Life Time, a premier healthy lifestyle brand and owner and producer of 30 premier athletic events, will introduce the Life Time Little Sugar MTB presented by Mazda, a mountain bike event set for Oct. 15, in Northwest Arkansas. The event expands Life Time’s portfolio of off-road events and adds to its mountain bike lineup, which also includes the Life Time Sea Otter Classic Fuego XL, Stages Cycling Leadville Trail 100 MTB, and the Life Time Chequamegon MTB Festival presented by Trek.
Little Sugar MTB will occur the weekend before the Life Time Big Sugar Gravel presented by Mazda, setting the stage for the creation of the week-long Big Sugar Classic Cycling Festival to occur Saturday, Oct. 14 through Sunday, Oct. 24. Registration opens March 1 – the same day as registration for Big Sugar Gravel.
Little Sugar MTB honors the investment, culture and biking community the Northwest Arkansas region has worked to create. The event is expected to attract a world-class field to Arkansas’ legendary singletrack mountain bike terrain and will offer participants the opportunity to qualify for the Stages Cycling Leadville Trail 100 MTB.
Little Sugar MTB will be produced by the same team behind Life Time Big Sugar Gravel presented by Mazda, the Leadville Race Series, and Garmin Unbound Gravel presented by Craft Sportswear, and includes the support of Bentonville locals and industry leaders, Aimee and Nat Ross, as community liaisons.
Beginning Oct. 14, the event will feature a one-day expo with participants taking on the challenging singletrack trails that roughly follow the course through Bentonville and Bella Vista. On Oct. 15, three-course distances will be offered: 100k with 6,610 feet of elevation gain, 50k with 3,461 feet of elevation gain, and 20k with 1,125 feet of elevation gain. Exact courses subject to final approvals. There also will be a $25,000 prize purse for the top finishers of the 100k event.
All course distances will start in Bentonville at the Coler MTB Preserve, traverse legendary terrain in Bella Vista and finish in downtown Bentonville. The flagship 100k distance will pass through the Little Sugar and Back 40 trails in Bella Vista and Slaughter Pen trails in Bentonville, trails before heading back to town. As riders face grinding climbs that alternate with fasting rolling descents, they will be greeted by the area’s stunning landscape, featuring unique bluff lines, caves, waterfalls, and Bella Vista’s iconic Ledges trail.
The Big Sugar Classic will celebrate and wrap up the off-road North America cycling calendar. Families, athletes, brands, and leaders in the cycling community are invited to stay for the week between the Little Sugar MTB and Big Sugar Gravel events, to enjoy trail spotlights, industry gatherings, group rides, clinics and more. Other cycling industry events happening during the same week and complementing The Big Sugar Classic include:
- People for Bikes SHIFT Conference – official date has not yet been announced for 2023
- Outerbike Bentonville – Oct. 20-22
- The Big Sugar Gravel Expo (and Life Time Grand Prix presented by Mazda Finale Programming) – Oct. 19
More information on the Little Sugar MTB, Big Sugar Gravel, race registration, and the week-long cycling festival can be found at bigsugarclassic.com. More information about all Life Time athletic events is available at https://my.lifetime.life/athletic-events.html.
