Stage 2: Hope Pass: The Quad Burning, Knee-Knackering Stage‏

Gavin Grobbelaar - Ultra Media / 13.08.2015

Today's Stage 2 from Vicksburg to Twin Lakes sent runners up and over the famous but seriously grueling 12,600 ft Hope Pass and down the other side on its technical and steep single track descent to the finish.  

There were some pained faces on the way up the pass but all was forgotten as runners reached the summit and headed down the quad pounding trail towards the amazing Twin Lakes finish area. The weather played along for the race organizers as the forecast of thunder storms anticipated around noon kept at bay as the skies remained clear and sunny.

The racing at the sharp end of the field was aggressive today with the RUN 6 Men's Team of Jacob Puzey and Thomas Rivers out running Rob Krar and Mike Smith for the stage win by just 50 seconds and reducing the latter's lead to just over a minute in the GC.

The Women's Run 6 Team race was once again dominated by Jenn Shelton and Kathryn Ross taking the stage win by a sizable margin again, extending their GC lead further. 

Run 6 Solo GC leader, Florian Neuschwander from Germany stamped his authority on the race again today by taking the stage win but not before Jonathan Toker attacked up Hope Pass, leading the entire field to the summit which then induced a response from the rest of the field to shut the gap as it was a tightly contested stage in the end. Shannon Thompson in the Women's Run 6 Solo took the stage win putting her 4 minutes ahead in the GC over Kerrie Wlad.

The Run 3 Event wraps up tomorrow and its going to be a matter of hanging on for the finish to ensure a solid performance for Xu Gan of China as she leads the GC and will go for a clean sweep of stage wins.

In the Men's Run 3 Event it's going to be serious battle for first spot between Martin Gaffuri of Switzerland and Jiagen Yang of China as the two are separated by just over a minute for the overall win.  

Stage 3 will definitely be one to watch as we head into the halfway point for the Run 6 and with it being the longest stage most runners will be looking to make that crucial move and send the message of intent of whats to come for the remaining stages. In the Run 3 it will be a case of only the strongest will survive as they also take on the longest stage and in their final push for the win and claim that finisher's medal.

Check out tomorrow's stage details below:  

Up Next Stage 3: 

Leadville to Nova Guides - Start Time: 8:00am

24.2 miles, 2,700 feet of Elevation Gain

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