(Lolo/Helena, MT) NICA’s Montana league hosted its final race of the season this October 5th/6th and was hosted at Rossignol Ranch in Lolo, however the races were postponed by an hour due to heavy winds the night before yet still moved on with the winning team being the Sandpoint Composite Bombers from Idaho, beating the Helena Cyclones by just 3 points with the Missoula Mammoths coming in third. 

 THE COURSE 

Lolo pit zone and campground early in the morning 

Lolo Final Landing was the fifth and final race of the Montana NICA league. The course is about 3.3 miles long and about 400 feet of climbing per lap. The course had what is known as “hero dirt” according to cyclists. Hero dirt is dirt that has better traction because of higher moisture. The course shoots through a gulley that had rough berms throughout. 

RACER IMPUT 

Casey Warner at the bottle hand-out tent for racers 

• “I was good, could’ve pushed harder though” said Cedar Baker, a 6th grade racer in the Helena Cyclones “my favorite was the flat uphill’s”. He predicted that he would get 5th place during the preride the night before, instead he got 7th place. 

• “It was great” said Everett, a member of the Helena Cyclones “my favorite part was being alone the whole time”. Everett also said that “my favorite part of the season was the Crosscut races”. 

• Finn Hochhalter, a member of the Cody Speedgoats said that “I was horrible, I was not locked in at all. My least favorite part was the uphill”. Finn, however, did admit that the course was good, as he thought it would during the ride before. He left off with a note saying that “if there was another race, I would want it to be at Cody, Wyoming”. 

SOURCES 

“Lolo 2024.” Montanambt.Org. 

“Race Series.” Montana Interscholastic Cycling League, montanamtb.org/race-series/. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024. 

Baker, Cedar (Helena Cyclones) 

Everett (Helena Cyclones) 

Deitchler, Colton (Helena Cyclones) 

Jones, Cayden (Helena Cyclones) 

Hochhalter, Finn (Cody Speedgoats/Helena Cyclones) 

Skolrud, Sevran (Helena Cyclones)