Conditions were warm for riders who took part in the Norpine Fat Bike Classic held in Lutsen last Saturday morning. The first riders had relatively good, fast snow conditions, but as the track warmed and was chewed up a bit, it got tougher for the riders who finished back in the pack. Nevertheless, everyone seemed to be having a good time. This rider even managed to pop a wheelie, which was pretty amazing given that it’s fairly hard to do on a standard one-speed bike on a paved road. Staff photo/Brian Larsen
All thoughts of golf were gone as more than 160 fat tire bike riders lined up to take part in the 2019 Norpine Fat Bike Classic that began and ended at the Superior National golf course in Lutsen.
Two races were held on Saturday, January 5. The long course was 24 miles, and the short course was 16 miles. Riders pedaled up and down the rugged wooded terrain on a warm day on cross country ski trails groomed for skating.
Long course
Sean Colby, 33, of Saint Paul won the 24-mile fat bike race, crossing the finish line in 1:56:19.
Sixteen-year-old Pavel Nelson of Cameron, Wis. was second in 2:00:06 and Chris Stevens, 41, from New Richmond, Wis. placed third in 2:02:39.
Megan Barr, 31, Minneapolis, was the women’s winner with a time of 2:27:28. Tracy Paradise, 44, of Victoria, Minnesota was the second woman finisher in 2:37:46. Danielle Larson, 33, of Minneapolis placed third in the women’s field with a time of 2:40:04.
All told there were 99 finishers in the long course, none of them from Cook County.
Short course
Ethan Komp, 16, from Chetek, Wis. won the 16-mile race in 1:32:39.
Somer Schrock, 22, from Cohasset, Mn. Was second in 1:34:18 and James Kauth, 49, from Saint Paul was third in 1:34:42.
Christina Spencer, 39, was the women’s winner with a time of 1:55:51. Christina finished 10th overall. Right behind her was Constance Sjoquist, 57, Saint Paul, who crossed the finish line in 2:09:05.
The top local finisher was April Wahlstrom, 35, who was the third women and placed 14th overall. April’s time was 2:19:16. Finishing one second behind April was her husband, Tom Wahlstrom.
Woody Gilk, 32, Grand Marais, placed 17th in 2:20:26.
Lee Bergstrom, 58, Grand Marais, was the 47th finisher with a time of 3:28:27.
Lynne Wiitala, 57, Tofte, placed 57th in 3:52:50.
All told there were 63 people entered in the short course.
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