | Mt. Kato 2018 | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

Freshman Boys D2 | Owen Skroch, St. Croix Composite | Mt. Kato 2018 | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

In the Middle School D1 race, Stillwater and Prior Lake almost tied for first place, with a difference of three points. Stillwater secured the first place over Prior Lake and Washburn took home the third place trophy.

In the D2 Middle School Team competition, Rochester decisively took the first place trophy over Alexandria Area with Mankato taking third place.

Varsity Riders from SW Mpls, Hopkins and Stillwater at the finish line | Mt. Kato 2018 | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

Varsity Riders from SW Mpls, Hopkins and Stillwater at the finish line | Mt. Kato 2018 | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

In the High School Team Competition, Division 1: Stillwater with podium wins in over 5 categories, took home the first place trophy, with Edina High School securing second place. Southwest Mpls was close behind to take third place. Division 2: Crosby-Ironton High School beat out Highland Park for the first place trophy. Chaska took the 3rd place trophy.

Season overall winners will be announced at the Year End Ceremony on Fri. Nov. 9 at Northrup Auditorium in Minneapolis, MN. Details

About the Minnesota High School Cycling League 

The Minnesota High School Cycling League is a state-wide independent activity provider for student-athletes in 7th to 12th grade. Our mission is to build strong bodies, strong minds, and strong character through cycling, regardless of ability level. Each MN League season includes summer programs, a seven-race series, wilderness first aid certification courses and a Spring Leaders’ Summit for training and certification of coaches. The MN League exists by virtue of a range of fundraising activities, as well as generous donors, and MN League and NICA national sponsors. For more information on the MN League, visit minnesotamtb.org.

Jv2 Boys | Detroit Mountain 2018 | Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

MTN Bike Race will draw over 1,500 student racers to the Mankato 

From the MN High School Cycling League Race Report

The Minnesota High School Cycling League is heading into its State Championship Race, in Mankato MN, this coming next weekend. The final race of the season will draw over 1,500 racers from 63 teams to the picturesque Minnesota River Valley Area for the final race of a seven-race series. This will be the largest race of the MN HS Cycling League since its inception in 2012.

The MN High School Championship Race is this coming weekend

They are all ready for challenge in Mankato at Mt. Kato.

They are all ready for the challenge at Mt. Kato, in Mankato. Photo Credit: tmbimages.com

The final event will be held over two days, Oct 27 – 28,  at Mt. Kato Ski area, in Mankato. This Minnesota League State Championship Race is the culmination of a seven-race series for over 1,500 mountain bike racers across MN, Western WI and parts of ND and SD.

With a bye-week schedule in place through the season. Each race previously held this year had a reduced number of teams competing. This resulted in less impact to the event venues and students were able to compete against different racers. View Bye-Week Schedule.

But, at the last race of the season, all of the MN League teams will be competing together. It will truly be a state championship race!

“This is the one time per year that we have an opportunity for all student-athletes to race together. Very few venues will accommodate over 1,500 student-athletes for two days of racing and the subsequent coaches, spectators and parents cheering everyone on,” said Josh Kleve, MN League Director. “This is undoubtedly my favorite event of the year to watch!”

Championship Race Details

Get ready for two days of racing action! That’s right. We need two full days of racing since we have 63 teams competing at the Season Championship race. Review the Race Flyer for the full race schedule and details.

Learn more

If you would like to participate or volunteer check out the Leagues web site:   www.minnesotamtb.org/