Racing season kicked off again at Breck Epic down here in Colorado this past week. Within minutes of the opening stage, all 400+ of us were winded trying to race our bikes around at 2900-3500 meters above sea level. Coming off a 3-week mid-season break, averaging 7 hours a week, about a 1/3 of the normal training load, and just a few days of acclimatization, there were a few unknowns were coming in.
Surprisingly, the engine fired up all right, grabbing 5th on the opening day with a late surge on Stage 1.
Stage 2 was a bit longer as we hit 67km and 1750 m of climbing up in the mountains, with the Colorado Trail being the highlight. The engine was stronger on the stage, coming in 3rd. It was nice to hit the race hard, but it was going to be a battle in the coming 4 stages with a solid crew chasing close behind.
I'd wake up fresh, ready to rip Stage 3, but got a bit too excited on the French Gulch descent early on in the day and paid for it. Riding in 3rd, letting off the brakes a bit too much, trying to track down Simon, who was fresh off a 3rd at Leadville, and local mountain goat Matt Pike. Hitting a sharp rock, I'd lose all the air in the rear tire. It took two plugs to fix the hole, before hitting another rock for a single plugger, and I was soon in 40th or so, 10 minutes back from the leaders.
Cleaning the French Pass climb for the first time in a few years was a highlight while chasing back up to 6th before the plugs started popping out of the tire. The final tally on the day was 5 plugs, 2 x CO2s, and 150 hand pumps. The positive was that I was setting some personal bests on the day and would still roll in 7th. The negative was that I would sink from 3rd to 7th in GC. Last year I made up a bunch of spots on this stage due to other riders having bad luck, so I guess I had to pay my dues this year.
Stage racing is a roller coaster ride. Stage 3 was a bummer, 1 more flat tire and I was planning to start the Mega Epic (all 220 miles of Breck Epic in one go), as its riders would start just before Stage 4 on their odyssey. Looking at the GC I realized there was still an outside shot at the podium, so I kept on course at the Epic.
Stage 4 was full on from the gun with race leader Matt and the Swiss gravel phenom Simon trading blows up the first climb. I’d start slow but would rally into 3rd, which soon turned into 2nd when Simon had an unfortunate mechanical. The rest of the day was spent chasing 1-2 minutes back from Matt on a backcountry course full of punchy climbs and fast, loose descents. I would get close to Matt but would have to settle for 2nd on the day, managing to put some good time into the rest of the field.
3.5 hours of great Breckenridge trail riding later, I’d now find myself 4th in GC. The Wheeler Pass stage was up next. Basically, the Nepal stage of Breck with some hike-a-bike and a whole lot of awesome rocky alpine trail riding up at 3600m +. With 2nd-5th in GC separated by just over a minute, it was going to be a barn burner of a finish over the last 2 stages!
Stage 5 on Wheelers Pass went my way. I’ve always loved this rugged high alpine day traversing trails 3800m across the sky before a rocky descent back into the valley. Setting the 2nd fastest Strava time all time across the top before going top 10 in the 18-minute DH, I'd find myself in contention for the win. Unfortunately, the highly talented American, Lance Haidet, would set a new record on that downhill, passing and putting a minute into me by the bottom. I’d rally on the peaks trail heading back to Breck, nearly setting a course record while riding an adrenaline surge, narrowly taking a 30-second victory, and moving up to 2nd in GC. Lance had 23 seconds on me heading into the stage, but now heading into the finale, I had a 7-second lead on him. Nothing like a 2-hour head-to-head dual at 2900-3500m to close out a 6-day stage race.
The grand finale on Stage 6 was a nail-biter. The engine was feeling the hangover from the adrenaline surge on Wheeler's Pass and took a while to get fired up for the last 50km stage.
Heading over Boreas Pass (3499m) for the 2nd time, the race was on. My attack went nowhere and was countered by a Cassius attack, which split our group of four into twos. This would essentially make my job of keeping Lance 7 seconds behind a bit easier heading into the 5 mile descent back to the finish.
In the final 3-minute trail section, we’d set a new course record, weaving in and out of trees with Lance hot on my wheel. We’d catch Matt at the finish line, rolling in together, giving each other a fist bump after a pretty epic battle the last few days. What a great crew of racers we had here at the Breck Epic. It speaks highly of the organization and the community they build through the race.
Super stoked to keep the podium streak going at 4 years, taking home the Silver medal after a tough 6 days of racing.
The G10 Kona Hei Hei ran flawlessly with a new Shimano XTR wireless group set, Nobl TR35 wheels rolling smoothly, and a Squirt Cycling Products hot wax chain keeping the efficiency high. Thank you to everyone who helped out in the feed zones this year, as it was a team effort that made a huge difference.
Big shout out to our friend Sasha for sponsoring our accommodations for a second year in a row. After living in a tent for the last month, it was sweet to have a comfy base camp to recover at after each stage, even if it was at 10,000 ft. Lastly, a big shout-out to Mike Mac and his crew for putting on such a great race year after year.
I've got another few weeks here at altitude to supercharge the system for the autumn season of racing ahead. Next up on the race calendar will be 75 miles of Utah high country singletrack at the Park City Point to Point at the end of the month!
