Photos by Bear Bearinowski

A new race got put on the Montana Racing Calendar this year.  It’s called the Hellroaring Stage Race.  A three stage mountain bike race in Whitefish, MT.  It’s the perfect excuse to visit a fun Montana town and get some excellent riding in.

The first stage is an evening prologue.  It’s buffed out single track on the brand new Whitefish Trail.  Super fun cornering and up and down riding.  It’s about a 20 minute effort, but the course doesn’t feel like a time trial.

Stage two is called Reed Divide.  Two road climbs are broken up by technical descents.  The descents are long and just challenging enough to keep you on your toes.  The course is designed beautifully, rewarding all around riders and providing a fun part for every style.  At 34 miles this stage is really fun for race strategy.  You think it will be a 3-3.5hr effort, but it ends up being 2.5-3hr.  So, it’s not quite a full on xc pace, but you have to be really moving to stay with your rivals.

Stage three is at Whitefish Mountain Resort.  It’s your traditional lapped xc course.  It’s a great last stage to wrap things up.  Four laps on an up and down course.  Everything is pretty straight forward which is nice to let the riders dictate the GC.  It’s a great way to wrap up the weekend and give visitors a full tour of the area.

Summing up the weekend it felt like I got a mini sampler of what the riding is like in the Flathead Valley.  It only made me want more.  This is a can’t miss event.