Breck Epic Race Recap
A breakthrough, but with mixed emotions
I first off want to say that we’re all pulling for Howard Grotts, who had a bad crash on the final stage. He’s on the road to recovery, but that path will likely be long and expensive. Breck Epic has set up a donation page to support his recovery. Anything you can do to help is much appreciated.
It feels like just yesterday I was lining up for my first Breck Epic. It was 2019, and I was fully focused on XCO racing. I’d done a couple of 50-mile races and a 3-day stage race in VT (really, 2 days since the first was a 15-minute TT). Breck Epic was my first true taste of stage racing and my first foray into the Colorado mountain biking I love today. The day after that race, I started my college orientation.
Fast forward 5 years, and it’s surprising to see the parallels between the two experiences.
Surprise.
In both years, I surprised myself. In 2019, I ended 16th. This year, I ended 5th. I didn’t even know I could complete such a hard race 5 years ago. I surprised myself with my resilience.
Adversity
Breck Epic is 6 days of adversity. The race kicks your butt. In 2019 and 2024, we raced extra challenges on day one. In both cases, it rained. In 2019, the rain came 1/2 way through the stage, drenching us and leaving us to shiver our way down a 20-minute descent and over the last few miles. In 2024, the rain rushed in on a previously beautiful morning just as I was about to leave to warm up. After multiple delays, the race was shortened to 16 miles. Don’t worry: my XCO training from 2021 surely would come in handy.
Equipment
In 2019, I showed up in a B2C2 club kit (a team from Boston) and a Pivot Mach 429SL from JRA Cycles. I was running Vittoria Mezcal tires front and rear. 5 years later, I’m on the most recent Pivot Mach 4 SL and running the updated Vittoria Mezcal. It’s a good combo.
Enjoyment
One thing will never change about this race: it’s magical. It’s 6 days of fun riding with friends, beautiful scenery, and incredible trails. Why have I come back 4 times? This. This is why.
The Race
Breck Epic consists of 6 stages between 24 and 43 miles (normally), starting and ending in Breckenridge. This is a great format because you don’t have to move accommodations.
With this being my fourth time, I knew the routes very well. I also knew that the field I was up against was tough. From Olympian Riley Amos to former Olympian Howard Grotts. My competitors were objectively a step above me. I went in with the goal of a top 10.
The day before the event, I enjoyed a shakeout ride with fellow Pivot athlete Ellie Krafft. We were ready.
Stage 1: Pennsylvania Creek
Distance: 16 miles
Time: 1:16:29
Place: 9th
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/12122101031
I awoke on Sunday morning to beautiful skies. Unfortunately, the forecast showed rain from 8-9 AM. That turned out to be true. It poured and poured some more. The race was delayed once, and then the rain let up. It was delayed one more time to 9:30, and then we received word the course would be shortened. We would have a 1/4 road section, then straight into singletrack for 16 miles of steep fire road climbing and chunky descending. I was scared of this. Chris Mehlman, a notoriously bad XCO racer, against Riley Amos. What could go wrong?
As it turned out, I was on a great day. I hit the gas just before the singletrack and ended up in a good position. I dropped Rob Britton and Cory Wallace and ended up reeling in Lance Haidet on the first big climb. Eventually, I was dropped from the chase group behind Riley and a couple of others, but I rolled in for 9th place, just 3 minutes down on him. I was very satisfied with that start.
Stage 2: The Colorado Trail
Distance: 43 miles
Time: 3:22:46
Place: 9th
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/12130181831
Stage 2 has usually been my best day of the race. This year, I had another good day. After a solid first climb, I reeled a few people in on the major climb of the day and rolled in for 9th place again. I beat my previous best time by over 6 minutes. It’s one of my favorite days because the Colorado Trail descent is 20 minutes of fast, flowing singletrack. Sure, Heinous Hill at the start sucks, but I still love it.
Stage 3: Mt. Guyot
Distance: 40 miles
Time: 3:27:29
Place: 6th
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/12138943627
Stage 3 is the queen stage. Ok: stage 5 is also damn hard, but stage 3 is long AND hard. We go around Mt. Guyot. This involves climbing up the hiking trail over French Pass, ripping a terrifying ditch down the other side, and then climbing back up over Georgia Pass before a very fun descent that ends with a mile-long rock garden on the Colorado Trail. From there, that race sends you up a steep, rocky Jeep road before a traverse along the Great Flume singletrack and a few final stings in the tail.
Out of the start, it was hard (when isn’t it?) I made the lead group of five. It was Riley, Howard Grotts, Taylor Lideen, Matt Pike, and me. Bad idea? Probably. I quickly realized I was better off letting them go and hit the first steep climb with Cory Wallace. Eventually, Zach Calton caught and passed me (this became a theme – he likes to start slow and end freakishly fast). Once I hit the Little French descent with him in site, I knew the best course of action was to take it easy. This one is a wheel breaker.
On French Pass, I climbed with Rob Britton. On the way down, I dropped him and hit the Georgia Pass climb alone. I could see Zach for a while, but then he was gone. On the descent down the Colorado Trail, I passed Taylor, who had a broken wheel. I made it down in one piece before riding the rest of the day alone and somehow hanging onto 6th and moving up to 5th overall. A damn good day on a stage I usually struggle on.
Stage 4: Aqueduct
Distance: 43 miles
Time: 3:29:15
Place: 9th
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/12147784521
Stage 4 is probably Mike Mac’s (the race director) least favorite stage. I don't know why. I like it! Well, except for that climb at mile 15 called “Vomit Hill.”
I had another decent start, and once we hit Vomit Hill, I gapped the people who had just caught back onto me. I then caught two other races on the long climb from Keystone and dropped one of them. The 2nd, probably the best descender in the race, put me to the sword on the big descent on the Colorado Trail. I did everything I could and kept him within 15 seconds before catching him again. On the final descent, I decided that I valued my life and bike, so I let him go. As it turns out, he set a top 5 all-time ride down that on Strava (on a popular descent), so I’ll take that. 9th on the day and back down to 7th on GC.
Stage 5: Wheeler
Distance: 25 miles
Time: 3:03:22
Place: 9th
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/12156174383
Wheeler. It’s a name synonymous with hiking, suffering, crying, and also the best views and coolest environment you’ll race in ever. In short, you go right up over the top of Breckenridge (12,500 feet elevation) on a hiking trail, traverse a bit, go down the other side part of the way on a chunky descent, climb back up and over 12,500 feet again, and then do a 30-minute gnarly descent down to Frisco, after which you ride the draggy Peaks Trail back to Breck.
Off the start, I kept it chill. We could see it was raining up top. Not a good sign. Rain up there = hypothermia. As it turns out, we later learned it was 15 degrees at the top of the mountain that morning before it started raining. I kept it steady and then hit the hiking section. I suck at hiking (like really suck). I did everything I could and took Macky Franklin’s advice to take “long strides.” He was a single speeder in a previous life, so he knows a thing or two about hiking fast. I hung tough to the top, then ended with Rob Britton. I skipped the bacon hand ups because I was so gassed at that elevation. After passing Rob on the descent, I caught two other riders on the climb back to the top. On the descent down Miner’s Creek to Frisco, I had 2 goals: don’t flat and don’t crash. I was successful in those. I rolled home in 9th (AGAIN) but moved up to 6th on GC. One. More. Day.
Stage 6: Gold Dust
Distance: 31 miles
Time: 2:10ish, but with the incident, we neutralized the stage
Place: N/A
Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/12163965316
I love stage 6. Maybe it’s because the race is almost done, or maybe it’s because it’s fast. At the start, I kept it steady and ended up catching Taylor Lideen and Lance Haidet on the climb up to Boreas Pass Road. As it turns out, Rob Britton had found his legs… big time. We hit the road together and I flicked my elbow and got a “I have nothing from Taylor.” Rob, on the other hand? Well, he put us to the sword. He bridged up to the group ahead, and I did everything I could to hang onto Taylor and Lance to the top. We were pretty fried. On the descent, I kept it steady and smart. I had 6th almost locked up… if I didn’t flat. On the climb back up, Rob, who I had caught on the descent, sent it. He told me to get on his wheel, but that was not possible for more than a minute. As it turns out, he rode most of the way back to the lead group alone into a headwind. I rode the 30 minutes to the top alone, knowing I could empty the tank. Another rider caught me just as I crested the summit, and my stomach, which had been fine all race, decided it was vacation time. I stopped pedaling and let the other rider go. On the descent down Broken Wheel, I started feeling better and hit the gas on the final stretch of Blue River Trail.
Within a mile of the line, I came upon Robbie Day, who yelled stop and “rider down. Howie’s down bad.” I will not go into any more details, but we worked to get help there and then soft-pedaled to the finish. In that sudden shock, it was all I could do to even ride the mile to the line without bumping into trees and making every possible mistake. The medical team was fast, and we soon heard a helicopter fly over. Howie, thank goodness, is stable now. That was one of the scariest racing moments I’ve had.
Reflections
I ended 5th overall, but I should have been 6th. Howie was the leader of that race, and a split second in the final mile took that away from him.
It was bittersweet.
On the one hand, I was very happy with my performance. It finally felt like I had put something together this season. It was by far my best Breck Epic performance (I PRed almost every segment of every stage) and one of the best of my racing career in such a strong field. On the other hand, we left very shaken. The scene at the finish line was one of pro men who just couldn’t process what had happened. From full gas racing one second to scrambling for help the next, that period of time was a reminder of how dangerous this sport can be. We’re on a knife edge all the time. One mistake or unlucky moment can make or break a season or a career.
I didn’t feel good about being on the podium until Mike Mac said, “If this happened to you, people would feel the same way.” The way people reacted to the crash was a good reminder of the MTB community and how great people are in it.
It was also a reminder of how amazing the event it. I would not ride some of these routes alone. In the race, I feel confident because Breck Epic has a very professional medical team and plan. Beyond this, the race is just well run in general. The aid stations are better than any other race, the people are friendly, and the whole event is, looking back on it each year, like living in a dream for 6 days, even if the stages are brutal. It’s the hardest event I have done, but one I will always want to come back to.
Thank you, Breck Epic, and thank you to the people who helped at the race, from my mom (it’s become a family tradition) to the Konecnys to Mary Lideen and so many more.