EBS STAFF
This August, the core of a classic Big Sky mountain bike race, Lone Peak’s Revenge, will be joining the Montana Enduro Series for a race billed as taking place on “some of the most rugged and scenic alpine terrain you will find in a mountain bike enduro this side of the Alps.”
Lone Peak’s Revenge—which was originally spawned by Gallatin Alpine Sports as two races, one downhill and one cross-country—turned into an enduro race in 2013, the same year a nonprofit named the Montana Bicycling Guild was hatched to produce the MES.
Now in its third year, MES has folded the Big Sky event into its series. MES caps each race at 100 competitors; Big Sky’s Aug. 7 test is expected to fill up like the three preceding stops in the series.
Although the overall character of the course remains the same, the particulars change from year to year, said Lisa Curry, who’s promoting the race. There are lift-accessed portions of the course as well as plenty of human-powered climbs up roads and trails.
“There will be a combination of really technical speed trails and a little bit of flow trail,” Curry said, adding the course will zip up and down Andesite before cutting over to the north side of Lone Mountain. The details of the course will be revealed the evening of Aug. 3.
“Having done most of the stops on the [Montana] Enduro Series, Big Sky is going to be [one] of the gnarliest,” Curry said. “It’s going to test people, which will be great.”
As of EBS press time, registration for the race was still open. There are four categories: pro/expert, sport, junior and masters. Visit montanaenduro.com/bigsky2016 for more information or to register.
