We have a few weeks under our belts and as the weather continues to get better we are honing our skills and preparing for the first race of the year. Many new kids on the team this year. It is always great to meet the news kids and welcome the seasoned veterans back the team. Team practices are a sign that Spring is here and riding season is upon us!!!
It appears someone didn’t like our site, or liked it so much they chose us to be their test subject for malicious behavior.
This past week the code on our website was hacked. We are currently in the process of rebuilding the site. In the meantime, we apologize for the manner in which the site appears. We hope to have everything up and running quickly.
The Wisconsin High School / Middle School Cycling League kicked off the season this past Sunday at Minooka Park. Sun Prairie along with 28 other teams participated in the 1st of 5 races for the Fall season. The race consisted of over 300 kids racing at Minooka. Wow…that is a lot of kids! The growth that this sport is seeing is exceptional! Sun Prairie will continue to grow its team but getting the word out is the most important thing.
The Sun Prairie team is considered a composite team that draws kids from SP and surrounding communities. The teams consist of students that are in 6th grade through 12th grade. This league is very consistent to how other school based sports are run. 6th graders race other 6th graders and so on.
Now to the the race and the team recap. We added a few new team members to the already returning team from last year. Adding new student/athletes is always exciting and it makes for a great experience for the kids. SP had 3 kids that raced for the first time in the Wisconsin based Cycling League. Those along with the “veteran” team members put tires to dirt for the first time this year.
Minooka Park is a full of flowing single track with some fast double track. The course does have some technical areas and for the first race it is just what the kids need. The courses will get increasingly more technical each race. The team will become more and more comfortable in their abilities on the trails along with handling racing in a pack. Seeing each kid grow throughout the year is a true testament of their time they put in at practices.
Results can be found here: Race Results
Images can be found here also: Images
Some other images…..
Another week of racing has concluded for the team. The team visited Suamico which is just north of Green Bay. The venue is known for its great single track and it did not disappoint.
The weekend started out a little wet, but a dry Saturday night and Sunday morning made for near prefect trails. Tacky and fast! The new course layout removed some of the hills, so it made for a fast…fast race. With single track interrupted with some double track made for a race that you could put the pedal down and go all out.
Way to go Owen! The special shout out goes to Owen. He captured his first ever 1st place finish. It comes to prove that hard work and dedication does pay off. He will looks to build on that accomplishment at the remaining races. I wish I would have seen him after the race, but I was on course. A great big high five to you buddy!
It isn’t all about the kids. Well it is sort of! Some parents raced here also which is so cool to see and I know that the kids really love seeing the parents ripping it up out there. Here are a some images of them.
Well two more races and then the season will be done. With the team invading Lake Geneva and then Sheboygan for the finale.
Thanks to Extreme Photography Unlimited for the outstanding pictures. www.xtrphoto.com
What a great weekend to travel to the beautiful area of La Crosse, WI. The bluffs overlooking the Mississippi make for some awesome views. The weather could not have been much better either. A few of the team camped and the cool nights made for a great weekend of camping. As far as race day it was not overly warm and it was dry!
The course at the Human Powered Trails just outside of La Crosse are some of the most technical that the WORS series visit. As a racer you either hate them or love them. The trails will get you outside your comfort zone and beat you up with the rocks and roots. The course makes you concentrate the entire way.
The team had a smaller than normal attendance, but that is understandable as the summer is wrapping up and families are trying to get in those last minute summer vacations. That seemed to be the norm as the fields seem to be a little smaller for the juniors.
The special shout out goes to Reece, for the first time ever he decided to upgrade and race Citizen here rather than his normal Junior Division. WOW…that takes a lot of guts. He would do two laps instead of one. As I mentioned before, this course in my opinion, is the most technical course we do. I give him all the props in making that decision. I know for a fact racing two laps he learned a lot about himself as well as how hard it can be. He survived to race another day as a smarter and stronger cyclist. Way to go!!!!!
The season is done to 3 races left. The team will travel to Green Bay in a couple weeks. It has been a long season and fun season so far.
Thanks to Extreme Photography Unlimited for the outstanding pictures. www.xtrphoto.com
Hot and Hot!!! It was a very hot weekend for racing with heat indexes into the 100’s for most of the weekend. The weather did not corporate for the juniors. The only rain over the weekend was during their race. Rain is an understatement, it pooooured! It made for some fun spectating and racing for the juniors.
The weekend consisted of the normal XC race and along with that it also consisted of a Short Track and Enduro style events. Some of team participated in some of the other events to test there abilities. The XC course was a tough and hilly course and adding in the rain made for a even tougher course. Some of the team got away with only having to deal with the heat and while others had to deal with the rain and mud. It was a first for many to race in the rain and a muddy course. You never know how the kids will react with these conditions. All I can say is that most of the kids thought it was a blast! While it can be fun for the kids it does make for a week of cleaning the bikes thoroughly after racing in the mud.
Like I mentioned the course is technical and hilly making for a tough course. The hills are relentless! You really never get a chance to recover fully. Thank goodness that the kids have had a few practices here to understand the course…when dry. Some last minute changes to the course did make it a littler easier. A “little” is the key word here.
As for the Short Track race and course it was a bit soft from the rain the day before. It was really hot and humid for that race. A few of the team did participate in this event. Short Track is an all out race for 15 minutes on a simplified course. It is nicknamed the “Hurricane Of Pain”. It hurts is all I can say. Full speed and full gas for 15 minutes is tough.
The Enduro style race is where you ride to the top of the hill and then proceed down on a downhill single course where the downhill course is timed. You do this twice and the the winner has the best combined time. The course of full of rock gardens, berms and is full of technical features.
Matt ejecting after a mistake on the rock garden!!!A special shout out to Corbin for a awesome weekend of racing. He finished first in his XC race and followed that up with another 1st in his Short Track race. Plenty of medals for that fast kid! His season is turning into one to remember.
Thanks to Extreme Photography Unlimited for the outstanding pictures. www.xtrphoto.com
What a great weekend for camping, racing and hanging out with the team. The weather was fantastic for both days of the race. Since this venue is close to home, many drove over for the pre-ride and then again on race morning.
The course here is what I would describe as a fast and flowing course. The single track, while a bit technical, seems to flow very nicely, if you find the right speed. We are back to those silly start hills……I ask why! The start hill always spreads out the field and then the course continues on a long double track run out until we hit the first section of single track. The first section of single track is around .75 miles into the race. Still many riders get backed up on the first section and the race pace slows until the racers get spread out again. Passing in the single track can be tricky, but the trails at Minooka Park are a bit wider, so as long as you work together it can be done safely. The course consists of only one more longer climb and that is towards the end of the lap. After that climb it is all out to the end. Many riders love this course and it does rank as one of my top race venues.
Special shout out to Parker for his first every podium! Way to go!!!!
Thanks to Extreme Photography Unlimited for the outstanding pictures. www.xtrphoto.com
Juniors:
Citizen:
Sport:
The race at Eau Claire has a different feel for many of the racers. The first three races all have had start hills for the kids to climb, but here the start is a flat start. While that is good, it also makes for a very fast start. It also makes getting ahead of the main pack before hitting the single track important.
Saturday for pre-ride was pretty relaxing and Coach Doug even took some of the team for a lap on the Sport course to see what that was all about. Hearing the comments about all the technical areas was sort of fun. It was good for the kids to see the more technical stuff. It shows them that they can also ride that stuff someday.
Race day was sunny and warm. For a change I did not stay at the start and I headed out into the woods to cheer on the kids from there. I usually miss seeing the team in the woods. It is always good seeing the kids working so hard on the trails. The best part is when they pedal faster when they see or hear me. I can only laugh about that. Are they saying to themselves “Oh crap, Coach Doug is there! I better pedal faster!”
Congratulations to Estella for racing her second race! She is getting more and more comfortable on the bike and in race situations. That is one of the best parts of being a Coach. Seeing the kids progress and gain confidence is always the most rewarding.
Thanks to Extreme Photography Unlimited for the outstanding pictures. www.xtrphoto.com
Juniors:
Citizen:
Sport:
For those that didn’t go to Mt. Morris you missed a rather tough course. Mt. Morris is a course that has some tough climbs and has many rocky and rooty sections. Another tough start hill that really separates the group before the fast downhill that leads into some single track that flows really nice. After the flowly single track you then head to the tough section of climbs and technical single track where the team really puts their skills to the test. This course has a love hate relationship with much of the team. It is a mentally tough course as it tests you the entire time.
Saturday for pre-ride it was hot and humid. We took it easy to make sure the kids did not over do it. Hydrating the entire time. Overnight the weather turned cooler making for almost perfect racing conditions for Sunday. Thank goodness for that!
Special shout out to Tommy for continuing his domination of his age group. Third race of the season and his third 1st place finish. One fast kid. Go Tommy! He will be faster than his dad very soon!
Once again these kids never cease to amazed me!!!!
Here is a list of the team members and their places.
Juniors:
Citizen:
Sport:
It sure was nice to sleep in your own bed the night before the race. Racing at a location that we practice at can lead to somewhat of a home field advantage. The race course at Camrock has more single track than most races which the kids absolutely love.
The race starts at the base of a steep start hill and can be pretty intimidating for the racers. That is why we practice that hill over and over at practices. All the hard work does pay off. A last minute change by the Race Director was to have the juniors start halfway up the hill. That made some kids happy while it made for a tough and some what hectic transition at the top of the hill due to the narrowing of the course.
As for the race after the start hill it is rather difficult to get an idea of how it went. As the trails tend to go further away from the viewing area. The parents and coaches enjoyed seeing the kids having fun and also see the pride they had with their accomplishments.
The team had a number of kids try their first WORS race and it was a special day for those kids. All the nerves, anticipation and the not knowing of what is about to happen can be very hard to handle at times. The wait before the start is the hardest. That is when all those feelings can take over, but once the race starts all those feelings take a back seat to all the training and riding they have done the previous months. Its business time!!! As a coach you never know how kids will react at the start line or even after the finish. Every kid is different and that is one thing that I love about this team. We are not trying to create the next professional mountain biker. We are teaching them a skill that they can enjoy for the rest of their life. We play, bond, ride, learn, fall, get up all as a team. The race is such a small part of what this “team” is about.
Another great turnout for the team. It was so fun to spend the day with these great kids and families.
So proud of these kids!!!!
Here is a list of the team members and their places. WOW 31 team members raced!! That is incredible…..
**Special shout out to these team mates as it was their first race as a member of SPYCT!!!!!
Juniors:
Citizen:
Sport: