Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior was the venue for 2,200 mountain bikers on Saturday taking on four distances: 99 miles, 69 miles, 49 miles and 25 miles.
After more than five hours of racing, Nora Klingfus and William Surbaugh won the 2023 edition of Life Time’s Stages Cycling Lutsen 99er.
Surbaugh lives in Durango, but returned to Minnesota to win his hometown race for the first time.
Racers traveled through the Sawtooth Mountains, crossed over the Poplar River overlooking Lake Superior and over ridgelines made of glacially sculpted terrain of rolling hills along the southern range of the Boreal Forest.
Surbaugh took the win in 5 hours, 2 minutes and 46 seconds, crossing just ahead of Dillon McNeill of Nebraska, who finished in the same time. Kyle Fry of Ontario finished third out of the event’s 567 bikers in 5:04:58.
Klingfus, who is from Florida, won the women’s race in 6:00:17, followed by Wisconsin cyclists Maria Osowski (6:11:30) and Caitlin Neumam (6:20:00).
The Lutsen 99er is one of seven qualifier events for the Leadville Trail 100 MTB, meaning that riders can earn an entry into the event based on their performance at Lutsen.
“The Lutsen 99er is a special event because the focus isn’t so much on the winners or finish times as it is on the adventure of the ride,” said Peter Spencer, Life Time event manager. “We couldn’t be more excited to have another successful year of this event and bring all these people together to explore the North Shore.”
The Leadville Trail 100 MTB is scheduled for Aug. 12. More information on the Leadville Trail 100 MTB and how to qualify at https://www.leadvilleraceseries.com/
