Charismatic EWS frontman Sugarloaf might be a true mountain bike king, but he's just a guy who loves to ride a bike, albeit a little faster than most.
Race director Adam Craig transformed the determination that led him to the Olympics to transform a steep and bumpy ski hill in Maine into what promises to be an extraordinary Enduro World Series course.
He is quick to point out that the network of slopes that now develops along the 700-meter face of the Sugar Loaf is the culmination of an enormous team effort.
This man's palares is impressive. In addition to being 18-time national xc champion, Adam and Giant's teammate Carl Decker finished in the top 10 in US national car racing in the same years they took the top two places at Downieville. He competed professionally in free style kayaking in white water and only a Canadian storm interrupted his march to qualify for the Freeride World Tour on skis. And don't ask how many times he's won the funky Singlespeed Cyclocross World Champs.
Here at Sugarloaf he's putting the finishing touches on the five tracks that will host the EWS and it's more than practical.
I arrive at the resort - about 35 miles from the Canadian border - with a message from Adam saying he went to a "birthday thing" in one of the resort's huge parking lots. When I reach him I realize that it is his "birthday". A surprise 41st birthday party, organized by her partner Annie. Adam, his mighty right hand Brenna Herridge and a colorful selection of trail builders are enjoying tequila and well… mostly tequila.
Adam is wearing his trail-building gear, an oil-covered resort branding fluorescent top, a worn pair of Carhartt work pants, and some suitably battered steel-toed boots.
Adam grew up in Exeter, Maine, competing in mountain biking from the age of 12 before joining the United States XC team at 17 and representing the United States at the World Championships in Mont Sainte Anne, Canada in 1998. He spent two years at the Olympic Center in Colorado, exploring the Rocky Mountains by bike and kayak when not training. While it was focused on XC, the program also took him to road racing and cyclocross in Europe.
He continued to race across the country, but found himself drawn to multi-disciplinary competitions such as Downieville and point-to-point enduro events, before moving on to full-time enduro after racing the then-Trans Provence seven-year-old. days in 2012.
In 2013, Adam took part in the first ever EWS in the Tuscan tourist resort of Punta Ala. He continued to compete for the entire season and for three more in full; getting a fourth place in Whistler that first year.
“It was a different challenge and suited me. I ran cross country because I was good at it, but I also liked mountain biking and exploring the surroundings and I was always out and about in the hills between the World Cups,” he says.
“I stepped away from racing in 2017 but was able to stay involved with Giant as an ambassador and help with product development.
“Enduro has increased my appreciation for building trails, seeing different venues and the infrastructure needed for events.
“Having some time I started doing a lot of volunteer work on the trails learning it from the people out there. Which was fantastic ”.
Adam established his home in the outdoor mecca of Bend, Oregon in 2002 before moving to Carrabassett Valley, where he now lives with partner Annie, 37, also a mountain biker.
Living in the Oregon city, his trail-work role was centered around the Pacific Northwest and he dealt with inland administration and management, specifically the Oregon Timberline Trail Alliance and the trail network that made the multi-day enduro TransCascadia such a hit.
“This grew from working with the forest service and, on behalf of the forest service, out there on public land and it was a great opportunity to learn from those people and run some grant-funded projects,” he said.
In addition to that, Adam became the representative of the EWS North American Continental Series for two seasons in 2018 and 2019, providing a qualifying path in the Enduro World Series itself.
“This involved going to events and aiming to communicate with local promoters in advance to try and ensure consistency between events.
Adam said he always wanted to see an Enduro World Series here in the Northeast. And, after getting involved in a hugely popular Continental Series event at the fifth round of EWS 2022, Burke Mountain, he met with Sugarloaf's director of sales, Brenna Herridge.
“She's the one who really drove all of this and suggested I take a look,” he said. “I started hiking around here and walking the existing trails in the valley - the Carrabassett Valley Trails.
The format then involved racing Downhill, Dual Slalom and Cross Country all weekend on the same bike.
“So, once I got back here, I started looking around and seeing what was available for routes around the mountain and potential excavations. In the fall of 2020 we did a quick rake-and-ride on the Widowmaker trail which is the Shakedown trail - the first we entered.
"We put it in and it went well and we thought, maybe we can do it ..."
Sugarloaf hosted an Eastern States Cup in September 2021 on all new trails. Four Enduro tracks and one Downhill. The track of Downhill became stage 5 of the Sugarloaf EWS.
“This got us moving and we had the opportunity to bid for the Enduro World Series and we got accepted which was great to have a regional block with Burke and we were able to support each other in this effort, which is ideal ".
Adam's partner Annie will be in the running to support as well as her father Harvey, 76, who lives in the family home in Exeter.
“I can't wait, it looks like we'll get the standard, maybe wet, maybe dry and we'll start from there. I think everything is better here when it's wet, because it allows you to move a little more.
