The Team Borealis mountain bike team ended the season at the state championship races in Chisholm.
The Redhead Mountain Bike Park trails at the Minnesota Discovery Center are carved from the walls of a water-filled abandoned mine pit. Riders described the course as fun while challenging. Crashes and flat tires ended races for several riders or required them to swap bikes mid race.
The bright yellow leaves on the trees said it was fall while the warm days said otherwise, with temperatures reaching as high as 80 degrees.
Dry conditions resulted in loose, dusty conditions coating riders and their bikes with the signature red dirt.
Borealis riders posted strong results facing their largest fields of the season. Eighty teams brought 1,462 racers who finished.
Senior George Sponholz closed out his final season at the varsity level after competing in every race Team Borealis has attended since its inception six years ago.
Coach Mark Sponholz said, “The commitment bikers and their families have shown throughout the season is incredible. Most venues where we compete are a fourhour drive so it’s usually an all-weekend affair.
“All of these riders have been training since mid-July when the team started practices, but most of them have been riding all summer to prepare for these races. It’s awesome that we’ve had eight individuals see all that hard work pay off and qualify to race at the state championships.”
Team Borealis individual results: Varsity boys - George Sponholz 69th 1:03:14 JV2 girls - Addison Kannas 4th 36:06, Siiri Nelson 29th 41:11 Freshman girls - Beck Sponholz 12th 37:01, Ava Wohnsen 47th 46:07 7th grade boys D2 - James Townsend 8th 18:45, Sawyer Kannas 58th 21:52
