21-02-2025
Ice racing set to return to Brant Lake
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A popular racing series is set to make its long-awaited return to the ice of Brant Lake near Chester.
The Sioux Valley Cycle Club attempts to host a series of ice races each winter and recently kicked off the season at Saddleback Race Track in Sioux Falls.
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'The club was willing to have some races out there on their pond and it kind of got us jump-started for the season as the ice was building, and our goal was to get on a lake,' ice racing promoter Micah Schliemann said.
Micah Schliemann is the race promoter and says ice racing is making its return to Brant Lake for the first time since 2020.
'Really awesome out there for the local community and a lot of the history has started out there for ice racing,' Schliemann said.
The club hasn't been on any lake since 2022 due to past poor ice conditions.
'It was just always unsafe, and this year it built up good and then it kind of leveled off, and then it built up even better,' Schliemann said.
As the cycle club makes the move from Saddleback to Brant Lake, Schliemann will bring about 100 competitors along for the ride.
'You're going to see kids of all ages, six years old all the way up to full adults in their 50s and 60s out there racing, three-wheelers, four-wheelers, and motorcycles,' Schliemann said.
'It's going to be action-packed,' Top Notch Powersports owner Grant Cummings said.
Grant Cummings owns a local motorcycle shop, Top Notch Powersports, and says there's a lot that goes into setting up a bike for ice.
'Guys are trying to keep the water and the moisture out of the engines and that kind of thing, so they'll use foam in a lot of areas to keep ice from building up,' Cummings said.
But the key to victory may be where the rubber meets the ice.
'Whoever has the best tires is usually going to have the advantage, so the past few years guys have been pretty competitive on tire building and tire buying,' Cummings said.
Schliemann says it should result in quite a show.
'They're going to be bar-banging, sliding, and it's going to be a heck of a good day on Sunday,' Schliemann said.
The ice racing event begins at noon Sunday at Brant Lake in front of the Shipwreck Bar, and is free to attend.
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