The Breck Epic
Stage 4 - Mount Guyout
Cory Wallace / 08.07.2009
Today\'s stage was as Colorado as it gets. 47 miles, 9,893ft of climbing, a snowfield and tons of rough singletrack. The pace was solid from the start gun and after some smooth singletrack climbing out of town the riders headed out towards French Pass. Climbing up through alpine meadows to the 12,000 ft pass was probably the pinnacle of the week as riders were on the one hand stunned by the scenery but also suffering harder then ever before. The gradient had many riders packing their bikes over their shoulders.
The pain and the beauty seemed to cancel each other out as the riders crested the pass and headed down a 70ft snow field, which it sounded like only a dozen or so riders cleaned. After a great 4 mile descent down through the Colorado alpine scenery and back into the trees the riders climbed up to another high point before a 7 mile rough singletrack descent back into the river valleys.
Today\'s stage was a day all the riders will remember and it sounds like there are a couple more pretty cool stages to come.
The official results are still to come
but it sounds like Bishop put the hammer down today and took the victory in a time of 3:33:15, just over 6 minutes ahead of Travis Brown. Ben Thompson (Cannondale Factory) came in third which is making the last podium spot very interesting as he and Brandon Dwight (Scott) battle it out.
After today\'s stage the GC in many of the 12 categories changed drastically and many of them are within seconds with only 2 stages to go. This is making for some really exciting racing as the fields seem to be pretty tight across the board. To check on the updated results head to:
http://www.cjtiming.com/BreckEpic/index.html)
After a rough day 1, I managed a solid day 2 in which I came in 4th and then today was another rougher one as I ended up back near the twenties. I\'m not sure if it\'s due to a lack of training or the altitude thing but there have been a number of riders riding the same wave as myself.
We\'re all kinda stunned as we never know what to expect from our bodies each day, but we all come across the line smiling as on the slower days it gives us a better chance to take in the nature around us and on the faster days were having a blast as we cruise by the other guys having a \"nature day\". The next 2 stages promise to hold more surprises as riders are getting tired and the terain and singletrack seem to be getting tougher.
With the relatively short days, most riders are off their bikes around 1pm and headed back to town for massages, food and relaxing. This seems to be to the liking of most of the racers as it gives them a chance to enjoy a bit of a holiday on top of the bike adventures.
The organizers have been working hand in hand with the riders each day to see what they can do to make things better and what can be done to improve an already solid race for next year. This seems like a pretty proactive way to build a solid bike race which will hopefully be around for the years to come.
As for now it\'s back to the rider meeting to find out what\'s in store for us tommorow!See All Event Posts
