Video & Race Report: Eastern States Cup Showdown - Powder Ridge, CT

May 24, 2022
by Eastern States Cup  



We're back for another double header at Powder Ridge, including a six stage Outbound Lighting Stan's Night Enduro and our first Intense Downhill race of the year with nearly 300 entries. Those who decided to burn the candle at both ends would compete for some great prizes from our friends at Kask, as well as a custom gold helmet that will be awarded at the final round. Although it's still early in the season, temps in the 90's had it feel like mid summer out there. The tracks here are short which leaves no margin for error, one wrong line and you may be out of podium contention. Powder may be but a small hill, but the fun level was set to max this weekend.




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After some rain Friday night there were some slick spots on course, but with the warm weather they dried up throughout the weekend.


Outbound Lighting Stan's Night Enduro


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3:30pm riders meeting, were you listening to the rules or simply amazed by how perfectly Chris' Kask shirt matches the Koo tent?


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Powder's retired water slide serves as a fantastic pedal transfer, with no lift running riders would repeat the climb for all six stages.


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Noah Couture boosting the jumps on Stage 2, he's got to be stoked with first place in his second U20 race. More Enduro stages on jump trails? Let us know in the comments.


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U20 runner up Wells Tanner scrubs back into the base area.


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30-39 class racer Andy McQuade squeaking in the last bit of daylight before lights were necessary. He would finish second in Enduro and third in DH to round out the top three on the Kask Showdown podium.


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After completing the first three stages, riders would take a short break before heading out for the second half with lights on.


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What's that song, everything is hotter when the sun goes down?


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Riders would run Stage 1 once in the light and the dark, Ayrton French actually went eight seconds faster in the dark. He would go on to finish sixth, his best U15 result to date.


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U18 GT ladies class winner Alexandra Miller-Davey flies through the darkness, winning five stages. Fun fact: 10 of our 13 class winners were equipped with Outbound Lighting setups, coincidence?


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ESC sweeper Vicki Koch making sure everyone found their way down the stages.


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Mia Migliorino won Stage 5 on her way to second place for the Pro ladies.


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First Pro win for Isabel Georgian, with a margin of nearly a minute and final race time of 15:15. After her commanding performance Saturday night, she backed it up with fourth place in DH.


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Pro Women: 2nd - Mia Migliorino, 1st - Isabel Georgian, 3rd - Katlin Parenteau


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Style master Colby Benoit must have been working on his speed during the off-season, second place for the bmx enthusiast and his best Pro result yet.


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A trio of stage wins and P1 to star the season for 2021 ESC Enduro champion Steve Estabrook. "It was great to be back with the Eastern States family. I do a bunch of night riding in the summer so I love racing with the Outbound lights at Powder, it was hot and the rocks were sweaty so it was a challenge."


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Pro Men: 4th - Adrian Hayden, 2nd - Colby Benoit, 1st - Steve Estabrook, 3rd - Dan O'Connor, 5th - William Jones


Intense Downhill


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What does this mysterious flag on the DH course mean? New this year, split times!


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Also new this year is our Single Crown class, congrats to Kaylen Ballantyne for taking the first win with a 1:47.


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Last year Scott Huntley put his knee through the bridge, this year he got his own tree. When he puts together a clean run though, the Expert 30-39 class is in trouble.


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Despite the lack of vertical there are a few substantial drops to look out for. Jerry Spallone readys the landing gear on his way to second place for the Amateur 40-49 men.


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Kory Nagy gave the Pro boys a run for their money on the single crown, rounding out the top three, just 1.26 off the win.


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Someone was trying to do their best Aaron Gwin impression.


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Ian Scaglione came out swinging in his home state, beating the rest of the Expert 30-39 men by nearly four seconds.


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Collin Bourque kicked off the season strong with a Junior Expert class win, Gabriel Johnson just .13 behind him.


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Kate's Kids class winner Jack Larochelle flies around the final turn.


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Keep an eye out for our Kuat Racks Last Call this season, Andrew Steshenko won just by landing on the DH podium with an ESC jersey.


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First race back since Covid started and Canadian Maxine Bergeron picked up right where she left off, second place for the Pro women.


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Mazie Hayden has two working shoulders again and is right up to speed with a win on her second day back riding a DH bike. "I’m so happy I got to get back to racing this weekend - it was kind of a split second decision and I was a bit nervous since it was the first time I’d been on the DH bike this year, but it felt so good to finally have a functioning shoulder after around 4 years of dealing with injury. I can’t wait for the rest of the season, should be a ton of fun with a healthy body!"


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Pro Women: 4th - Isabel Georgian, 2nd - Maxine Bergeron, 1st - Mazie Hayden, 3rd - Sage Weiss, 5th - Victoria Zenoni


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Dylan Conte is pulling double duty this year, coaching for KMS along with racing the Pro mens class. Maybe the kids are showing him a few lines, second place to kick off the season.


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New season, same old Steve Estabrook taking two W's in one weekend. He would best the Pro men with a 1:33.62, which is .01 faster than Max Morgan's winning run here last October. "The DH track is short but sweet and its nice to get a win over the youngsters coming up and Dylan and I start out season long battle! Looking forward to it!"


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Pro Men: 4th - Andrew Driscoll, 2nd - Dylan Conte, 1st - Steve Estabrook, 3rd - Kory Nagy, 5th - Patrick Paré-Martin


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Kask Showdown Podium for those who competed in both races this weekend, the overall series winner will take home a custom gold Kask helmet in the fall.


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Over and out from Connecticut! Enduro racers, we'll see you in two weeks at Glen Park and Downhillers will be back in action June 12th at Jiminy Peak.



Words and photos: Andrew Santoro
Video: Jason Scheiding


Enduro Results
Downhill Results
Easternstatescup.com


2022 MAXXIS ESC PRESENTED BY KATE'S REAL FOOD SCHEDULE

INTENSE CYCLES DOWNHILL SERIES
May 22 - Powder Ridge, CT
June 12 - Jiminy Peak, MA
June 26 - Sugarloaf, ME
July 10 - Jiminy Peak, MA
July 24 - Sugarbush, VT
Aug 7 - Killington, VT
Aug 28 - Blue Mountain, PA
Sept 4 - Windham, NY
Sept 25 - Thunder Mountain, MA
Oct 16 - Killington, VT Finals

STAN'S ENDURO SERIES
April 24 - Diamond Hill, RI
May 21 - Powder Ridge, CT Night Enduro
June 5 - Glen Park, PA
June 26 - Sugarloaf, ME
July 10 - Jiminy Peak, MA
July 24 - Sugarbush, VT
Aug 7 - Killington, VT
Aug 28 - Blue Mountain, PA
Sept 11 - Arrowhead, NH
Sept 25 - Thunder Mountain, MA
Oct 2 - Woodstock, VT
Oct 23 - Thunder Mountain, MA Finals

KASK SHOWDOWN SERIES
May 22 - Powder Ridge, CT
June 26 - Sugarloaf, ME
July 10 - Jiminy Peak, MA
July 24 - Sugarbush, VT
Aug 7 - Killington, VT
Aug 28 - Blue Mountain, PA
Sept 25 - Thunder Mountain, MA

MOTOREX EBIKE ENDURO SERIES
April 24 - Diamond Hill, RI
May 21 - Powder Ridge, CT Night Enduro
June 5 - Glen Park, PA
June 26 - Sugarloaf, ME
Sept 11 - Arrowhead, NH
Sept 25 - Thunder Mountain, MA
Oct 2 - Woodstock, VT
Oct 23 - Thunder Mountain, MA Finals

GT BICYCLES EAST COAST JUNIOR MTB CHAMPIONSHIPS
July 16-17 - Blue Mountain, PA - DH, DS, XC, Enduro

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Author Info:
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Member since Mar 14, 2012
238 articles

4 Comments
  • 2 0
 Such a great weekend, the heat definitely made it challenging.
  • 2 1
 Looks lit....... or should say dark.
  • 2 0
 Fantastic event!
  • 2 0
 That was awesome!







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