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Spoke Talk: Time for Steamboat Stinger

This year marks the 8th annual Steamboat Stinger. Now a Colorado classic, this two-day event aims to provide a challenging backcountry race experience showcasing some of Steamboat Springs’ finest singletrack on Emerald Mountain.

The race was initially created when Honey Stinger staff realized that there was a big gap in the Colorado race scene — there were no major mountain bike races in Steamboat. At the time, races trended toward longer endurance events. We knew that with our amazing local trails, we could fill the void and create a scenic and challenging course in our hometown.

In the race’s first year, we designed the course to be one big loop on Emerald with accessible and serviceable aid stations. The loop was roughly 26 miles, setting us up perfectly to include a marathon run in the event’s second year.



Since then, the race continues to grow and evolve. We now offer a marathon run, half-marathon run, 50-mile bike and a bike duo. If racers want to take on the ultimate challenge, they can compete in the 50 mile bike race on the first day of the event and follow it up by running the marathon on Day 2 to compete for the title of Queen Bee or King Sting. If racers aren’t fully up for the challenge, they can grab a partner to split the distance and compete in the Bumblebee with racers combining their 26.2-mile bike lap time with their half-marathon time.

The Steamboat Stinger raises funds for two local nonprofits, Partners in Routt County — a local youth mentoring group) — and Routt County Riders — a local IMBA chapter. In 2017, the event brought $18,000 to these organizations.



Katie Black is sponsorship coordinator with Honey Stinger.


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