Race Report | Eastern States Cup Enduro: Sugarbush

At the end of August, 130 racers from all over the Northeast came together in Warren, Vermont for round #6 of the Eastern States Cup. The area is home to some of the best skiing in the Northeast US and the mountain biking isn’t far behind. The majority of the ski resorts run bike parks in the summer and Sugarbush Resort is one of them. Sugarbush is no stranger to DH racing but this is the first year they are trying their hand at Enduro.

I was last here years ago for a Super-D race and remembered Sugarbush as an old school East Coast resort…in the best sense of the word. If things hadn’t changed, this was going to be a race on natural terrain and needless to say, I was highly anticipating this round.

Friday morning practice was off to a late start with the lifts starting to spin at 10am instead of the more familiar 9am and the majority of riders not showing up until later in the day, juggling race practice and work, or simply not wanting to catch the remnants of the previous night’s rain, which left trails soaked and greasy.

Arriving at the top of the lift revealed an expansive view of the surrounding mountain tops and valleys. Sugarbush is one of the biggest mountains we’ve raced at and its terrain and vegetation really make it apparent that you’re in the true north.

With the ascent of flow trails in North America, it’s becoming harder and harder to go to a resort and race on natural, hand cut trails. Not at Sugarbush. As I had hoped, things seemed as I remembered them from my last trip up here. The terrain is raw and rugged with just enough berms to keep things interesting. Exposed tentacle like roots cling on to the rocks that make up the ground. Abundance of decomposed rock powder adds a gray glimmer to the ground, as my teammate Jason called it, “eyeshadow rock.”

Stage #1 started off with a blazingly fast descend that zig-zagged down a ski slope, before entering tight, technical woods. The rain from the night before left the root and rock covered trail very slick. You had to give it all of your concentration if you wanted to stay on two wheels. Even a split second hesitation could mean having your bike yanked out from underneath you. The nature of the tight, twisty trail dictated a slower, calculated riding style and the conditions required an almost surgical precision with line choice. At the bottom of the stage, I couldn’t help but giggle. This was some of the most fun riding I’ve done in a while. With every subsequent run, the stage dried out more and more and by race time, the stage had become a lot more manageable, though that didn’t stop me from missing my line and going over the bars in one of the remaining mud bogs during the race.

Stage #2 was a flow trail. Yes yes, I said Sugarbush is all about the natural terrain. Well, if anything here could be described as a flow trail, it would be this stage. The shortest stage of the weekend, it was all big berms and whoops. Having said that, the trail wasn’t sidewalk smooth and the tight corners required a whole lot of effort to maintain speed. This was not my favorite stage and the results reflected that. In what I can only call an anomality, this stage had a very “late fall” feel to it. Unlike anywhere else on the mountain, it seemed like there were less leaves on the trees and the surroundings were gray and cool. Anytime I rode this stage, I thought I was somehow transported into late October.

Stage #3 was an unorthodox affair and one that most racers looked forward to the least. A fast access road traverse finished off over 90% of the racers left and sent them straight up an access road in what I can only assume was a move to curb some racers’ use of DH bikes at the recent Enduros. A climb I thought would be faster to run than ride, the race reality of which turned into: ride, run for a little bit, slow to a walk and finally just make it to the top without stopping to catch my breath.

The length and speed of the climb was such that with 30 second intervals between racers, I could see one of my teammates at the top of the climb and one at the bottom while I was in the middle of it. The summit of the climb meant the start of the downhill section and this one, like Stage #1, required all the concentration you could give – something that was in great deficit when you come into it cross-eyed and gasping for air. Steep, tight turns, slick roots and tall water bars were on the menu for the lower section of Stage #3.

Stages #4 and #5 were rider favorites and shared a similar feel to each other. Flowy, mostly natural trails with a high average speed and a much higher fun factor. Lots of corners to manual out of and lots of little drops and gaps to be hit. Like Stage #1, Stage #5 was a top to bottom run and was the longest one of the weekend. I’m still not sure which one of those was my favorite stage but they were both worthy. I do have one complaint with this stage; out of the many wooden bridges on the trail, one particular became a trap for the racers. It came right after a puddle on a high speed section. Being one of the only bridges without a grippy chicken wire wrap, it felt like glass if your wet tires were anything but perfectly straight, something that was hard to avoid with a turn right after the bridge. This was the spot that took out the most riders, including myself in one of my practice runs.

In the end, Richie Rude, the winner of two EWS races and a fellow East coaster, emerged victorious. Second place went to GIANT’s Seamus Powell, who beat out another YETI ripper, Jason Memmelaar, by just one second. On the women’s side of the podium, it was Lauren Petersen continuing her streak of strong performances, followed by Clarissa Finks and Kelly Dolan.

This was the first time Sugarbush has hosted an Enduro race and I hope it stays on the Eastern States Cup calendar for years to come. This was one of the most fun races I’ve done in a while and that’s saying something. There was plenty of technical sections and you definitely needed to have proper descending skills but nothing felt overly high consequence like we see in more and more Enduro races lately. It was refreshing. It was pure fun. Jay Memmelaar had this to say about the race: “Sugarbush never gives you a chance to rest. It’s full gas the whole way down!”

For more information check: Eastern States Cup Enduro Series

Words: Paul Dotsenko Photos: Jamie Lee

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