Above: The real work began for the Le Grand du Nord racers when they came off the tar of Highway 61 and pedaled up the gravel Lindskog Road. Right: In the 50-mile race Will Surbaugh finished 11th. Middle right: John Alt placed 7th. Far right: Tim Lederle finished 14th.
Cool temperatures, intermittent rain and patchy fog greeted almost 200 mountain bikers as they lined up near the Coast Guard station in Grand Marais for the start of the first annual Le Grand du Nord Gravel Cycling Classic mountain bike race Saturday, May 28.
For Cook County Administrator Jeff Cadwell it was a special weekend. He placed 44th in the 50-mile race and got married on Sunday. When asked if he was sore after the race Cadwell, who was volunteering at the YMCA as a lifeguard on Tuesday evening, smiled and replied, “No, not one bit. It was a fun race, a great weekend for me.”
Three local riders who normally finish at the front of the pack opted to “race” to the rear in the 50-mile race. Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux, Anton Moody and Adam Harju decided to take it easy and stayed at the back of the pack, taking a leisurely ride. “It was really enjoyable. We took it easy and had a good time,” said Arrowsmith DeCoux.
Riders were split into two groups, those who pedaled 50 miles and those who tackled the tougher 100-mile course, much of it ridden on gravel roads.
The race was organized by Heck of the North Productions of Duluth.
Jeremy Kershaw, the event organizer, is also behind two other gravel grinding races, the Heck Epic, which is a two-day 220-mile ride that routes racers from Two Harbors to Ely and back, and the 100-mile Heck of the North and Half of the Heck race that start and finish in Two Harbors.
Along the way in the Cook County race, participants climbed over 6,000 feet while they traversed some of Cook County’s most scenic back roads.
All riders had to carry water (or some kind of hydro replacement drink) with them and repair tools, tubes, an accurate odometer and a pump. Riders could lend a hand to each other, but no outside support was allowed. Mostly, riders were responsible for themselves because there were no shuttle services for breakdowns or dropouts.
Nick Vetter, age 32, of Minneapolis placed first in the 100- mile race with a time of 5:37:10. Shanie Hahn of Duluth was the top women’s finisher with her 23rd overall place in a time of 7:03:36. She finished just ahead of her close friend, Jim Joynes, of Duluth/ Grand Marais, who was 3 seconds back.
With his 10th-place finish John Praxmarer of Grand Marais led all locals across the line. John’s time was 6:21:03. Other local finishers and their time and place include: Mark Barret, Lutsen, 16th, 6:38:9; Buck Benson, Grand Marais, 31st, 7:28:47; Scott Bergstrom, Grand Marais, 41st, 7:48:02; and Mike Larson, Lutsen, 47th in 8:02:34.
50-milers competitive
Ben Wizner of Onalaska, Wisconsin placed first in the 50-mile race with a time of 2:47:22. Lisa Krayer of North-Freedom, Wisconsin led the women with her excellent third place overall finish in 2:54:22.
John Alt of Grand Marais was the top local in 7th place with a time of 3:11:44. Tom Rider, Lutsen, was 9th in 3:15:59; Will Surbaugh, Grand Marais, placed 11th in 3:17:20; Tim Lederle, Grand Marais, was 14th in 3:30:01; Jennifer Barrett, Lutsen placed 15th in 3:21:56; Jana Larson, Lutsen, placed 21st in 3:32:01; April Wahlstrom, Grand Marais, placed 31st in 3:3:32; Lee Bergstrom, Grand Marais, placed 36th in 3:49:20; Jeff Cadwell, Grand Marais, placed 44th in 3:57:05; Kelly Twiest, Grand Marais, placed 53rd in 4:06:56; Michael Garry, Grand Marais, placed 54th in 4:07:41; Lynne Wiitala, Tofte, placed 56th in 4:09:24; Carl Foster, Grand Marais, placed 71st in 4:13:48; Tim Kennedy, Grand Marais, placed 73rd in 4:14:25; Max Wahlers, Grand Marais, placed 79th in 4:18:4; Katheryn Ramberg, Grand Marais, placed 80th in 4:18:34; Steve Surbaugh, Grand Marais, placed 85th in 4:26:18; Jessica Barr, Grand Portage, placed 92nd in 4:46:11; Travis Novitsky, Grand Portage, placed 93rd in 4:46:18; Molly O’Neil Wickwire of Lutsen placed 95th in 4:53:58; Adam Harju of Grand Marais placed 100th in 5:09:15; Anton Moody of Grand Marais placed 101st in 5:09:15; Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux of Grand Marais placed 102nd in 5:09:20; John Twiest of Grand Marais placed 103rd in 5:09:29; and Randy Wiitala of Tofte placed 109th in 6:22:49.
Both races ended at the Cook County Community YMCA and an awards ceremony followed at Voyageur Brewing Company.
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