News

Mike McCormack, organizer of the wildly successful Mountain States Cup, announces new six- day stage race for 2009.

Learn more about the "Breck-Epic"


WHAT IS IT?
A 6-stage ultra-endurance mountain bike race held in the backcountry surrounding Breckenridge, CO.

HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM OTHER MTB STAGE RACES?
• Race profits will be donated to Breckenridge Open Space and Trails and the Dillon Ranger District of the US Forest Service in the form of a restricted grant. Terms of the donation will dictate that funds be used for the addition of one seasonal trail employee per organization.
• We’ll utilize a ‘cloverleaf’ format whereby each stage will begin and end in Breckenridge. This unique format will underscore the incredible volume and variety of the trail network accessible from town.
• The event will use every tool at its disposal to reduce its carbon footprint; recycling, renewable energy credits, biodiesel, compostable serving-ware – these will be consistent themes throughout the event.

FORMAT:
• 5 stages plus a prologue off-road TT
• The stages will be Sunday-Friday with a seeding prologue taking place on Sunday afternoon.
• Solo categories will be offered, but we'll be reviewing resumes prior to accepting
• A field limit will be in place (approximately 400 riders)

PURSE:
$10,000 cash + merchandise

COURSE/VENUE INFORMATION
• The Breck Epic is intended to be a rugged backcountry experience. There will be a strong emphasis on course quality. Participants can expect very little road riding and even gravel and fire road riding will be minimized.
• Distance? About 235-250 miles.
• We'll use a 'cloverleaf' model with each stage starting and finishing in Breckenridge. That means that we'll use ONE campground and will have no transfers.
• Lodging will also be available – Breck’s got it all whether you’re looking for hostel, hotel or condo. We’ve already lined up a lodging partner willing to offer significant discounts for racers and support crew.

WHERE DOES IT TAKE PLACE?
Summit County, CO. The beauty of Breckenridge is that you can be so close and yet so far. The Epic aspires to provide a high-end, yet rugged experience. We’ll utilize town and USFS ‘system’ trails with each stage beginning and ending within the town limits of Breckenridge. The route will change from year-to-year, each subsequent iteration allowing a select group of riders to experience a unique perspective of the place we call home.

WHEN?
The short answer is July 5-10. Want the long answer? Head to the website later this week – the logic behind the date will be there in all it’s longwinded beauty.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR BRECKENRIDGE?
The primary benefit is monetary with revenue from the event donated directly to BOSAC, and through the use of a restricted grant, the USFS. The use of an event as a fundraising mechanism that underwrites trail construction and maintenance represents a paradigm shift in the event business, but this is a logical extension of one of the principles upon which Maverick Sports Promotions, the joint venture of Jeff Westcott and Mike McCormack was founded; “Events must give back to the community.”

The Epic’s goal will be to provide the funds necessary to add one additional seasonal staff member for each organization. Additionally, the PR generated from the event will create millions of unique consumer impressions, further solidifying Breck’s status as a worthwhile stop for national and international destination mountain bike travelers.

THE BRECK EPIC MESSAGE
The message is simple – open space is vital. Preservation, conservation, responsible use…whichever way you’d choose to describe it. There’s a great story to tell here in Breckenridge, one that’s been years in the making. Town leadership decided early on that ‘quality of life’, as a concept and in practice, needed to be elevated and reprioritized in order to achieve more harmonious balance with the commercial pressures unique to resort communities. In looking around at some of our counterparts across the state it’s obvious that we’re head and shoulders above most of our counterparts in principle and in practice.

We also want to underscore the fact that Breckenridge is an amazing place to visit and live. There are many old Victorian mining towns in Colorado, but few with a world-class resort and none (other than us) with almost unlimited backcountry access. Most of the town’s marketing efforts focus on the first two elements. Athletic events, especially ones grand in scope and detailed in execution do a great job of highlighting the third.

ADDITIONAL FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITIES AND COMMUNITY BENEFITS
The Epic will partner with the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) and its new “Team IMBA” initiative. Through participation in the Team IMBA program participants are given the tools to fundraise for their racing efforts. Proceeds from Team IMBA fundraising are split 50/50 between IMBA and the event’s charity of choice, in this case BOSAC and the Dillon Ranger District. The beauty of this strategy is that an estimated 80% of the event’s participants will come from outside of Colorado. Team IMBA’s program extends the reach of fundraising efforts to communities well outside of the traditional harvesting grounds for open space donations. Funds raised through Team IMBA will be in addition to the event revenues described above.

WEB UPDATE:
I know that I promised to get the site up and running by the 15th, but as many of you know, my wife and I had our second child on October 6th and that he had some problems. Look for the site to go live in a bare-bones sort of way by the end of the week.

THE GREENING OF THE EPIC:
We’ll be making every effort to make the Epic as green as possible. This means concentrated efforts at recycling, a conscientious nod to the reduction of our overall carbon footprint every step of the way and the use of renewable energy credits for all of our power needs. These are just the tip of the iceberg – we’ll be striving for sustainability and conscientious use with every decision that we make. We’ve always felt that 1000 heads are better than one, so please feel free to forward your suggestions on how we may shrink our impact as much as possible.

WHY WE’RE DOING THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE (a gentle reminder):
The BE is intended to showcase the unilateral collaboration of local, regional and federal land managers. I’m going to slaughter an analogy here; Breckenridge sits at the crossroads of the fruits of their labors. The trail network here is almost impossible to understand in terms of size and connectivity – it’s a rider’s paradise. The BE will donate event profits to the local land managers with the intent that they be earmarked for additional trail improvements.

SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION;
We’ve worked with many of you in the past and would welcome the opportunity to do so once again. We’ll be packaging The Breck Epic along with The 4th of July Firecracker 50 (USAC Marathon National Championships) and “Crossifixion ’09,” an epic-length backcountry cyclocross race scheduled for September 18, 2009. We feel that working promotional elements into a wide range of event works best for you as partners. With that clearly stated, we’re also willing to parcel out each event according to your brand’s interests. If you’d like to find out more about sponsorship opportunities please contact us and we’ll get something dialed in for you.

SPONSOR REFERRAL PROGRAM:
I don’t want to overly commercialize and monetize the event, but historically the best sponsorship leads come from word of mouth. In order to integrate with the stated goal of the event (to directly fund additional labor resources for Breckenridge Open Space and Trails and the USFS) we’re being a bit selective about who we partner with. If you’re hooked up with an organization that might be interested in aligning themselves with greener goods and goals, please feel free to contact us to make an introduction. I can provide more details, but we’ll offer each referrer a 10% ‘finder’s fee’ that can be applied toward entry fees and merchandise. Based upon finalized cash sponsorship. Limit one solo entry (@ $1000 value, actual value TBD) and $300 merchandise credit.

MISCELLANEOUS UPDATES:
Lodging, food, camping, showers, mechanical support, aid stations, moto crew…not to oversimplify, but all that stuff’s coming together. Expect great food, beer and coffee. Expect phenomenal riding.

VOLUNTEERS:
We need ‘em. Volunteers will get piles of event swag and I’m talking about the good stuff. Each volunteer will earn $10/hour credit at the company store ($150 maximum.) You’ll be able to redeem your credit for socks, tees, hats, fleeces, bags, etc. All volunteers will also receive meal tickets for breakfast and dinner for each day that they volunteer. Interested? Please contact me at mikemac01@gmail.com.

BLOGGERS GRANTS:
We’re giving away 4 race entries to the folks who’ve got the scribbling jones. Each blogger will be required to submit four 1,000 word articles prior to the event on topics ranging including actual race prep, their mental states, why they love their bike and just about anything else loosely related to the event. During the event they’ll be asked to write 500-1000 words after each stage. All of these articles will be distributed via email within the event newsletter and published on the event site, www.breckepic.com. Each blogger will be assigned to one of the vertical cycling publications and the promoter will forward their daily race journals to their print partner at no cost. Blogger hopefuls are required to submit writing samples and a completed questionnaire detailing their qualifications. Voting will be public and will take place online beginning January 1st. The grant program overview and application are attached in a separate document. Want an application? Send me a note at mikemac01@gmail.com.


Thanks in advance for taking a look at the event –
Mike