Lalonde leading the way in the Wisconsin Off-Road Series
(photo by John Wrycza)
Mountain bikers outside the Midwest may not be familiar with the name Mark LaLonde. The Wisconsin Pro doesn't get many opportunities to race outside his home state. But when you're winning races in the largest cross country mountain bike series in the country-the Wisconsin Off-Road Series (WORS)- why would you leave?
I know what you're thinking, "I'm faster than any beer-swilling, cheese curd- eating, dairy farmer from Wisconsin. Why should I care about him?" Think about this, when is the last time you won a cross country race with over 50 Pro riders? For Mark Lalonde, it was May 17th. The location: Iola, Wisconsin. He's finished in the top-20 on the National circuit and in 2008, Lalonde just missed a spot on the U.S. National Cyclocross team which went to another Midwest marauder Brian Matter.
His look is a bit unorthodox, with his many tatoos and penchant for heavy metal music, but that is nothing in comparison to his race bike. The self-described "GT Freak Bike" Lalonde has put together weighs in at an astonishing 17.2lbs and as he proved in Iola, it's fast! Read our interview to learn more about this up-and-comer from the land of milk and Miller Light.
MTBracenews.com- Is it Mark or Marko?
Mark Lalonde- Mark, but most people know me as Marko.
MTBracenews.com- You and your brother Jesse have been very successful in the ultra-competitive WORS series but have done fairly little mountain bike racing on the National circuit. Why?
Mark Lalonde- Last year was the first year we had any travel support. We went east to do the Windham Mt and Mt Snow races with mixed results. The courses were definitely tougher to ride fully rigid than the WI races. It’s tough to mix racing a nat’l schedule and working 40 or more hours a week. Then you throw in a fairly national-oriented cyclocross season, it’s really just a juggling act. Wisconsin has a pretty solid mtb scene, so I can make racing a one day affair, keep my job, and I get to spend some quality time with my fiancée Meghan. Now if I was getting paid a salary to race, that would be a whole different story. That’s not to say that it can’t be done working a full time job. I know there are guys out there doing it.
MTBracenews.com- Why is it so many talented Wisconsin racers seem to limit their racing to the Wisconsin Off-Road Series?
Mark Lalonde- I think most are in a similar situation. WI has a pretty deep group of racers that are pro, but work full-time jobs. There’s maybe 5 or 6 guys that have done some national races finishing anywhere from top 10 to the 30s. There’s some serious bragging rights if you can win the WORS overall. It’s really cool that we can have this rivalry and competition at these local races. Most people don’t really think of the Midwest as an mtb hotbed, but I’d say we can hold our own. Also, the proximity of any national races poses an issue for us cheese heads. I think the closest ProXC event is CO for nationals.
MTBracenews.com- What makes the Wisconsin Off-Road Series so popular?
Mark Lalonde- A lot of it has to do with the way the events are run. Don Edberg has got the system dialed in. Everything runs super smoothly. Races take off on time; results are up within an hour of the finish. It’s really a fun and inviting atmosphere. Word of mouth goes a long way and year after year there’s a new crop of riders itchin to get into the WORS traveling dirt circus.
MTBracenews.com- Tell us about your race bike for 2009.
The GT Freak Bike or "96er"
Mark Lalonde- I switched sponsors this year. I recently started working for Planet Bike (a bike accessory manufacturer) and it only made sense to ride for them as well. I really couldn’t ask for much more support from them. GT Bicycles signed on as our bike sponsor for the mtb team and I matched that up with a line of other personal sponsors: Twin Six clothing, Oakley, Crank Brothers, and Surly (cogs). I’ve also got some additional support from Edge Composites. GT set me up with two of there carbon Zaskar Pro bikes. I’ve ridden a 29er since 2002 and really loved it, but I was willing to try something new. Being a serious tinkerer, I decided I’d swap out the wheelset for some 650b’s. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough clearance on the rear. The next test was to convert it to a 96er with a rigid fork. I swapped out the 100mm fork for a 445mm rigid fork w/ the 29 inch front wheel. The geometry is almost identical. I managed to get my hands on Trickstuff’s Excentriker, an eccentric bottom bracket for use in a standard bb shell to convert it to a single speed. Edge built me up some super light wheels, DT 240 hubs on the carbon Edge rims. I got a little weight-weenie on this build w/ Alligator rotors, Avid Juicy Ultimate SL brakes, XTR crankset, Crank Brothers quad ti egg beaters, FSA OS99 stem and Carbon Pro bars, Thomson Masterpiece post, Fizik Tundra saddle, ESI grips, Surly cog, KCNC skewers, Ritchey WCS bar ends. Tires vary on the course. Since I have no tire sponsor, I pick and choose what I like. Some of my favorites are the Kenda Small Block 8, Stan’s Crow, WTB Vulpine, Bontrager XDX, and the Schwalbe Racing Ralph.
My other bike is set up with Shimano XTR shifters and derailleurs and an FSA K-Force Light double crank, everything else is identical. Training wheels are Bontrager Race Xlite.
MTBracenews.com- You have a history of racing some nontraditional mountain bike set-ups. How has that evolved and how does it impact your racing.
Mark Lalonde- I’ve always raced a single speed. Last year and year prior I was involved in some product testing for Gary Fisher. They built some one off bikes for us. I just like to try out different things and eventually I’m going to find the perfect set up.
Lalonde uses the Exzentriker bottom bracket to turn this traditional bike into a singlespeed
MTBracenews.com- What is your proudest accomplishment on the mountain bike?
Mark Lalonde- Finishing 4th at the Fat Tire 40 on a single speed, with my brother Jesse taking the win. That race is the unofficial “Midwest World Championships”.
MTBracenews.com- What are you mountain bike goals for 2009? I’d like to do well in WORS and contend for the overall win.
Mark Lalonde- I’m getting married in July so there will likely be little, if any, national races on my schedule this summer. I’d also like to be in the mix in the Triple Crown races (Ore to Shore, Chequamegon, and Iceman). If I could take home a win in one of those I’d be ecstatic. Then I will likely race a pretty decent cx season with some traveling.
MTBracenews.com- Your blog is called “Kill the Darkness” what is that all about?
Mark Lalonde- Somewhere along the line I picked up another nickname, the Darkness. I think it had something to do with Charlie Murphy. It’s really just joke, just egging people on to put the hammer down on me. I’m always one for some good friendly competition.
MTBracenews.com- Tell us something about yourself that most people may not know about you.
Mark Lalonde- My favorite genre of music is metal. Love it. But I’ve got a sweetspot for bluegrass as well. I’m quite fond of the banjo, so much so that I went out and bought one to try to teach myself. I haven’t gotten very far but I swear I’m gonna get serious about it any day now.
MTBracenews.com- What is it like racing against your dicing it out at the front with your brother every weekend? Is 2009 your year to dominate?
Mark Lalonde- It’s always fun to be out there racing with the family. Our younger brother James is on the way up too, so hopefully we can have a serious bro-down in the near future. It seems that we have very similar racing styles and this makes it really tough for either of us to get a gap. It’s always nice to be able to bust out the tactics when we need to.
I think it’s far too early for me to be making any claims of domination for this year. I’m pleased with the way things have been going so far, but it’s a long season. As long as I can keep going the way I have been, I think I should be in contention.
Check back with MTBracenews.com for all the action from Wisconsin Off-Road race #2 this Sunday in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.
