Xtreme Challenge takes over Silver Mountain
Courtesy photo Local rider Chad Ward works to climb a hill during the 2019 Silver Mountain Xtreme Challenge.
KELLOGG — The 2019 Silver Mountain Xtreme Challenge lived up to its name this past weekend during the fourth installation of the race put on by Stix and Stones Offroad.
Four hundred racers and more than 2,000 people converged on Silver Mountain for the two-day event, which has evolved over the years, but still remains the brainchild of the Ragsdales and their company.
“The races went well, Greg and Robin (Ragsdale, the owners of Stix and Stones) are very knowledgeable, hardworking and easy to work with,” Silver Mountain market manager Gus Colburn said. “Their goal is to make this course as tough as possible and they definitely achieved that.”
With competitors from all over the United States, Mexico and Canada, the event is becoming a must-do for riders seeking a challenging and fun course.
The event also caters to families, which is a big selling point for riders.
“This is a great venue,” said Ragsdale in a past interview. “It can accommodate the whole family with the resort, the mountain, the waterpark, everything about this is family oriented.”
Local rider Ian St. John, who was on the podiums last week for the Enduro Cup, continued his streak of solid racing as he grabbed third place in his division.
For Colburn and Silver Mountain, the event is one of their biggest and best of the summer and they embrace every aspect of the event, from the races all the way down to the parade the riders put on prior to the race as they head up the mountain.
“This event is always one that we look forward to hosting. Greg and his crew are expert course builders and know how to put a challenging course together. One of the signature parts of this event is the parade, when all 450 riders took off from our parking lot at once,” Colburn said. “All the riders were respectful of our mountain, and it didn’t affect our mountain bikers too much as we only had to close half of a bike trail for the event. The atmosphere throughout the resort was electric as both racers and fans were stoked about the event. This event was a fun one to host and we look forward to watching it grow from year to year as it gains more national recognition.”
Full race results will be available later this week at www.stixandstonesoffroad.com.
For more information on Silver Mountain and its summer events, call 866-344-2675 or visit www.silvermt.com.