An excellent field of riders turned out for last Saturday’s Sawtooth Mountain Challenge held on the Pincushion single-track trails. Up top, far left to right, local mountain bike racers Max Wahlers, John Alt and Max Paximarer competed in the 25-mile race while Reilly Wahlers rode in the 16-mile race. Wahlers finished second in the women’s field while Paximarer finished third in the men’s Expert category. Event coordinator Jay Arrowsmith-DeCoux said he was impressed by the kids who raced, adding that there are some who have the potential to be great teen and adult racers.
Sixty-eight mountain bike riders of all ages and skill levels took part in the Saturday, October 21 Sawtooth Mountain Challenge on a Goldilocks kind of day—not too hot, not too cold–made for riding trails, even if the rollout to the trails was a bit muddy.
Andrew Urban and Phil Carlson duked it out in the 25-mile Expert category race with Urban taking the lead on the Talus Trail climb that he wouldn’t relinquish. John Paximarer of Grand Marais placed third. No women finished the long race, said event coordinator Jay Arrowsmith-DeCoux.
“We had one woman who was here visiting from British Columbia who was a real racer, but she had a mechanical issue with her bike and had to drop out in the first 100 yards or so,” said Arrowsmith-DeCoux.
Cook County resident Woody Gilk won the Citizen’s seven-mile race, with Eli Greenwood of Thunder Bay taking top honors in the 16-mile Sports class.
Lynn Schoenstedt of Minneapolis was the women’s winner in the Citizen’s race while Lisa Weispfening of Washburn, Wisconsin won the women’s division of the 16-mile event. Grand Marais Cook County High School junior Reilly Wahlers placed second behind Weispfening.
“She had a great race. Reilly is a great young athlete,” said Arrowsmith-DeCoux.
The races were held on the single-track trails, which were in good shape, said Arrowsmith- DeCoux.
“The roll out to the trails was muddy, and some people had mechanical issues with their bikes because of that,” Jay said.
This race serves as the Superior Cycling Association’s biggest fundraiser of the year. The proceeds are used to provide trail maintenance to the single-track system.
“We haven’t tabulated the money yet,” said Arrowsmith- DeCoux, “But it looks like we will have made enough to cover most of our trail maintenance for the year.”
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