ON THE ROAD AGAIN Maxxis ESC Stan’s No Tubes Enduro #1 – Powder Ridge, Connecticut

This past weekend 253 racers converged at Connecticut’s Powder Ridge Park for the first round of our fifteenth season. The shorter trails of Powder are a great warm-up for the rest of the season but leave less room for error, making for exciting racing and incredibly tight times. Short but mighty, there are plenty of sniper rocks here that will suck the air from your tires, so you’re got to be light on the bike. The Powder crew laid out five sensational stages, showcasing everything the park has to offer, from chunky rock features to silky smooth berms and everything in between. After last year’s soaker of a season, everyone was watching the forecast but thankfully showers held off until the ride home. Keep scrolling to see how things shook out come Sunday afternoon!

Powder has one of the most enjoyable camping setups of all the venues we visit, perfect for catching up with friends after a long off-season.

Our friends at the Stan’s No Tubes tent making sure Isaac Allaire’s hoops are straight after smashing rocks on practice day.

8:30 am riders meeting or Where’s Waldo: Chris Gilbert edition?

The U14 and U12 Kate’s Kids are always ready to rip, so we let them go first and take the lift to Stage 1 while everyone else pedaled to the top.

We’re thrilled to have Cannondale on board to support the Ebike class this year and so are racers with 18 of them showing up this weekend. We hope they were just as stoked at the top of their exclusive Stage 6 timed climb.

Stage 1 started with a freshly opened section of trail that lead to the old concrete water slide at the bottom, a favorite among racers. Nate Latourette would earn his first Pro men’s class podium result, rounding out the top five.

Steve Estabrook added some electricity to his program this year and like a true DH racer he won every stage except the timed climb. Regardless, it was enough to the win race by over 30 seconds with a total time of 9:49.

Top notch views for only a 550 foot vertical drop.

With such short stages, pumping the rollers and berms is essential to maintaining speed. Veteran racer Oliver Levick knows this well, he would go P4 in the 30-39 men’s class.

Feels good to rip some bike park berms again, the Powder Ridge crew did a great job getting trails ready for us.

Jac Dahrouge gets after it on the rocky hillside of Stage 3, fourth place is a great way to start off his run with the Pro Men.

A pair of stage wins and Mattson Clement is back on top of the podium, earning the 20U win in his first race since moving up.

Congrats to Course Official Nik Orlando on his 100th Maxxis ESC race, this guy logs a ton of miles during the season.

There’s all kinds of fun wood features scattered throughout the bike park trails. First time Maxxis ESC racer Brian Clark topped the highly competitive 40-49 men’s class that ran 35 deep this weekend.

Derek Pierce picked up where he left off last season with a win in the 50+ Masters class.

Kaleb Guinn blasts through a bit of rocky tech before enjoying the more flowy bottom half of Stage 4. He would take his first 21-29 men’s class win complete with three stage wins.

Soren Frantz flows through the top of Stage 4 on his way to third place in the 21-29 men’s class.

Dexter Shearer emerges from the woods of Stage 5 and rides on to third place in the 16U boys class.

Parker Downing has raced Wild Turkey many times on his DH bike and sends it just the same on the trail bike. He would keep the speed consistent, landing in second place for the 20U class despite no stage wins.

Brittany Colby hangs on through the final woods section of Stage 5, she would go on to take her first Amateur women’s class win by a commanding margin of fourteen seconds.

Jonathan Braun flies into the base area on the final stage of the day. He battled with Nick Sokol for the 30-39 men’s class win but came up short by just 0.21s.

Chelsea O’Connor keeps the wheels close to the ground and the speed high. She would have a consistent race day, capturing third place for the Pro Women.

2023 Stan’s Enduro Pro women’s class champion Mia Migliorino was right back up to speed, earning second place along with a stage win.

After a bunch of riding and racing down south earlier this year it seems like Michelle Guy is already in mid-season form. She would rack up four stage wins as well as her first Pro win with a total race time of 12:10.

Pro Women: 4th – Alyssa Kessler, 2nd – Mia Migliorino, 1st – Michelle Guy, 3rd – Chelsea O’Connor

A solid start to the season for veteran ESC Pro racer Adam Robbins, third place with just twelve seconds to reel in.

Tucker Shearer led the way for the speedy next gen coming up in the Pro men’s class, just 1.6s off first with a trio of stage wins.

After just a taste of racing last year due to injury, Isaac Allaire is hungry for a lot more this year. He came out swinging at Powder, besting the Pro Men with a total race time of 9:49.

Pro Men: 4th – Jac Dahrouge, 2nd – Tucker Shearer, 1st – Isaac Allaire, 3rd – Adam Robbins, 5th – Nate Latourette

Signing off from Connecticut! Thanks to everyone who came out to kick off our fifteenth season in style and shout out to Mother Nature for letting us enjoy a mostly dry race!

Words and photos: Andrew Santoro
Video: Seth Merritt

Full Results
Race Recap Podcast
Easternstatescup.com

2024 MAXXIS ESC PRESENTED BY KATE’S REAL FOOD SCHEDULE

INTENSE CYCLES DOWNHILL SERIES
May 19 Powder Ridge, CT
June 23 Jiminy Peak, MA
June 30 Killington, VT
July 21 Thunder Mountain, MA
Aug 11 Mount Snow, VT
Aug 18 Sugarloaf, ME
Aug 25 Powder Ridge, CT
Sept 15 Blue Mountain, PA
Sept 22 Thunder Mountain, MA
Oct 13 Jiminy Peak, MA Finals

STAN’S NO TUBES ENDURO SERIES
May 5 Powder Ridge, CT
June 9 Glen Park, PA
June 23 Jiminy Peak, MA
June 30 Killington, VT
July 14 Arrowhead, NH
July 21 Thunder Mountain, MA
July 28 Burke Mountain, VT
Aug 18 Sugarloaf, ME
Sept 8 Woodstock, VT
Sept 22 Thunder Mountain, MA
Oct 5 Monteau, NH
Oct 20 Arrowhead NH

THULE SHOWDOWN SERIES
June 23 Jiminy Peak, MA
June 30 Killington, VT
July 21 Thunder Mountain, MA
Aug 18 Sugarloaf, ME
Sept 22 Thunder Mountain, MA

CANNONDALE EBIKE SERIES
May 5 Powder Ridge, CT
June 9 Glen Park, PA
July 14 Arrowhead, NH
July 21 Thunder Mountain, MA
Aug 18 Sugarloaf, ME
Sept 8 Woodstock, VT
Sept 22 Thunder Mountain, MA
Oct 5 Monteau, NH
Oct 20 Arrowhead NH