Minnesota Mountain Bike Series

DULUTH --Talk about a turnout.

More than 300 racers and riders flooded the trails at Mont Du Lac near Duluth Sunday, for what was easily one of the best Dirt Spanker races in years.

"We saw at least a 20 percent increase this year," said Adam Sundberg, who directed the race with help from David Pipho. "Normally we see only around 250, but this year we just had a great turnout."

The weather certainly helped. It was, by all accounts, picture perfect. Temperatures were a sunny 70 degrees, with a light breeze -- even in the back bowls of the ski area that are typically a vacuum -- to keep riders cool.

But the weather was only a contributing factor. As was the open bar (yes, you read that right, the OPEN BAR), and the unusually large amount of swag given away after the awards.

(For those who stayed until the last dog dropped, one got to witness an exciting scrum of sweaty dudes diving for free helmets, as the helmets were tossed into the air).

But the biggest factor in the massive turnout this year was most likely because of the venue itself. Word is finally out.

By my experience, few trails in Minnesota top Mont Du Lac; it ranks among the closet to riding out west that I've found in the Midwest.

The rocks. The climbs. The roots. The streams.  And the long, technical and snaking descents, peppered with the quick bursts from the rolling compressions.

"I think it was a better trail this year," Sundburg said. "We added more singletrack and the conditions were just perfect."

Leading the pack -- and when I say leading, I mean LEADING, everyone, by nearly two minutes, was Velo Rochester's Brendan Moore of Savage, who just cooked through the singletrack and won the Elite race in a time of 1:54:18.

(Seriously, you should see this guy pedal through the woods. He rides so easy it's like he's on a stationary bike).

In second place, in the pro division, was Penn Cycle's Jesse Rients of Shakopee, who finished about 4 minutes back, while Hollywood Cycles' Sam Oftedahl of Shoreview took second place overall with a time of 1:55:53.

To put those times into perspective: Each lap was five miles, and these guys essentially did four laps in the time that it took about half the Comp class (not to mention me) to complete three.

For women, Specialized's Jenna Rinehart of Mankato trounced her competition, finishing 9 and a half minutes ahead of second place Sara Kylander-Johnson of Duluth. And in third overall was Rebecca Sauber of LCR, finishing three laps in 1:49:13.

Overall, the Comp class was well represented as well, with more than 50 racers. Kevin Supple of Peace Coffee won the Comps in just 1:37:27, beating out second place Russ Krueger of Sayner, Wis., by just more than 3 minutes.

In Sport, Cody Larson placed first out of 116 overall, edging Josh Collins of Woodbury by nearly two minutes. Gopher Wheelmen's Jessica Wittwer of St. Paul won the women's Sport division, beating 14-year-old Sophia Marchiando of Hollywood Cycles by about 2 minutes.

John Jurek of Lake Nebagamon, Wis., won the Citizen race, edging Robert Baxton of Duluth by more than 30 seconds. Emily Goltz of St. Paul won the Citizen women.

Oh, and on a final note, from the Lost & Found department: If you lost a pair of pricey sunglasses on the trail, e-mail me, give me a detailed description, and I'll bounce them your way at the next race.

Troy Melhus is a St. Paul writer and expert racer for the Peace Coffee Racing team. He can be reached at tmelhus@mac.com.