Breck-Epic Stage Race: Prologue TT (Stage 1) & Stage 2

The Breck-Epic Prologue TT went a bit better than expected. Was not sure how the previous days Marathon Nationals race would effect the legs....but they did work a lot better than I thought they would. Prior to race start a nasty rain/hail storm rolled over Breckenridge dumping rain for about 45 minutes. The led the race directors to shorten the length of the race to keep it from getting to high on the mountain where lightening was striking down. My race started at 4:16. That means that over 3/4 of the people racing the 'Epic' had already been on course. Due to the rain, the normally dry and dusty trail now looked like something straight out of the east coast....rocks and roots were as slick as ice.

Trying to minimize effort to the pedals I chose to spin a higher RPM. This worked well for me. About 1/2 way up the climb, I came upon Dejay Birtch and Sonya Looney out heckling the racers. It was all in good fun and helped to easy any leg pain I was having.

Snappy pedal strokes....that is all I could put out during the TT. It worked well enough, and I scored 12th place in the Solo Open race...with a time of 41 minutes. Results are here.

And now....Sonya & Dejay yell at Prologue racers. Clips are coming at you rapid fire style.


Today was the first real stage. The loop was the Colorado Trail Loop....some 37 miles and 5,500 ft of climbing. My plan was to start chill and build up speed. With the opening miles sending you straight to the sky, some riders paid dearly for their hard early effort. I once again followed my Firecracker 50 pacing and nutrition plan...it worked perfectly! The entire race today I felt strong and light on the pedals.


The rains from yesteday left the course slow and boggy in spots....and super muddy in others. Overall, the route today was super fun...and had good flow. I am not 100% of my final result at the time of this posting....but I would guess right around top 10 in the Solo Open race. Results will be here at some point.