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Mountain bikers pedal to victory

A new sport enjoyed a successful first season at Hortonville High School, as mountain bikers joined to form a competitive team that raced in the Wisconsin High School Cycling League this year.

John Gretzinger helped bring the mountain biking sport to Hortonville when he founded the Fox Cities Youth Cycling Team six years ago. The team participated in Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS) races throughout the summer.

“It all started when my son tried out for a baseball all-star team and got cut,” said Gretzinger. “It was hard on the whole family and my son said he wanted to give biking a try. So, I started a team. Biking is a really great sport for kids that don’t seem to fit with sports like football, soccer, baseball, and basketball.”

Gretzinger said the team grew quickly after a successful first season.

“We had seven kids the first year, 15 the next year, then 27 kids the next year,” recalled Gretzinger. “I originally helped get the team going, but I got too busy and had to step aside. Biking has really taken off in states like California, Minnesota, Colorado, Kentucky, New York, Arkansas, and Oregon. Our league hasn’t been around too long, but I think it will grow quickly. I envision a varsity team in Hortonville with 20 kids.

“One of the best things about this sport is that kids get to play the whole time,” he continued. “If you’re not good at it, you get to do it longer than the other racers. It teaches kids perseverance. This sport helps kids learn to identify a problem and then solve it. They might fall off their bike or crash when they’re just starting out, but they go right back at it and overcome it.

“I always tell parents that their kid is going to cry if they take up this sport,” said Gretzinger. “Because they have to learn how to fall and get hurt and then get up and overcome it. If they don’t learn to overcome their falls, they usually don’t continue with this sport. When my son was starting out at age seven, he would be crying during the pre-ride because of the difficulty. Now that he’s learned how to overcome the challenges, he just goes onto the course and rips it apart. He rides in any weather and any conditions.

“Coaches are all trained in wilderness CPR. They all know proper procedures to check for a concussion if a kid falls,” added Gretzinger. “But it’s really not a dangerous sport. The worst I’ve seen is a kid who fell and landed on his elbow. I’ve seen adults break their collar bones, but that happens in high school football, too. I think mountain biking is much safer than jumping, running, and landing sports. Kids are taught how to control the bike right off the bat so that they know how to brake and stop on a dime. Safety is a top priority in this sport.”

The Wisconsin High School Cycling League, founded in 2013, serves all Wisconsin high school and middle school-aged students. The Wisconsin League exists by virtue of a range of fundraising activities, as well as several donors. The four-event Wisconsin League is part of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA), a self-funded non-profit youth development organization that governs high school mountain biking in the United States.

Most of Hortonville’s riders said they have been involved in mountain biking for several years, and have competed in WORS races in recent years.

Team members Dylan Eggebrecht, Daniel Gretzinger, Jacob Ahles, Cole McDicken, and Katy McDicken sat down for an interview with the Press Star shortly after the conclusion of this year’s season.

“Other mountain biking events brought us together to form a high school team. We all race on the same WORS team in the summer, so we formed a school team,” said Dylan. “Our season went very well, even though we have far fewer racers than most other teams. We’re trying to recruit more people for next year.”

Hortonville’s bikers competed against riders from all around the state on courses covering distances from 12-15 miles for the high school boys, while Katie raced on 4-5 mile courses. Races are held at ski hills or state parks.

“There are lots of hills in each course, and every race starts on a hill,” said Cole. “The difficulty level depends on your level of fitness.”

Races are held in separate heats for varsity, JV, sophomores, freshmen, and middle school riders. The number of laps for each heat increases from one lap for middle school riders to five laps for varsity riders.

Riders take to the course on lightweight bikes made from aluminum hard tails or carbon fiber soft tails. Hard tail bikes cost about $1,000, while carbon fiber bikes cost $3,000 or more. Racers have action cameras mounted on their bikes to record each race as they ride through the course.

The bikers practice once a week as a team. Those practices last about 1 ½ hours, but riders are also expected to practice on their own throughout the week. Each rider does hill climbs, sprints, and other exercises to improve their skills and techniques.

This year, competitive races were held at Minooka Park (Waukesha), Iola Winter Park (Iola), Nordic Mountain (Mt. Morris), and Cascade Mountain (Portage). Hortonville’s riders all seemed to agree that Cascade Mountain was the toughest course, while Nordic Mountain was the most enjoyable.

“Nordic Mountain was kind of like our home course,” said Cole. “We have all ridden there before, and we actually helped build some of the trails.”

The riders took a moment to share their favorite—and least favorite—parts about mountain bike racing.

“Competition is the best part about this sport,” said Katy, who took first place in the middle school girls group in all four races. “My least favorite part is probably the wet, slippery single track areas where the trail is really tight.”

“I just really enjoy biking and the downhill parts of each race,” said Daniel. “Climbing the hills is probably the most difficult part.”

“The atmosphere around mountain bike races is probably the coolest thing,” said Dylan. “It’s kind of like a cult because everyone loves it so much. I like it all, but going up the hills isn’t much fun.”

“My favorite thing about this sport is the opportunity to improve my technique while competing. I also enjoy the hills,” said Jacob. “I really don’t like the flats, because those areas are boring to me.”

“Being able to be on a competitive team is really awesome,” said Cole. “The atmosphere around these races is also pretty cool. My least favorite part is probably the hills.”

Each rider said their goal is to continue to improve as individuals and build a solid team for next year. “Come out and watch a race—once you see it, you will like it,” said Cole, encouraging other student-athletes to get involved with the sport. “You can also pre-ride a course with us to see what it’s like.”

“We really had a great season this year,” said Coach Aristotle Peters, who has been racing for 10 years and has participated in nearly every type of race at many skill levels ranging from beginner to elite. “I couldn’t ask for better kids. They all had racing experience, and it was great to see kids who normally race in intermediate categories make it to the ‘big show’. I enjoyed seeing them compete on a bigger stage.

“All of the kids worked hard to improve their skills form the beginning of the year to the end of the season. I also had a lot of support from the parents this year, which made my job much easier,” continued Peters. “A lot of this sport has to do with endurance and physical capabilities, so we did a lot of work on skill aspects to help them go faster. The technical skills can really set riders apart from the competition. Teaching skills also improves safety, which is our top priority.”

Peters said he hopes the program continues to grow in Hortonville.

“I hope to get a lot of kids that have never tried mountain biking before,” said Peters. “It’s a great life-long sport. I’d like to see more kids get into a sport like this rather than traditional high school sports that they probably won’t continue to play after high school or college.”

Peters said the team is open to anyone, including inexperienced riders. To learn more about the Wisconsin League, visit wisconsinmtb.org.

2014 Wisconsin High School Cycling League Race Results

Race 1: Minooka Park, Waukesha

Hortonville Middle School Girls

1. Katy McDicken, 24:35.10

5. Lauren Duhm, 27:00.90

Hortonville High School Sophomore Boys

3. Cole McDicken, 1:08:47

4. Alex Halfman, 1:10:30

6. Jacob Ahles, 1:12:20

8. Daniel Gretzinger, 1:12:50

9. Dylan Eggebrecht, 1:14:01

14. Nick Duhm, 1:26:00

DNF: Grant Slocum

Race 2: Iola Winter Park (Iola)

Hortonville Middle School Girls

1. Katy McDicken, 24:07.20

4. Lauren Duhm, 26:15.90

Hortonville High School Sophomore Boys

3. Cole McDicken, 1:02:32

5. Alex Halfman, 1:05:22

6. Jacob Ahles, 1:05:47

11. Dylan Eggebrecht, 1:15:20

13. Nick Duhm, 1:17:09

17. Grant Slocum, 1:26:50

Race 3: Nordic Mountain (Mt. Morris)

Hortonville Middle School Girls

1. Katy McDicken, 27:49.70

6. Lauren Duhm, 30:33.40

Hortonville High School Sophomore Boys

2. Cole McDicken, 1:04:48

3. Alex Halfman, 1:06:37

6. Daniel Gretzinger, 1:08:00

7. Jacob Ahles, 1:08:59

11. Dylan Eggebrecht, 1:11:53

12. Nick Duhm, 1:15:33

17. Grant Slocum, 1:30:39

Race 4: Cascade Mountain (Portage)

Hortonville Middle School Girls

1. Katy McDicken, 26:32.42

6. Lauren Duhm, 29:35.76

Hortonville High School Sophomore Boys

3. Cole McDicken, 1:11:56

4. Alex Halfman, 1:12:30

7. Jacob Ahles, 1:18:13

10. Dylan Eggebrecht, 1:18:44

11. Nick Duhm, 1:25:10

15: Grant Slocum, 1:44:35

2014 Wisconsin High School Cycling League Season Standings

Hortonville Middle School Girls

1. Katy McDicken

5. Lauren Duhm

Hortonville High School Sophomore Boys

3. Cole McDicken

4. Alex Halfman

7. Jacob Ahles

10 Dylan Eggebrecht

12. Nick Duhm

17. Grant Slocum

18. Daniel Gretzinger

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