The past two years I’ve concentrated on MTB stage races. Love them but want to switch things up a bit next year. I’ve still got a couple of stage races in mind but looking for some 50mile-ish and 100mile-ish race suggestions.
I like to mountain bike, so no to Leadville. Let’s just get that out there… I want to ride singletrack not roads. I might even consider 12/24hr solo rides.
Here’s my shortlist.
PCP2P ??
Marji Gesick ??
Fire-cracker 50
Big Sky Biggie ??
Dakota 5-0 (already done that a few times, its out)
Gunnison Growler (did that back when it was 64 and now the current 40, will probably do it again)
Hopefully keeping it in the Rockies but willing to travel if it’s awesome…
5points50 is probably the best mtb race you’ve not heard of. After the 5 mile road start, its 99% singletrack. Its fantastic. Outside of Chattanooga it is
I wouldn’t recommend that race to someone from the Midwest and certainly not to someone who has the Rockies to play with. Definitely not worth the travel, there’s nothing good to say about that race.
Fuego XL at Sea Otter (no getting lapped by the top 10 LT riders this year because they’re racing gravel on a different day.)
Lutsen 99’er
Tahoe Trail except they’re changing it to a 3 lap affair in 2025.
Rock Cobbler. it’s kind of a gravel race, but I had more fun racing it on my XC HT than gravel bike.
Tahoe Trail is practically a gravel race with the exception of one section of single track descent (unless they drastically change the course). If you’re looking for more single track riding, I’d take that off the list.
I’ve only participated in Mohican 100 once and raced the shorter 100km, but I thought it was pretty fun event. The first 25 miles or so is the Mohican IMBA Epic which is a lot of typical midwest rooted old school single track but flowy and fun and some great sections to carry speed. Lots of climbing and lots of roots, so suspension setup is crucial. After some connecting sections you hit Mohican WIlderness (or something like that) which is more single tract but a little more technical the the IMBA Epic section. Lots of short punchy stuff. Some other good single tract follows as the race goes on including some on private land that is only accessible on race day.
It can be hot, but now the race is held earlier to help with that. There have also been some muddy years which would make it less fun. There is still some road/gravel, but the organizer has cut this back. It’s decent gravel though with a lot of rolling hills. It is a hard event though, especially the 100 miler. Riders are typically significantly slower on this course compared to Leadville LT 100.
