Sugarloaf Prepares For Enduro World Series, August 20-21

Sugarloaf will be one of two American stops on the 2022 The Enduro World Series (EWS) tour, on August 20-21, 2022, and preparations are underway for lively weekend festival featuring outdoor concerts, a vendor village, and family friendly activities, in addition to the marquee Enduro races on the mountain.

The Enduro World Series is the highest level of enduro mountain bike racing on the planet, featuring the most physically and technically challenging trails in the world. The 2022 series will mark the first time in the event’s history that it will feature back to back stops in the United States. Burke Mountain in Vermont will host an EWS event on August 13-14, 2022. In total there will be 11 EWS races spanning the globe, including stops in Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Slovenia, Canada, and more.

Enduro racing is a physically demanding type of mountain bike racing featuring timed downhill stages, and mandatory, untimed uphill stages. Enduro combines the technical skills required of downhill racing with the physical fitness required of cross-country racing.

Work is currently underway on the EWS race course, led by former Olympic mountain bike racer Adam Craig, who manages mountain bike events and initiatives for Sugarloaf.

“Sugarloaf’s natural topography make it an ideal site for Enduro racing,” Craig said. “We had great success with the Enduro trails and events here last summer, and I’m excited about the course we’re putting together for the EWS.”

Weekend Festival

In addition to the racing on the mountain, the EWS weekend will feature a lively, family-friendly festival, featuring live outdoor concerts, a vendor village, kids’ balance bike races, and guided group rides throughout Carrabassett Valley’s extensive network of cross-country mountain bike trails.

The weekend concerts will be headlined by Neal Francis, the Chicago-based artist whose music features a soulful combination of Americana-funk and classic R&B, with a touch of gospel. Francis will perform from 7-10pm on Saturday, August 20.

Also performing that weekend will be Bearly Dead, a New England jam and Grateful Dead tribute band. Bearly Dead will perform from 7-10pm on Friday, August 19.

All concerts will be held outdoors on the Landing, in front of the Sugarloaf Base Lodge.

For additional festival details and to purchase festival tickets, please visit www.sugarloaf.com/ews.

Media Meet and Greet

Sugarloaf held a media meet and greet event with Adam Craig on Friday, July 8 at 11am at the LL Bean Bike Store in Freeport, ME. Craig is a former Olympic mountain bike racer, and currently serves as Sugarloaf’s Mountain Bike Race and Event Manager, where is leading the ongoing course build and coordinating event logistics.

Members of the media were invited to come and meet Adam and learn more about Enduro Mountain Bike racing, as well as the rapidly growing mountain bike scene at Sugarloaf and throughout Carrabassett Valley.