Breck-Epic Stage 5: Preliminary Results and Photos

Jorge Espinoza wins Stage 5 with an amazing attack on the final day while Jeremiah Bishop holds on for GC win

Jorge Espinoza made a bold move attacking at the beginning of today's stage

Writing and Photos by: Shannon Boffeli

The final stage of the inaugural Breck-Epic was no champagne drinking parade lap. It included several hard climbs, challenging singletrack, mud, and plenty of rocks. As soon as the pace car pulled off the neutral start it was clear these racers were itching to prove themselves one final time.

The attacks started almost immediately as the riders climbed up Boreas Pass Road. As the road transitioned to tight singletrack the top racers were looking to get in clean. Jeremiah Bishop (Monavie-Cannondale.com) had the GC win all but tied up but others were looking for a stage win or to improve their GC standing. One rider on the hunt was Horizon Organic Cycling's Jorge Espinoza who started the day in 9th on the GC. Jorge rode with the bunch through the opening trails and once the riders emerged on the Boreas Pass Road near the top he put it down. After the race Espinoza said, "I figured this is the last stage and once we got to the singletrack again those guys would catch me so I just went for it on the road."

With his acceleartion Espinoza got a 15 second lead over the nearest chaser Colby Pearce (Michelob Ultra) who crested Boreas Pass 15 seconds in front of the main group of chasers, which including Bishop, Travis Brown, and Brandon Dwight (Boudler Cycle Sport). Once over the top the riders bombed down a section of ripping fast singletrack before hitting an 8-mile section of dirt road climbing up the back side of Boreas Pass.

Again Espinoza crested Boreas with a 30 second lead over the chasers. This time it was the high-powered duo of Bishop and Brown looking to close it down on the Horizon rider. With just 20 minutes of descending left Espinoza gave it his all. the two chasers worked together but we unable to bring back Espinoza who had been solo of the front for over 90 minutes.

Espinoza crossed the line over a minute in front to take his first stage win at the Breck-Epic. Bishop was able to gap Brown on one of the short climbs on the final descent and crossed the line in second taking the Breck-Epic leaders jersey back to Virginia. Travis Brown finished third with Colby Pearce coming home in fourth.

In the women's event it was Jen Gersbach (Dale's Pale Ale/Spot) once again taking the stage win. This time in commanding fashion. Although she started the day more than 28 minutes in front of her nearest competitor she was not content to cruise to the overall victory. Gersbach attacked the opening climb and pushed a furious pace over the 33-mile course. By the time she crested Boreas Pass the second and final time the race leader had over 10 minutes on second place and kept pouring it on down the final descent. "I had so much fun today" the Breck-Epic Champion exclaimed after the finish, "that course was just really fast and fun."

Christina Begy took second on the day with Jen Hanks crossing the line in third.

In the singlespeed competition David Wilson (Titus) had blown the race apart on the Wheeler Loop yesterday taking a 7 minute thirty second lead over second placed Dan Durland (Pro Cycling) but it was clear the race between these two wasn't finished yet. Wilson took the early lead up Boreas. But on the return trip over the pass Wilson was upset that he had chosen the wrong gear for today's race, it was too small. Durland closed a gap of several minutes on the race leader and by the time they crossed the pass for the last time the two were side-by-side. Unfortunately for the chaser, the 20 minutes of desecendng left him little opportunity to make up his GC gap. The two competitors cranked down the final descent with Wilson taking the stage win by just over a minute.

Jen Gersbach took every stage of the Breck-Epic including today

Riders roll off the start for the final stage of the Breck-Epic

David Wilson and Dan Durland crest Boreas pass together with just 20 minutes from the finish

The chase group including Jeremiah Bishop crest the Boreas Pass climb behind Espinoza

Results

Solo Men

1, Jorge Espinoza (Horizon Organic Cycling) 2.14.11
2, Jeremiah Bishop (Monavie-Cannondale.com) 2.15.59
3, Travis Brown 2.16.12
4, Colby Pearce (Michelob Ultra)
5, Brandon Dwight (Boulder Cycle Sport)

Solo Women

1, Jen Gersbach (Dale's Pale Ale/Spot)
2, Christina Begy
3, Jen Hanks (Revolution/Powerbar)

Singlespeed

1, David Wilson (Titus)
2, Dan Durland (Pro Cycling)

For Full Results and all the other categories Click Here

Jen Hanks Breck-Epic Blog: Stage 4

Jen Hanks is currently riding in 3rd place at the inaugural Breck-Epic in Breckenridge, Colorado. Jen is an experienced endurance and cross country mountain bike racer who has completed both the Transalp and Transrockies stage races. Join us as she shares her experiences each day of the Breck-Epic.

Day 5 is in the books. The difficulty of this stage caught me completely off guard. On the start line I was chatting with some of the women racing solo and we were thinking that today’s stage would be about 4 hours. WRONG!!!!! We didn’t account for the 45-minute hike-a-bike to the top of Breckenridge ski resort!

The day once again started with a casual neutral start up the road. The actual racing began with some super steep switchbacks up a ski hill. I got passed by a bunch of people at first, but about 30 minutes in I found my rhythm and settled into my endurance race pace. We then descended some super fun, flowy downhill before we started what was to be the “big” climb of the day. It actually started out pretty mellow and I was able to ride in my middle ring for quite a bit of it until we hit the first feed station of the day. Switched out the camelback and grabbed a banana. The road got really steep after the feed but I was able to keep the wheels rolling. Soon after I arrived at the “hike-a-bike”. I knew we were going to be hiking a bit today, but I thought it would be similar to yesterday’s 15-minute hike up French pass. The racers I was with were in pretty good spirits when we started pushing; we were laughing and telling stories. After about 20 minutes of pushing, the conversation stopped and we suffered in silence. I am not a big fan of hiking with my bike, but I will admit that the scenery at the top was fantastic. We topped out at about 12,500 feet and the air was cold and wind strong. I would have no relief from the insane altitude for about 30 more minutes as we traversed the top of the mountain through a swamp and multiple snow drifts. Finally the downhill. It took me a few miles to actually start enjoying this steep and narrow descent because I was dizzy from the altitude and my arms exhausted from pushing my bike. We descended for about 3000 vertical feet to Frisco and the second feed station. Oranges have never tasted so good. The day was capped off by a fun, rocky, rooty climb back to Breckenridge ski resort. My ride time today was 5 hours 15 minutes. A bit longer than the anticipated 4-hour day! I can honestly say that every single muscle in my body is tired and sore. Even muscles that I did not know I had.

After today I think I am deserving of the BMF status, but I will have to survive one more day before I get my finishers buckle and can claim that title.

On a side note, I have decided that endurance racing kills brain cells. I cannot remember simple things like an email password that I’ve had for 4 years! I can’t think of a better way to get brain damage.

My post race special food request today was Pizza . No feeling of barfing yet!

Breck-Epic Stage 4: Photos and more GC shake-ups

Jeremiah Bishop lays down another unbelievable stage time as the Breck-Epic goes over 12,000 feet again

Travis Brown leads Jeremiah Bishop on the climb up the Burro trail with Colby Pearce just behind

Writing and Photos by: Shannon Boffeli
Scroll down for more photos

If yesterday was the Queen stage of the Breck-Epic, today's stage, the Wheeler Loop, would have to be the King. Riders would have to climb from Breckenridge to a height above 12,000 feet and stay there for close to an hour. The night before, Race Director Mike McCormack explained that the course went up the Burro climb then Spruce Creek road and onto a goat trail. Many riders, like myself, believed the Goat Trail was just another interesting Breck trail name. But they were wrong. It was actually a trail, used by white-bearded mountain goats. The trail was narrow, at times too narrow for a rider and a bike and it crossed over several snowfields and after the finish it was all everyone was talking about. It's clear this hardy bunch of riders are here for a challenge and that is exactly what the Wheeler Loop gave them.

Once again it was Jeremiah Bishop (Monavie-Cannondale.com) and Travis Brown (Trek) pushing the pace early in today's stage. This time the lead duo was joined by Colby Pearce (Michelob Ultra). Pearce has been pretty quiet since the prologue where he finished 4th. Pearce was on fire today and was clearly looking to move up in the GC. Behind the leaders came a tight bunch with all the GC contenders including Brandon Dwight (Boulder Cycle Sport), Jorge Espinoza (Horizon Organic), and Cannondale teammates Ben Thompson and James Williams. Harlan Price (Indepent Fabrications) was missing in action and at risk of losing his tenuous grip on 5th in the GC.

Once the riders crested Spruce Creek Road and hit the hike-a-bike Bishop had opened a small gap on his two companions. He pushed the pace over the snowfields trying to maintain his lead and by the time he hit the descent and onto the long section of bike path near Interstate 70 the leader could no longer see his chasers. The Monavie rider kept on the gas for the next 10 miles and despite fading towards the end he was never at risk of being overtaken. After the race a tired but staisfied Jeremiah Bishop said, "I really pushed the pace hard on the bike path and into the last few miles of the trail. I kind of paid for it in the end. I got really tired heading into the finish. Up on the crest I should have just put a foot down and grabbed something to eat but I was too anxious to keep my gap."

Travis Brown crossed the line in second just two minutes back while Colby Pearce completed a fantastic ride taking 3rd on the day and moving himself up to 5th in the GC. Ben Thompson struggled with flat tires today and lost significant time in his quest to overtake Brandon Dwight for 3rd in the GC, while Canadian Cory Wallace (Kona) had another solid ride finishing 4th on the stage.

In the women's event Jen Gersbach (Dale's Pale Ale/Spot) was on the defensive all day against a strong attack from Christina Begy who sits 2nd in the GC. Begy got a healthy lead in the early climbing and Gersbach was forced to chase. By aid station one Begy was over 4 minutes in front and still climbing well. She cruised through the aid station without stopping. Begy maintained her lead throughout the summit of Peak 10 and down to aid station two just 8 miles from the finish.

Gersbach was chipping away at the lead and by aid two Begy was less than a minute out front. With the determination of a great endurance racer Gersbach used what was left in the tank and closed the gap. Once past Begy she motored her way through the final sections of rocks, roots, and bridges pulling away by a full 4 minutes at the finish.

As we reported yesterday, the singlespeed men were separated by less than one second in the GC with David Wilson (Titus) taking Stage 3 over GC leader Dan Durland (Pro Cycling). Wilson would not be denied today. Grinding his way into the lead on the early climbs it was clear he had his sights set on another stage victory. Durland did his best to limit his losses but trailed Big Dave by 8 minutes at the end of stage 4.

Tomorrow is the final stage of the inaugural Breck-Epic. Riders face slightly less climbing than previous stages and a distance of roughly 33 miles. Check back with MTBracenews.com for all the results, photos, and reports from the final stage.

Solo Men

1, Jeremiah Bishop (Monavie-Cannondale.com) 3.35.53
2, Travis Brown (Trek) 3.37.54
3, Colby Pearce (Michelob Ultra) 3.42.53
4, Cory Wallace (Kona) 3.47.08
5, Brandon Dwight (Boulder Cycle Sport) 3.48.45
6, Yuki Saito (Topeak/Ergon)
7, Kip Biese (Old Town Biek Shop)
8, James Williams (Cannondale)
9, Ben Thompson (Cannondale)
10, Blake Harlan (Jamis)

Solo Women

1, Jen Gersbach (Dale's Pale Ale/Spot) 4.30.49
2, Christina Begy (Christina Begy) 4.34.50
3, Jen Hanks (Revolution/Powerbar) 5.11.42
4, Amy Robillard (Tough Girls/Scott) 6.14.05
5, Kim Bear (Santa Fe) 6.34.48


Singlespeed

1, David Wilson (Titus) 4.13.40
2, Jake Kirkpatrick (New Belgium Brewing) 4.19.22
3,Dan Durland (Pro Cycling) 4.21.11

Duo Men

1, Team Kappi (Brady Kappius/Russell Kappius) 4.03.26
2, GT Dirt Coalition (Ryan Krayer/ Jerry Long) 4.29.35
3, Team 303 Racing (Nick Howell/Hank Pool) 4.40.03

GC Standings after 5 stages:
Men Solo

1. Jeremiah Bishop 12.40.13
2. Travis Brown 12.49.09
3. Brandon Dwight 13.14.17
4. Ben Thompson 13.24.06
5. Colby Pearce 13.32.28

Women Solo
1. Jen Gersbach 16.16'51"
2. Christina Begy 16.44'55"
3. Jen Hanks 18.12'05"

Singlespeed
1. David Wilson 14.56.10
2. Dan Durland 15.03.40
3. Jake Kirkpatrick 15.28.17

Men Duo
1. Team Kappii (Russell and Brady Kappius) 14.35.18
2. Team GT Dirt Coalition (Ryan Krayer and Jerry Long)15.03.46
3. Team 303 Racing (Nick Howell and Hank Pool) 16.40.54

For Full Results and all the other categories Click Here

Riders climbed up Spruce Creek road and finally onto the snow fields in the distance

David Wilson grimacing his way into first in the singlespeed competition

Russell and Brady Kappius opened a can on the GT Dirt Coalition Team today

Mark Legg-Compton riding strong as always in the top-10 overall

Team Ergon's Yuki Saito

Jen Gersbach holds onto the women's solo jersey