Big Sugar is an ultra-endurance bicycling challenge held on the gravel roads through the Northwest region of Arkansas and Southeast region of Missouri. The start in downtown Bentonville, Arkansas, which has turned into a biking mecca in recent years. The inaugural Big Sugar is produced by Life Time Fitness, a premier operator of first tier endurance events including the Leadville Race Series and Unbound Gravel (AKA Dirty Kanza). The event takes place the same weekend as the Outer Bike Festival which is a huge bike demo event.
Expect this to be one of the most challenging gravel courses featuring picturesque, rarely maintained, canopy-covered gravel roads with loose, rocky gravel, a few pavement sections and a few water crossings and bridges. If you like to ride in the dirt, venture off into stunning landscapes and share an experience with fellow cyclists, Big Sugar Gravel is a race reserved for you. There are two route options to choose from: (1) A 100-mile gravel race with 8,000 ft elevation gain in the remote and rugged highlands of the Ozark Mountains: (2) A 50-mile gravel race located in the highlands but designed for recreational cyclists. All riders will utilize a single-loop format and although some blacktop roads will be necessary from time to time, the majority of the course will be on gravel and dirt roads. Some of these roads receive little to no maintenance throughout the year and can be quite primitive in nature. There are also many blind corners while traversing the course.
Make your trip into a weekend getaway. Nestled in the Northwest Corner of Arkansas, Bentonville offers a world-class art scene, a thriving bike culture, aviation adventures and a vibrant city square right in the heart of the Ozarks.
