Registration is now open. How quickly will it sell out?
I’m in to have a crack at another XCM race that isn’t at 7k or higher.
I can’t remember if it sold out last year or not. If it did, it didn’t go quick like Big Sugar. That said, last year was the first year and it’s now a Grand Prix event, so maybe more demand this year?
BTW, thanks for posting this, I had totally forgotten about Big Sugar registration opening today, thought I had missed it but it doesn’t open for another hour.
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it sold out last year…as of today still open…100k!
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Amazingly, Big Sugar is still open, as well.
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both probably a reflection of overall consumer uncertainty and the whole endeavor isn’t cheap.
I’m heading to Bentonville this weekend and plan to pre-ride the Little Sugar course. Things may get limited by the weather as thunderstorms are predicted, but I wanted to check if there is any place on or near the course to get water around the halfway point?
I likely would carry enough to get to the halfway point. I see that you cross 71 around the point as you approach Pinion Creek Falls, so those would be good spots to get fluid, but if there is something a little earlier or later, I could also plan accordingly.
Any help/suggestions are much appreciated.
Tunnel Vision and Back 40 trails drain well, so you shouldn’t have too much issue riding those over the weekend.
As for water, there are a few stops along the way that have water but last I remember, the spigots weren’t working. They’re usually at small trail head parking/bathroom areas scattered around Tunnel Vision/Back 40. You might have luck with the one at Hampstead or Gainford. Probably around 35 miles. There are a lot of people who live on the trails that leave out jugs or coolers full of water/drinks.
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Seriously considering heading to B’ville for a pre-ride. I’m really not keen on rolling up to the line blind. I think the last time I didn’t pre-ride at least a little bit of a course was the first Rock Cobbler in 2022…
Given that it’s more technical than most if not all the other Lifetime MTB events, I’m leaning towards it’s a must rather than nice to have.
It’s a proper MTB course, but I’d say the hardest sections of Leadville are probably more technical that the hardest parts of Little Sugar (or at least more dangerous if you screw up). And I’d certainly consider Austin Rattler more technical than big Sugar (and rattler isn’t very technical). Little sugar is pretty flowy and fast with a lot of up and down switchbacks. The thing that makes it hard is that it’s almost all singletrack, so you have to pay attention the entire day. And when I say it’s not technical, I just mean it’s easy to get around at a reasonable pace without serious MTB skills. But it’s a place where having good MTB skills will get you around the course much faster. There are lots of folks I can beat easily at Leadville that would kill me at Little Sugar. It’s not just a pedaling/power contest.
Little Sugar does have a few random tricky spots that you’ll likely never remember where they are unless you pre-ride multiple times. It’s still nice to see those spots before the race if you can. It’s awesome riding, but it’s a lot of rinse and repeat with similar terrain and features throughout. I’ve ridden those trails a bunch on my MTB, but the only racing I’ve done them is at Rule of 3 on my gravel bike. If I can get around those trails on my gravel bike (sporting aero bars and my marginal bike skills), it’s not technical. I’d never consider trying Rattler (or Leadville) on a Gravel bike.
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Good to know. I’ll save the airfare and just schedule some time up in the Santa Cruz Mountains / Skyline complex which is at least as technical as the sketchy part of Powerline.
That is really weird. I raced Leadville and big and little sugar last year and felt little sugar was a lot more technical and even “more dangerous” (not dangerous dangerous but I did walk a couple of sections where at Leadville didn’t even think about walking any descents). It was a proper mtb race.
Joe
Agree the Little Sugar is much more technical overall, and that’s why I was calling out the danger aspect. And danger is probably in the eyes of the beholder, their skill level, how they race, etc.
And maybe I’m forgetting how tough some of those spots are at Little Sugar, but I recall just a few tricky spots. And even if getting off the bike, I don’t think it would be significant time. Totally agree that overall Little Sugar is more technical overall since it’s all single track, I just didn’t remember anything scary like bombing down super chunky sections at stupid speeds. Leadville is about a “non-tech” as it comes for a MTB race with probably 90% more like a gravel race, but the dangerous spots are extremely high consequence. I’d bet there are a lot more minor crashes at little sugar, but more hospital visits at Leadville. If I could only recon one of those courses, it would be Leadville. But I’m not much of a legit MTB racer, so that probably skews my perspective.
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Ha! That might be the difference between our attack of the Leadville course!
Joe
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It will be my first time doing Little Sugar, so I’m pondering a pre-ride in the latter part of August, splitting it into two 30-mile days with one day between riding bike parks in the area.
I’m thinking I should be able to call an Uber to take me back to my lodging at the end of each pre-ride day.
I’m registered for the 50k and planning to recon some of the trail in August as well. It’s going to be crazy hot.
I’m also not a legit MTB racer so I need all the practice I can get.
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After getting rained out Memorial Day weekend, made it out to Bentonville this weekend (Labor Day) and was able to pre-ride the entire course and then re-ride the first half a second time. The conditions this weekend were pretty much perfect with the course being dry but not really dusty.
The course is constantly rolling up and down with a few slightly longer climbs. There are a ton of switch backs, both up and down, and clearly a favorite of the course builders. Some are pretty tight and can be pretty steep. The vast majority of the course is rideable, but a few short but super steep sections caught me and I had to jump off.
The two most technical trail sections are marked as Black Diamond and are “Technical Difficulty” which you will hit in the first half and then “The Ledges” which you hit in the back half of the race. “Technical Difficulty” has a rocky stair step section that is in a lot of highlight videos. Knowing the right line here is key, but it is also very easy to jump off your bike and quickly run across it. Overall, I didn’t find this section as a whole too bad.
“The Ledges” I found much more challenging. If you look on the map it cuts into a bit of a canyon twice before a hairpin turn each time taking you back out. The inward sections are rocky and extremely narrow with a drop on the right side. I rode it pretty slowly but then you get to rocks and roots that are a sharp 90 degree angles and really tricky to then navigate when you are going slow. This turned into walking territory for me. The whole section is about 2.5 miles and it felt it went on for a long while. I would hate to see the section when it’s wet because parts were even tricky to walk with a bike when it was dry. I suspect on race day traffic through here will be slow after the top riders are through. Happily the trail gets pretty flowy again shortly after this section.
I was on an Epic 8 and used 2.4 Dubnitals in Grip compound with Trail casing. They felt great, never lost traction all weekend and no flats or punctures. Felt like a great tire for the course and I feel confident leaving these on for race day.
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Never ridden little sugar but after Kegan’s win on a HT at XCM WC’s i have a new found love for my SC Highball and considering using this over my Yeti SB115. Anybody have any takes on this for the 100k?
I’m doing a 50 miler on my Scalpel HT this weekend. 2.4” F/R and a liner in the back. We’ll see how my 58 year old back feels afterwards.
The primary reason I ride my FS is to fight off the fatigue that comes with a constant beating one might get on a HT. That said, in the described config, my Scalpel HT is pretty forgiving, not as forgiving as having 100-120mm out back, but that weight savings is also non-trivial.
Unlike Keegan, I will not be running a high post.
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Madness…. But I’d actually say Little Sugar is a decent hardtail course if you like riding a hardtail. Most of the course is pretty smooth. I personally wouldn’t go HT if I had a nice FS, but I prioritize comfort and handling forgiveness over weight every time. In other words, my lack of skills and my tired old body prefer FS on any MTB course. YMMV.
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I’d probably prefer a FS as well but my only option (yet sb115) is not light at all (best ive gotten to is 24.5lbs) and thinking a HT might be a little snappier and maybe even faster.
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