DREAMY DIRT Maxxis ESC Thule Showdown – Thunder Mountain, Massachusetts

The Maxxis ESC community rolled into the Berkshires this past weekend for our first of two Thule Showdowns at Thunder Mountain this season. Intense DH racers battled it out on The Schist with some fresh loamy sections and the Stan’s Enduro crew faced four diverse stages with lots of pedaling. We lucked out with the weather once again, blue skies and perfect summer temps put a smile on everyone’s face. Some are calling it the best race weekend of the season so far, if you missed out we’ll be back in September for another helping of loamers and party laps. Keep reading to see who took home the medals and prizes from our sponsors.

Maybe the best weather we’ve had for a race this season with temps in the 80’s, clear skies and a nice breeze on the mountain. You can’t beat summer in New England.

Thunder recently installed a speedy quad that runs parallel to a second lift which means even more practice runs and party laps.

With such a demanding DH track, you’ll want to check those bolts to make sure nothing rattled loose over the weekend.

Stan’s No Tubes Enduro

Stan’s Enduro and Thule Showdown racers were up bright and early for an 8:15 riders meeting with everyone’s favorite Timing Official Chris Gilbert.

Racers originally started their day with a lift ride before tackling Long John to Loamstar for Stage 1. Unfortunately a racer hit the top timing box which broke it, so we had to throw out that stage. After that, riders made their way up the lift and to the backside of Thunder for the longest stage of the day which ran all the way to the parking lot via Oil Can, Silver Dow and Wilderness Trail. Owen Wilson carries speed where he can and prepares for a long ride, he would finish third in the 20U class.

40-49 racer Martin Kulhanek came out swinging in the morning with second place in the Stan’s Enduro then earned the Intense DH win, topping the Thule Showdown men’s podium yet again. Can anyone stop this guy?

The chunky tech sections are important but this course’s long stages and many pedal sections reward those with power and stamina. Charlie Mclean showed his fitness with a clean sweep of stage wins and his fourth 21-29 men’s class win in a row.

Following the long Stage 1, racers made the two mile pedal out to the Warfield Trails for two more stages before pedaling back to Thunder to finish the day on Juggernaut. Everyone was loving the fresh loamy finish to Thundervision, thanks Deerfield River Trails crew! According to Roots & Rain this Willem Cooper’s 160th race and he’s still out here having fun, teaching the next gen and mixing it up with the top Pros.

Paul Longtine earned third place in the 21-29 class, his best result and first podium.

Will anyone in the Cannondale Ebike class be able to stop Max Beaupre this year? He takes his fifth win in a row along with all four stages.

Pro racer Tillie Lange continued her podium streak and grabbed a stage win on her way to third place.

First gravity race of the year for Ellen Noble, she was able to secure second place in a fast field of Pro Women.

Mia Migliorino put in work on the pedal sections, gaining 28 seconds on the Pro Women to take her second win of the year.

Stan’s Enduro Pro Women: 4th – Kale Cushman, 2nd – Ellen Noble, 1st – Mia Migliorino, 3rd – Tillie Lange, 5th – Kai Waldman

Another podium result for the ever consistent Adrian Hayden this weekend, P3 in a stacked field of vets and youth.

Isaac Allaire was on pace all day, winning two stages before having to avoid a stray bike in the trail on the final stage. As a result, he would fall just 1.1s short of the win.

Tucker Shearer squeaked out his second win of the year with a pair of stage wins and a total race time of 15:57.

Stan’s Enduro Pro Men: 4th – Alex McAndrew, 2nd – Isaac Allaire, 1st – Tucker Shearer, 3rd – Adrian Hayden, 5th – Adam Robbins

Intense Cycles DH

We’ve got a brand new start and top section to The Schist this year that burned in nicely over the weekend, allowing for multiple line choices. Local rider Caleb Morse took second place this weekend in his first race since moving up to 16U Amateur.

Trail Crew even freshened up the berms for us, Parker Downing pumps for speed on his way to the 18U Expert win by a margin of 3.57s.

Carson Morgan locked in to take the 16U Expert win with the sixth fastest time of the day overall.

Taking the trail bike through the loamy steeps of Thunder, Johnny Makes earned his best result yet with second place in the Amateur 19-29 class.

Tight racing in the 30-39 Expert class with Sebastian Estrada taking the win over Scott Huntley by just half a second.

Grady Payson flies through the final couple grass turns back into the base area, he would capture third place and his first 18U Expert podium.

Tillie Lange backed up her morning podium with another one in the afternoon, P3 among some fast company.

After three wins to kick off the season, Mazie Hayden goes P2 with 2.98s left on the track.

With a break in the World Cup schedule, Kale Cushman came back home to race with us. Turns out racing against the world’s best makes you even faster, she wins all three splits and the race with a 2:37. Combined with her fourth place from the Enduro, she stood atop the Thule Showdown female podium come Sunday afternoon.

Intense DH Pro Women: 4th – Emma Jarl, 2nd – Mazie Hayden, 1st – Kale Cushman, 3rd – Tillie Lange, 5th – Michelle Guy

Great to see Tristan Lemire back racing after some tough injuries the past couple years. He was right back up to speed, third place among the fastest in the Northeast.

Nick Frazier propelled his Southern Gravity steel rig to second place, that first Intense DH Pro win is coming any day now.

It was Lucas Dedora out front by a sizable gap of 5.4s with the fastest time of the day at 2:06. He’ll be back in action at the World Cups soon under the Transition Factory Racing banner, it’s amazing to see what he’s accomplished since he started racing with us years ago as a U12.

Intense DH Pro Men: 4th – Dylan Conte, 2nd – Nick Frazier, 1st – Lucas Dedora, 3rd – Tristan Lemire, 5th – Eli Gadbois

Thule Showdown: 2nd – Jax Schmitz, Tillie Lange, 1st – Martin Kulhanek, 3rd – Michelle Guy

Until next time, Thunder! Which will be in September for another Thule Showdown double header. Stan’s Enduro racers will be heading to Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom to take on Burke Mountain this coming weekend. We also just got word their lift is fixed, see you there!

Words and photos: Andrew Santoro
Video: Seth Merritt

Stan’s No Tubes Enduro Results
Intense Cycles Downhill Results
Race Recap Podcast
Easternstatescup.com

2024 MAXXIS ESC PRESENTED BY KATE’S REAL FOOD SCHEDULE

INTENSE CYCLES DOWNHILL SERIES
May 19 Powder Ridge, CT
June 23 Jiminy Peak, MA
June 30 Killington, VT
July 21 Thunder Mountain, MA
Aug 11 Mount Snow, VT
Aug 18 Sugarloaf, ME
Aug 25 Powder Ridge, CT
Sept 15 Blue Mountain, PA
Sept 22 Thunder Mountain, MA
Oct 13 Jiminy Peak, MA Finals

STAN’S NO TUBES ENDURO SERIES
May 5 Powder Ridge, CT
June 9 Glen Park, PA
June 23 Jiminy Peak, MA
June 30 Killington, VT
July 14 Arrowhead, NH
July 21 Thunder Mountain, MA
July 28 Burke Mountain, VT
Aug 18 Sugarloaf, ME
Sept 8 Woodstock, VT
Sept 22 Thunder Mountain, MA
Oct 5 Monteau, NH
Oct 20 Arrowhead NH

THULE SHOWDOWN SERIES
June 23 Jiminy Peak, MA
June 30 Killington, VT
July 21 Thunder Mountain, MA
Aug 18 Sugarloaf, ME
Sept 22 Thunder Mountain, MA

CANNONDALE EBIKE SERIES
May 5 Powder Ridge, CT
June 9 Glen Park, PA
July 14 Arrowhead, NH
July 21 Thunder Mountain, MA
Aug 18 Sugarloaf, ME
Sept 8 Woodstock, VT
Sept 22 Thunder Mountain, MA
Oct 5 Monteau, NH
Oct 20 Arrowhead NH