Door County Resident, Phillip Anschutz, is Racing Ahead

It’s taken just three seasons for 15-year-old Sturgeon Bay mountain biker Phillip Anschutz to make his mark on the state’s mountain bike racing scene.

Though he says he always biked with friends for fun, he never really thought much about racing competitively. His career started when his father gave him a mountain bike for his birthday.

Phillip Anschutz is off to a fast start in his mountain-biking career.

“I rode at a few places,” Anschutz explained, “and I really liked it. Then I heard about WORS and did some races. I found out I was pretty good, and I really got into it.”

WORS is the Wisconsin Off-Road Series, a series of races around the state and the largest such race series in America. Participants come from all across the country. This summer Anschutz has competed in six events, taking second place in his age group in almost all. In the Treadfest race, held May 18 in Lake Geneva, he took first in his age group. He participates in the 15-mile Sport event course, but plans to move up to the Competitive class, which would extend his distance to 25 miles.

“As soon as I get a few more races in, I can get the series locked up and move up,” he said.

Along with the WORS, Anschutz will be doing the Door County Triathlon – just the biking part – this July for the second year in a row. Anschutz is also the captain of a team set to compete in the 2008 USA Cycling 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championship, August 2 – 3, in Wausau at 9 Mile County Forest.

Mountain biking is not Anschutz’s only hobby, however, as he is a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to sports. A competitive cross country skier, he just spent a week at an intense ski camp in Hayward, WI and is also on the cross country team at Sturgeon Bay High School.

However, he seems to have a knack for mountain biking. His first year racing he did extremely well with almost no experience. Last year, he trained only five to six hours a week and placed in the top five of his division in WORS. This year, Anschutz has been concentrating on skiing, running and general endurance training. With very little bike-specific training, he is still in the top 15 (out of about 200 men of all ages) of his division.

Anschutz attributes some of his success to help he’s received along the way.

“I think I’m pretty lucky so far for the amount of training I do and my results, but I also have a lot of help…I really appreciate what people have done for me. Because of the help, I got a little faster, minute by minute,” he said.

His father Paul, the vice-president of Door County Silent Sports Alliance (of which Phillip is also a member), is a constant pillar of support for his son.

“We’re very proud of him,” he said. “He’s at a level that most people don’t understand…he’s beating kids from all over.”

Freddie Bexell, a fellow WORS competitor and Door County resident, said of Anschutz, “He’s got a great future ahead of him…his results are very impressive.”

When he is not biking, skiing or running, Anschutz works at DC Bikes in Sturgeon Bay. The store’s general manager, Leif Hagman, said Anschutz has what it takes to go far in life.

“Phillip is very focused about his training, and he’s got a very good aerobic engine,” Hagman said. “He’s very disciplined with his biking, and works hard at work too…he’s just got a great attitude about everything.”

Anschutz’s favorite bike is his Scott Scale 20. When asked for his favorite biking spot in Door County, he had trouble answering. “There really is not much good mountain biking in Door County,” he explained. “Peninsula State Park has some good stuff, but we’re really behind compared to the rest of the state.”

He also said that the lack of good mountain biking choices might explain why it’s not a very popular sport in Door County.

“We really need single track trails. It gets people interested in the sport…kids need hills and rocks and a jump or two…a lot more people would do it if we had a single track.”

Anschutz does a lot of his biking in Kewaunee, specifically Winter Park and Riverview Park.

For someone interested in getting involved in competitive mountain biking, Anschutz said the best way is to go see it firsthand. “The best place to start is to just go to a race,” he said. “See what it’s like. You can train as much as you like but you have to see it to understand.”

Anschutz is excited about his future.

“I jumped into it without much training,” he explained, “and I was successful right away…I think the more I train and the more experience I get, I could do really well.”

For more information on Anschutz and the Wisconsin Off-Road series, visit http://www.WORS.org.