From 80 riders in the first year to 1,582 participants in 2015, the Lutsen 99er mountain bike racing event has grown each year. The event, sponsored by the Lutsen Tofte Tourism Association, Visit Cook County and Life Time Fitness, offers different race options for different levels of riding experience.
An accidental conversation in July 2010 led to the start of the Lutsen 99er mountain bike race, said Mike Larson to the Cook County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, July 28.
Larson and Visit Cook County Director Linda Kratt came before the commissioners with an update on the tremendous success of the race(s).
When a friend who loves to race mountain bikes stopped by Larson’s business and asked him if there were any races held in the area, Larson told him no.
“Why not?” he was asked. “You have the trails and terrain here. The scenery is beautiful. Why don’t you have a race here?”
Good question, thought Larson. One month later that conversation led Larson, who is a member of the Lutsen Tofte Tourism Association (LTTA) to a brainstorming session with Visit Cook County, the county’s chief promoter of events and tourism. Both groups were excited about the prospects of establishing a new event, but, Larson added, “We realized that we needed help with the race, so we partnered with Life Time Fitness in October 2011.”
In 2011 the inaugural Lutsen 99er and Lutsen 39er mountain bike races were held on the rugged trails and gravel/dirt roads in and around Lutsen. A total of 80 riders came, rode, and went home, said Larson.
“We noticed riders didn’t stick around. They were happy with the race, but once it was done they left,” Larson said. “We decided to add a kids’ race for 2012 to make it more of a family event.”
Although it was an inauspicious start, the next year the race grew to 400 riders. The kids’ race drew 20-35 riders and it was considered a hit. Even though there was flooding in the area and the trails were in rough shape, Larson said participants were largely happy and talked about returning the next year. And boy did they, and new riders were added. The race grew to 1,200 riders with 100 to 125 kids entered in the Sunday mini- 9er bike race.
And this year? This year there were 1,582 participants. Riders came from 24 states and two countries. Larson said the first five years of growth exceeded the legendary Leadville 100 mountain bike race held in Colorado, and in a couple of years the race could pull in as many riders as the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival held from Cable to Hayward, Wisconsin every mid-September.
Next year, said Larson, the goal will be to control the number of participants, maybe limiting the field to an additional 300 more riders. Growing too fast can hurt a race as much as not growing a race at all, he said.
And, Larson said, there is a plan to add another race, a 69-mile event to go along with the three other competitions.
“The gap between the 39-mile and 99-mile race is a big jump both mentally and physically for a lot of riders,” he said. “The 69er will bridge that gap.”
The marriage between the LTTA, Visit Cook County, and Life Time Fitness has been good for all parties, he said.
“Cook County provides the ground support for the races and Life Time Fitness promotes the race,” Larson said. “Visit Cook County and the LTTA provided funds so we could hire Adam Harju as the race coordinator and it should be noted that Adam has been very instrumental in the success of the race.”
Life Time Fitness provides $100,000 in services, providing registration and race timing, web based management, marketing and in-house design and logistics, said Larson.
Kratt talked about the collaboration between Visit Cook County and the entities involved with the race. She said Visit Cook County provided a map with area businesses on it and distributed it to the riders and their families. After the race she said she had to place only one call and the course was swept and cleaned.
While the full economic benefit to the county hasn’t been determined, Larson said each rider brings “2.1 people with him or her—don’t ask me to explain who the .1 person is,” he said with a laugh.
“Families that come to support riders also stay an average of three days, helping to fill restaurants, hotels, lodges and stores.
“The 99er event serves to put Cook County on the map as a year-round destination. In other words, this is not all about the event itself—it’s about creating new opportunities for local lodging and area businesses during all times of the year,” Larson said.
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