Race leader Jeremiah Bishop charges up a climb with Travis Brown hot on his heels. (Image credit: Liam Doran)
The Breck Epic mountain bike stage race released a tentative route plan for its second edition in 2010. The race will include six stages over 227 miles (365km) with 34,350 feet (10,473m) of elevation change.
A change of base venue has been implemented with the new location at The Steve. There will be two queen stages and a long time trial. The organizer has promised a race that will be a total of three to five hours longer and beer at every finish.
The opening stage on the Colorado Trail is getting longer by six miles. It'll also incorporate a bit of the Firecracker 50 course in reverse. The second stage, the Pennsylvania Creek Time Trial is also getting longer by about 40 minutes.
Stage three will be a new stage linking Montezuma and Keystone, pending Forest Service approval.
Stage four, the Circumnavigation of Mt. Guyot, will stay the same, again crossing the Continental Divide twice, once at French Pass and once at Georgia Pass before returning via the American Gulch. Stage five, Wheeler, will be largely the same except for the removal of a rock garden section near the beginning of the Peaks trail. No changes are planned for stage six.
The categories for 2010 will be Solo Open Men, Solo Open Women, Solo 40+ Men, Solo 50+ Men, Solo 40+ Women, Solo 50+ Women, Solo SS Men, Solo SS Women, Duo Coed, Duo Women, Dou Men, Duo 80+ Men, Team Relay (three to six riders).
Breck Epic 2010 Sunday, August 22 - The Colorado Trail, 41 miles / 6,000 feet Monday, August 23 - Pennsylvania Creek Time Trial, 33.5 miles / 5,300 feet Tuesday, August 24 - Montezuma/Keystone. 44 miles / 6,200 feet Wednesday, August 25 - The Circumnavigation of Mt. Guyot. 39.5 miles / 6,500 feet Thursday, August 26 - Wheeler. 36 miles / 6,550 feet Friday, August 27 - Gold Dust. 33 miles / 3,800 feet.
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Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews. She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.
