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Gravel racing’s unofficial season finale has arrived.
This weekend, Big Sugar Gravel rolls into Bentonville, Arkansas. With just two editions under its belt, Big Sugar has become beloved by pros and amateurs alike, both for its exciting and challenging courses and its setting in bike-crazy Bentonville. Big Sugar offers two distances — 50 and 100-miles — and plenty of non-competitive programming like shakeout rides, an expo, and opportunities to interact with pro athletes.
The race’s afterparty, one of the rare occasions where pros and amateurs hang out until late into the night, will be dj’ed by Santa Cruz’s Alexis Skarda and former pro Taylor Phinney.
Big Sugar Gravel is now the second in a series of events produced by Life Time in Bentonville and serves as the final race in the Life Time Grand Prix. Last weekend, Little Sugar MTB debuted on Bentonville’s storied singletrack, and many athletes who will line up at Saturday’s gravel race also did the 100k MTB event. Keegan Swenson and Specialized Factory Racing’s Haley Batten took home the wins.
Read on PinkBike: Little Sugar MTB results
The inaugural edition of Big Sugar Gravel was held in 2021 after Covid delayed the original start date of 2020. Canadian Adam Roberge and a then-up-and-coming Moriah “Mo” Wilson won the first edition. It was the first of a rapid succession of wins for Wilson, who died tragically the following May.
Last year, Russell Finsterwald and Paige Onweller, both part of the Life Time Grand Prix series, won the 100-mile race.
Paige Onweller celebrates a career win at Big Sugar Gravel 2022 (Photo: Life Time)
Big Sugar Gravel Course
100 Mile – Big Sugar Gravel 2023 on Trailforks.com
The Big Sugar courses haven’t changed much at all since the event’s inception. There are two distances to choose from — Big Sugar at 104 miles with around 7,000′ of elevation gain and Lil Sugar course at 52 miles with approximately 3,500′ of elevation gain. Both feature a variety of gravel surfaces, from well-packed and fast-rolling to littered with chunky stones. The gravel to pavement ratio is roughly 75:25 percent.
The riding is classic Northwest Arkansas, never flat but lacking long sustained climbs. The elevation profile reads like an excitable EKG, with constant short, sharp ascents punctuating the entire course. Many of the roads are minimally maintained, and riders have to stay alert for loose, rocky gravel descents.
Tire choice is tantamount, and many pros are upping their 40s for 45mm this year.
There are two official checkpoints on the Big Sugar course and one on the Lil — both are in southern Missouri. Riders may have support crews meet them at both checkpoints, which are located at miles 37 and 73 on the 100-mile route.
According to race director Ben Sachs, there are only a few changes of note this year. At the start line, the pros will start separately from the age group athletes, with pro men rolling first at 7:30, followed by pro women at 7:35, and the rest of the 100-mile racers at 7:40.
The only course update is at the end of both race distances: in the last mile and a half of the courses, riders will be routed off the pavement onto doubletrack due to construction. The change will be marked and the GPS file has been updated.
There is also a major change at the finish line, which will likely be a harbinger of things to come at other Life Time events. The finishing straight will be split into two chutes to increase safety when short course riders and pros from the 100-mile race cross the line at the same time.
“At Little Sugar MTB last weekend we had a proof of concept for split lanes in the final straight to separate short course riders and the front of the pro race,” said race director Ben Sachs. “It worked really well to give the sprint finish a clear line to the finish line.”
Finsterwald leads the men’s front group. (Photo: Wil Matthews/Life Time)
Big Sugar Gravel and the Life Time Grand Prix
Last year, Big Sugar joined the Life Time Grand Prix series, significantly deepening the pro field. Paige Onweller and Russell Finsterwald won the 2022 edition of the race, which Finsterwald described as a “dog fight,” as riders vyed for one last chance at Grand Prix points.
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This year’s edition will likely prove just as competitive. While Keegan Swenson and Sofia Gomez Villafañe have the series locked up, the fight for second-10th place is still on. Going into the race, there are opportunities for riders to climb into the top 10 and for the top 10 to shift. Here are the current standings.
Women’s Life Time Grand Prix leaderboard
Men’s Life Time Grand Prix leaderboard