Event Report: 2018 Carson City Off-Road

Video by Litteer Films
Photography by Brenda Ernst

Year three of the Carson City Off-Road is done and dusted, and those who joined us in Nevada's State Capital last weekend may attest: this event has once again upped the ante. Drawing in the mountain bike community with 900+ registered riders, attendees enjoyed three days of favorable weather; world-class singletrack trails; a killer vendor expo; the Four Peaks Brewing Co. Beer Garden; and free Four Peaks Brewing Co. Concert Series, which featured out-of-this-world performances by March Fourth Marching Band and Desert Rhythm Project. It all added up to a serious weekend-long party on the streets of Downtown Carson City.

The Bike & Gear Expo kicked things off at high noon on Friday with more than 35 industry vendors lining Carson Street, including full support rigs from Maxxis Tires, Stan's NoTubes, Shimano, ProGold Lubricants, Specialized Bicycles, Pivot Cycles, and Cannondale.

El Yucateco Pro Fat Tire Crit

After the Capital 15 ride Friday afternoon, Pros took over downtown for the El Yucateco Pro Fat Tire Crit. "What’s a Fat Tire Crit", you ask? Answer: a full-throttle road race on mountain bikes, weaving through a one-mile circuit of city streets.

Pros raced for cash -- $1,000 in prizes up for grabs, courtesy of El Yucateco Hot Sauce -- but also for starting position: the fastest ten Crit riders (five Women and five Men) got called up to the front of the pack for the start of the Backcountry race on Sunday.

And at the very front: Giant Co-Factory’s Tristan Uhl and Chloe Woodruff of Stan's-Pivot Pro Team p/b Maxxis took the top Crit prizes this year.

Amateur Backcountry Ride

The Carson City Off-Road is known for being a challenging, but extremely rewarding course (have you seen the views?).

New for 2018: one of America's most iconic pieces of singletrack, the Marlette Flume Trail, was added to the Capital 35 & 50 courses thanks to the cooperation of Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, the Spooner Lake State Park Ranger District, and the hard work/long hours put in by Muscle Powered.

Tahoe Rim Trail, Sunflower Hill, Ash to Kings, and many more singletrack segments joined the Marlette Flume Trail in this year's Carson City Off-Road Capital routes, making for an extremely memorable day on the bike.


Like many pursuits in life, mountain biking is what you make of it and the Off-Road Series lets riders decide exactly how they want to experience the ride. If you want to race, the systems are there to race. If you want to ride casually and savor a long day in the saddle, pedal on. The events strive to be inclusive and preserve the sport's essence by unplugging and enjoying nature, all while celebrating the camaraderie of a tight-knit community. It's ...a good day on the bike.

Pro Backcountry Race

With a weekend of festivities in the rearview, the Pros got down to business on Sunday. The main prize was an equally-split $30,000 purse ($15k to the men / $15k to the women).

An internationally-stacked roster of 103 registered Pro Racers included past Off-Road Series Champions Kateřina Nash (Clif Pro Team) and Howard Grotts (Specialized). Add names like Evelyn Dong (Spyr Cycles), Chloe Woodruff (Stan's-Pivot Pro Team p/b Maxxis), Geoff Kabush (Yeti Cycles), Russell Finsterwald (Team Clif), Amy Beisel (Orange Seal), Fernando Riveros Paez (Construction Zone Racing), Benjamin Sonntag (Team Clif), and Sofia Gomez-Villafane (Stan's-Pivot Pro Team p/b Maxxis) to the mix, and the stage was set for top-tier competition.

Pro Results

In the end, the day belonged to Chloe Woodruff of the Stan's-Pivot Pro Team p/b Maxxis and Team CLIF’s Benjamin Sonntag: Woodruff pulled ahead for the win on the Women's side after a hard-fought battle in the backcountry race, while Sonntag claimed the Men's podium in a three-up sprint to the finish.

Hail The Trail

Last but certainly not least, the Third Annual Carson City Off-Road could not have been what it was without Muscle Powered and the thousands of hours they have put towards building and maintaining Carson City's thriving trail system.


For the second year in a row, Epic Rides is showing our gratitude by hosting Hail the Trail. This campaign benefits the primary trail-building groups in each of the four Off-Road Series communities, including Muscle Powered in Carson City. Proceeds go directly toward maintaining existing trails and building new ones in each network. Tickets are $5 a pop for a chance to win one of four mountain bikes from Cannondale, Specialized Bicycles, and Pivot Cycles -- each valued at more than $6,000.


From Carson City, Nevada, that's a wrap on the 2018 Carson City Off-Road... stay tuned for the Inaugural Oz Trails Off-Road (October 5-7), featuring the flowing world-class trails of Bentonville, Arkansas.

For more information visit epicrides.com

Photography by Brenda Ernst