Mountain Bike Races You Should Seriously Consider Entering in 2020

Location: St. George, Utah

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Southern Utah is mountain biking’s spring playground, and the True Grit Epic promises technical terrain and challenging climbing. The course passes through sand washes, flowing singletrack, and steep climbs with commanding views of the surrounding desert landscape. The True Grit offers both 46-mile or 100-mile course options for its signature mountain bike race. The course includes rock gardens and tricky descents and the organizers recommend a pre-ride.

For 2020, the organizers have added a 84-mile gravel race to the weekend’s events for riders who like to ride dirt on skinny tires, too. The True Grit Gravel Epic features 9000 feet of climbing and the course is 80 percent off-road riding. For more riding, check out Gooseberry Mesa and Jem trail systems in nearby Hurricane. Add a side trip to Zion National Park or Bryce Canyon and it’s the perfect early season road trip.

Location: Lake Isabella, California

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One of the longest running races in California, the Keyesville Classic features a mix of fire road and flowing singletrack near the town of Lake Isabella. Located in the Southern Sierra, Lake Isabella sits on the Kern River and first drew white settlers during the gold rush era. The weekend-long event offers events in just about every discipline. Choose from cross-country, Super D, or short track. There’s also an All-Mountain Stage Race that invites riders to compete in all three disciplines on the same bike. For 2020, Keyesville has added an e-bike race and a race for drop bar, gravel-style bikes. A kids race, Vintage mountain bike category, and trials events add to the fun. Don’t miss dinner and live music under the stars on Saturday night.

Location: Prescott, Arizona

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The Whiskey Off-Road events take their name from Prescott’s historical Whiskey Row. Choose from 15, 30, or 50 miles of racing through the nearby Prescott National Forest. The courses combine singletrack, gravel roads, and a few paved segments for an ever-changing day of racing. The Downtown Music Festival provides the perfect after-party and racers receive a free beer from the Four Peaks Brewing Company. Cruise downtown on Friday night to watch pro riders compete in the El Yucateco Pro Fast Tire Crits, which feature $1,000 cash prizes. There’s also a kids’ fun ride on Sunday morning that benefits Prevent Child Abuse Arizona. All-told, the Whiskey Off-Road delivers a solid weekend of mountain biking with a wild west vibe.

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Location: Brevard, North Carolina

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The Pisgah National Forest features challenging East Coast-style roots and rocks mountain biking and plays host for the Pisgah Mountain Bike Stage Race. Running five days, the race showcases the singletrack that winds through the area. The course runs 140 miles total and is more than three-quarters singletrack. The race is fully supported and includes aid stations, a drop service, and dinner made from locally sourced ingredients each evening. The 2020 race serves as a benefit for Bread of Life, a soup kitchen in Brevard.

Location: Monterey, California

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The annual Sea Otter Classic is a bike nerd’s paradise. Originally a long-lap cross-country race through the rolling hills outside Monterey, Sea Otter has grown into a colossus. Now you can race multiple mountain bike disciplines, including cross-country, downhill, dual slalom, and enduro. There’s even an e-mountain bike race. Check out the latest gear at the outdoor tradeshow hosted in the Laguna Seca raceway’s infield. There is camping available, but it sells out quickly, so plan ahead. Make sure to catch the intense, high-flying pro dual slalom finals on Saturday night.

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Location: Grand Junction, Colorado

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Situated in Southwest Colorado, Grand Junction offers challenging, technical riding, similar to the canyon lands of Southern Utah. The Grand Junction Off-Road features a three-day festival of mountain bike races and an outdoor music festival. The throw-back Klunker Crit pays tribute to mountain biking’s early roots. Race 15, 30, or 40 miles through the rock-strewn singletrack of Grand Junction’s famed Lunch Loops, gravel roads, and doubletrack. The terrain is dusty, loose, and is sure to keep you on your toes. Between rides, visit one of Grand Junction’s wineries for a tasting.

Location: Brandywine Creek State Park, Delaware

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Get your cross-country legs ready. A regional favorite, Ramsey’s Revenge races through the Brandywine Creek State Park and First State National Monument, which includes several buildings from Delaware’s colonial era history and scenic landscapes along the Brandywine River. This is East Coast-style mountain biking with singletrack twisting through the woods, roots and logs to navigate, steep climbs, and doubletrack through open farmland. Course lengths run from 7.5 miles for first-timers to 22.5 miles for expert category racers. Ramseys Revenge is also known for its stylin’ event T-shirts.

Location: Ely, Nevada

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An enduro mountain bike event, Fears, Tears, and Beers races multiple stages with timed segments in each one. Race through twisty descents and sprint sections on BLM and national forest lands. Distances run from 17.5 miles with three timed segments for beginner class racers to 40 miles with seven timed segments for pro racers. A festival with live music runs all day in Broadbent Park and there’s an after-party at the nearby Bristlecone Convention Center. Last year’s race cruised through a casino and finished on Whorehouse Hill.

Location: Downieville, California

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This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Downieville Classic, which lures riders to a mountain mecca in the gold rush country of the western Sierras. Race the famous point-to-point cross-country course or shred the 15-mile downhill run. The All Mountain Championship requires racing both events on the same bike. A four-day festival of bike-related hijinx surrounds the racing and includes a log pull, big air river jump contest, and live music. Even better, the Downieville Classic benefits the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship, who build and maintain trails in the area. Want to learn more? Downieville was recently featured in a Patagonia film on how the film has evolved from mining to mountain biking.

Location: Breckenridge, Colorado

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A high-altitude rider’s dream, the Breck Epic is a six-day stage race. Riders race through challenging back country terrain with stages averaging 50 miles each day. Each stage starts and finishes in downtown Breckinridge and the course is well-supplied with aid stations. The organizers describe the Breck Epic as old-school mountain bike racing: “The vibe is mid-90s mayhem.” They choose each day’s course based on where they would like to spend the day out riding, and you can expect to see a little of everything. Ride it solo, with a buddy, or as a relay. There’s also a three-day option for the “Epic-curious.” Early bird registration with a reduced fee ends on 31 January.

Location: Chequamegon, Wisconsin

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This year marks the 38th edition of the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival, which hosts more than two thousand riders on a point-to-point course in northwestern Wisconsin. All riders race a 40-mile course that begins on Main Street in the town of Hayward and finishes at the Telemark Resort in Cable. The course features forest roads, snowmobile tracks and wooded trail. The fast, rolling course is not especially technical and offers a fun day out for riders of just about any skill level. The Main Street roll-out always draws a crowd and adds to the event’s energy. The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest is located in Northwest Wisconsin near Lake Superior and the fall scenery is off the hook.

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Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

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New for 2020, the Pikes Peak Apex offers four days of challenging racing in and around Colorado Springs for riders of all abilities. The stages combine dirt roads, Jeep trails, and high-altitude singletrack woven through the aspen trees in the Pikes Peak region. The fall colors should be off the hook. A 45-60 minute prologue starts things off, and daily stages run between 35 to 50 miles. The event follows a Gran Fondo-style format where all riders start together and chip timing records the top 25 male and female finishers. There’s a $50,000 prize purse for the fastest riders over the four days.

Location: West Windsor, Vermont

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In its 28th year, the Vermont 50 hosts mountain bikers for a singletrack intensive race through the wooded trails of Mount Ascutney State Park. Fall leaves and panoramic views of the Connecticut River valley are two of the draws for this annual race. Race the 50-mile course solo or check out the women’s relay event. The weekend festival includes kids’ events and more. Proceeds from the weekend’s events, which also include two running events, benefit Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports, which offers year-round adaptive sport programs to youth and adults. The Vermont 50 sells out quickly each year, and registration opens May 25.

Location: Bentonville, Arkansas

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In recent years, the trail system in Bentonville has grown into a mountain bike playground. The Oz Trails Off-Road stitches together trails in Bentonville and Bella Vista to offer three challenging courses. Race 25, 35, or 50 miles through forested trails in the foothills of the Ozark mountains. The Oz Trails Off-Road rolls out from Bentonville with its vintage downtown and town square and Epic Rides provides well-stocked aid stations for each course distance. Three days of festival activities including pro fat tire crits and live music complete the experience.

Location: Traverse City, Michigan

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One of mountain biking’s legendary races, the first Iceman Cometh took place in 1990, hosted a field of 35 riders, and had a $5 entry fee. Since then the race has grown, and in 2017, more than 5,000 riders participated. The race takes place annually on the first Saturday of November and runs 30 miles from downtown Kalkaska, Michigan to Traverse City.

A combination of dirt roads, doubletrack, and abandoned railroad beds comprise the course through the Pere Marquette State Forest. Along the way, riders also race along the Vasa Nordic ski trail. Each year, race organizers change the final five kilometers to keep racers guessing. Three aid stations keep riders fueled and two shorter courses offer a chance for newcomers and young riders to test their legs.