Details

Written by Steve Thompson

Day 1 is in the books for Christopher and I - The terrain on today's course was brutal on the body and on the equipment but we both made it back to the house in one piece and proceeded to refuel the body in preparation for Monday.

For myself it went very well for the most part, I had a great first 45 minutes followed a short 30 minute lull before getting my steam back and feeling great for the rest of the race.  My Supermatic 120 worked great with the SRAM XO 2x10 drivetrain and XX Revelation fork, not once did i need a higher of lower gear and the fork sucked up all the nasty rock fields and gnarly descents.  For me it was a pretty uneventfull day with the only miscue being a small collision with a pine tree (tree 1 StevieT 0) if it were a boxing match the tree would of won by decision but not by KO and that's the important part!  I finished the course in 4:21 putting me in 9th place in my class, only a small time gap stands between 5th and 15th. On a day where flat tires were more the norm than the exception I look forward to stage 2 minus the short fade that I experienced today.

Christopher put in a solid ride, probably the finest in his short racing career!  One small get off and a bike issue that slowed him down a little bit but not to the point of losing any significant time, in a ultra stacked class  he came in under 5:10 good for 19th.  The race leaderboard reads like this.  1st - Federixo Ramirez - 2nd  Kevin Kane - 3rd Ben Aufderheide - 4th Colorado Springs own & 2 time single speed 24 hour national champ Cameron Chambers (with a flat) - 5th Colby Pearce.  The leader Ramirez is here from Costa Rica where I hear he has won the LA RUTA DE LOS CONQUISTADORES multiple times. 

Tuesday's course description from the Breck Epic staff reads like this 41 miles 7300 feet climbing - "The Colorado Trail stage"  Prepare for a couple of juevos-shrinking descents, a climb or two where some decisive moves might get made within your category ( and where you might hear or even spout some colorful language) and a few sections of high-speed singletrack that just go on and on and on.  Stage 2 is good, stuffed chock full of terrain that brings us all back to those core components of why we all ride. To test our legs and lungs against mother nature. To pin our ears back and feel the wind against our faces, and to pilot your bike for a few moments as if you were a golden god. Today is that day! Starting elevation 9,600 highest elevation reach 11,200 batabing bataboom there you have it

Adios to all and to all a good night.