By Sarah Olson
Part of the Minnesota Cycling Association, the Minnesota Valley Composite/New Prague Mountain Bike Team is in full swing. With 50 riders in grades 6–12 and 27 volunteer coaches, the two teams practice and function as one, with cyclists from Jordan, Belle Plaine, Lonsdale and New Prague working together to have fun and improve.
The season commenced in July, and the team practices at various parks and gravel roads throughout the area, including Xcel, Murphy-Hanrehan and Buck Hill. The first race was held Sept. 23–24, as 23 teams from around the state pitched their team tents at Schindler’s Way in Austin, Minnesota, for the first race of the season. Due to flooding, the race format was adjusted to a short course, and racing was delayed one hour while trail builders modified the course, cutting over a mile of soggy terrain.
At the sound of the horn, riders took off to see how many laps they could complete through a 2.3-mile course of flat woods and prairie in an allotted time. Winning order was determined by lap total and then time. On Saturday, Sept. 23, middle school riders ripped through 2–3 laps in their allotted 15 minutes, while most high schoolers completed 3–5 laps over 30–45 minutes on Sunday, Sept. 24. Thirteen riders made it to a sixth lap, including Jordan High School senior Oden Olson, who placed eighth out of 59 in varsity.
Jordan was well represented. JHS seniors Katelyn Bucholz and James Morrell each passed more than a dozen riders during their JV2 races, and freshman Carter Bolster placed third out of 49 riders in the competitive freshmen boys race. Showing grit, sophomores Jillian Rud and Ingrid Olson also rode strong in the JV2 girls race.
On the middle school side, JMS student Logan Schroeder put in a solid performance in the seventh-grade boys race, while sixth-grader Keenan Olson kicked off the weekend with a sixth-place finish out of 30 riders in the sixth-grade boys race.
Overall, Minnesota Valley Composite High School earned 11th place out of 32 teams in Division 2, and the middle school came in seventh out of 32 in Austin.
The team’s next race will be held Sept. 13–14 at Xcel Energy Mountain Bike Park in Shakopee. Community members are encouraged to come out and cheer — mountain biking is known for its welcoming atmosphere and strong sense of camaraderie.
