Video & Race Report: Maxxis Eastern States Cup Stan’s Enduro #2 – Arrowhead, NH

Round 2 of the 2025 Maxxis ESC Stan’s Enduro season touched down in Claremont, New Hampshire, where Arrowhead Recreation Area once again played host to a wild weekend of racing. This is our fifth year returning to the venue and a lot has changed since the first time we put tires on dirt here, including new trails and The Wheelhouse bike shop moving into the base lodge building. Trail crew always keeps things fresh for us, routing stages through a few different trails on the way down, so even if you’ve ridden here recently you won’t necessarily have an advantage come race day.

Mother Nature had her own plan this weekend, soaking the soil on Saturday which made the steep sections more of a slip and slide than the loamers we’re used to. In these conditions you’ve got to let the bike go where it wants and put in more pedal power to muscle through the muck. Racers who mastered the art of letting the bike dance beneath them rather than fighting it reached the podium come Sunday afternoon.

After a very rainy practice day, everyone was relieved to see blue skies peeking through the clouds Sunday morning.

Pro tip: always do a race morning bike check, making sure everything is spinning and shifting smooth before heading up the hill.

Vicki Koch gets the 12U and 14U kids ready to roll, they would be the first to take off.

Grab a Jocko hydration mix, the legs will be working harder than usual to push through the muck.

Quick chip activation and we’re ready to go racing.

The 500′ vertical climb was a breeze for our Cannondale Ebike class, most analog bike racers were walking the steep sections by the second or third lap.

The nice thing about spectating at Arrowhead is most of the stages meet up near the bottom of the transfer, so you can catch a lot of action without hiking too far.

If you do happen to venture to the upper sections of trail, there’s a killer view of Mount Ascutney in nearby Vermont, which also has some amazing riding.

Although the raindrops were over, there was still a overabundance of water on the ground come Sunday. Kelly Dube did her best to keep the bars straight through it all and finished the day in fourth place for the Pro Women.

Phil Kmetz was on another heater in his home state, smoking the rest of the Cannondale Ebike class by more than two minutes to take his second win in a row. Will anyone be able to catch him this season?

Charlie McLean flies through the grass maze at the bottom of Stage 1. He would earn his first 21-29 men’s class win of the season, no doubt he’ll be stoked with that after recently coming back from a wrist injury.

Another impressive showing from the entire Shearer family this weekend, all four landing in the top five of their classes. Peter keeps it low on the rhythm section at the bottom of Fixer, he finished the day in fourth place for the Pro Men.

Suspension seals working overtime out there this weekend.

No time to enjoy the view on the crazy steep Conway rock roll. Jonah Tibbals kept it moving right into second place for his second 20U podium of the year.

Super tight racing in the 20U class, with Afton Danforth squeaking out his first W by just 1.8s with a pair of stage wins.

J. Shane O’Shura carries speed through one of the smoother sections on his way to securing the 40-49 men’s class win by a monster margin of 1:32.

The mud made this double tough for some racers but Gavin Davis had no issues with it, he would land in third place for the 21-29 Men.

Chris Mari keeps a rapid pace through the large rollers at the top of Chubbs. He would win three stages and improve one spot from last race to top the 30-39 men’s class by seventeen seconds.

Careul, it’s slicker than snot out there.

50+ Masters class racer Brian Clark sends it off the rocky top of Stage 3, he was able to lock down his second win and is off to a fantastic start this season.

While many chose the b-line, some brave souls still sent the creek gap at the bottom of Waka Waka.

Stage 5 was a doozie, the ruthless combination of tough climbs and soft ground left racers completely spent at the finish line.

Burgers and a bike wash were just what the doctor ordered after a long day in the saddle. They take such good care of us at Arrowhead.

A stack of fresh Maxxis rubber ready for our amateur podium finishers.

P3 for Pro racer Kai Waldman, matching her efforts from Round 1 and keeping the podium results flowing.

First race of the season for last year’s Pro women’s title winner Tillie Lange, she had a consistent weekend and rolled in to second place.

Amanda Vansant gets along with the steeps of Arrowhead just fine, she earned her second Pro win after securing the first here last season. She would top the Pro Women by over two minutes with a total of 12:13 on the clock.

Pro Women: 4th – Kelly Dube, 2nd – Tillie Lange, 1st – Amanda Vansant, 3rd – Kai Waldman, 5th – Michelle Guy

Adrian Hayden kept it mostly under control and ended the day in third place for the Pro Men.

Tucker Shearer suffered a front flat on the first stage and tried to claw his way back with a stage win but would fall just seven seconds short of the top step.

Revenge for Isaac Allaire, after finishing second last round he comes back to take the win at Arrowhead with four stage wins and a total race time of 9:46. It’s going to be an entertaining battle for the Pro Men’s overall as these two are already trading positions this early in the season.

Pro Men: 4th – Peter Shearer, 2nd – Tucker Shearer, 1st – Isaac Allaire, 3rd – Adrian Hayden, 5th – Dan Moon

Signing off from Arrowhead, thanks to all who came out to endure the mud with us! It’s nearly summer and we’re just getting race season warmed up. Intense DH racers are back in action June 15th at Mountain Creek and we’ll host our first Thule Showdown double header of the year at Jiminy Peak June 22nd. Get registered and come have some fun!

Words and photos: Andrew Santoro
Video: Seth Merritt

Full Results
Series Standings
Easternstatescup.com

2025 MAXXIS ESC SCHEDULE

INTENSE CYCLES DOWNHILL SERIES
May 4 Powder Ridge, CT
June 15 Mountain Creek, NJ
June 22 Jiminy Peak, MA
July 13 Mount Snow, VT
July 20 Killington, VT
Aug 10 Thunder Mountain, MA
Sept 14 Blue Mountain, PA
Sept 21 Powder Ridge, CT
Oct 26 Jiminy Peak, MA Finals

STAN’S ENDURO SERIES
May 18 Powder Ridge, CT
June 1 Arrowhead, NH
June 22 Jiminy Peak, MA
July 20 Killington, VT
July 27 Monteau, NH
Aug 10 Thunder Mountain, MA
Aug 24 Burke, VT
Sept 21 Powder Ridge, CT
Oct 12 Arrowhead, NH Finals

THULE SHOWDOWN SERIES
June 22 Jiminy Peak, MA
July 20 Killington, VT
Aug 10 Thunder Mountain, MA
Sept 21 Powder Ridge, CT

CANNONDALE EBIKE SERIES
May 18 Powder Ridge, CT
June 1 Arrowhead, NH
July 27 Monteau, NH
Aug 10 Thunder Mountain, MA
Sept 21 Powder Ridge, CT
Oct 12 Arrowhead, NH