Ramirez two for two

A bit of overnight cloud cover again brought warm temps to the start. The precipitation that rolled through in the evening was just enough to compact the soil a bit with the result being luscious dirt that was super-grippy. In local parlance, "hero dirt". The kind that lets you rail your bike through a corner, trusting that the rules that govern the physical universe that we all occupy have been temporarily and somehow benevolently altered for your personal benefit.

As luck would have it, the weather conditions coincided with one of the most fun stages in the event, "The Colorado Trail". Summit County is home to several sections, the most popular being the North, Middle and South Forks of the Swan, "Swan" in this case referring to the Swan Drainage, home to a massive 2000-acre open space purchase painstakingly negotiated between local city, county and federal land managers and the B&B Mining Company.

The CT is simply a thing of beauty, and for the most part, at least in Summit County, it seems to be purpose-built for mountain biking. Long rhythmic climbs lead riders to endless narrow descents, ones that make your face hurt from smiling so much. And did we mention that the soil was also tacky? Brothers and sisters, Stage 2 of the 2011 Breck Epic was MTB Valhalla, and each rider was a golden, thundering omnipotent god, if only for a day.

Bringing this long rambling preamble (that almost never happens around here!) to a merciful close, we saw a bit of a shakeup in the men's single stage standings. Out front for most of the stage, local billy goat Josh Tostado (Bach Builders/Santa Cruz) led La Ruta champion Lico Ramirez for nearly three-quarters of the stage, getting reeled in on the second-to-last climb of the day. Tostado said that Lico seemed to pull him in effortlessly and "then just sort of dropped a gear and steadily walked away." Cameron Chambers rode put in a strong effort, crossing the finish line a bit more than two minutes in arrears of Tostado.

On the women's side in the six-day event Sonya Looney (Ergon-Topeak) continued to put her CTR prep to good use, punching out the stage in 4:11, nine minutes ahead of Bicycling Magazine's "The Fit Chick", Selene Yeager, who's definitely wrestling with altitude issues, but seems to be getting it under control. In third was Steamboat Springs rider Katie Lindquist, riding an incredibly strong race and keeping both Sonya and Selene on their toes.

The three-day "Epic-Curious" riders started their race yesterday as well. As a group they seem a bit calmer, although I'd observe that contentment, joy and the ability to really enjoy the moment seems to be a common trait of the entire group regardless of which stage they're riding. The three-day folks' race has yet to shake out with only one stage under their belts, but you could see them chomping at the bit to get after it on today's route around Mt. Guyot.

On that note, here's a bit of info on the Guyot stage: It's 44 miles, 9400' of vertical. This is a ride that every local puts in their book as a once-a-year must-do. Riders will cross the Continental Divide. Twice. First via French Pass and then coming across Georgia Pass on the way back.

Then they're going to descend to Georgia Gulch via the CT (and missing the big-ring all the way "I can't believe this trail is here" flume that all the locals ride instead.). It's a lonnnng descent with some tough rocky sections at the bottom.

Waiting for riders there? The climb back out of the Swan drainage - American Gulch. They'll all turn a corner about three-quarters of the way up and what they see in front them will crush their souls. We call this "Awww !*&#$!" corner. Because it goes straight up - and you're already fried.

When local think "big ride", Guyot is what they have in mind.

Full Results

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo men open
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Federico Ramirez3:17:46
2Josh Tostado0:04:37
3Cameron Chambers0:06:59
4Colin Cares0:08:34
5Ben Aufderheide0:11:02
6Travis Brown0:11:54
7Blake Harlan0:12:56
8Chris Baddick0:12:57
9Colby Pearce0:18:09
10Nick Truitt0:19:37
11Samuel Morrison0:20:01
12Kip Biese0:24:10
13Macky Franklin0:26:41
14Kevin Kane0:31:17
15Jonathan Davis0:33:53
16Chris Mcgovern0:34:06
17Taylor Shelden0:42:28
18Kevin Conerly0:45:21
19Phillip Ball2:04:43
20Christopher Phelan2:39:45
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Solo singlespeed
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Vince Anderson3:50:03
2Michael Melley0:04:07
3Carter Jeffrey0:17:57
4Rob Lockey0:31:49
5Rich Dillen0:53:43
6John Odle0:58:15
7Peter Keiller1:23:30
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Solo men 30+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Werner Van Der Merwe3:42:36
2Mike Schilling0:04:03
3Geir Ottar Kvernstuen0:21:21
4Kevin Ormerod0:26:00
5Rich Digeronimo0:28:50
6Mario Araya0:34:17
7Nesse Oystein0:34:44
8Jon Fugitt0:36:58
9Cormac Ahern0:42:14
10Robin Dutton0:43:26
11Stephen Thompson0:43:35
12Grant Hvizdos0:49:51
13Jesse Combs0:52:22
14Chris Hurst0:55:07
15Steven Pauwels0:58:34
16Andrew Jauquet1:03:40
17Josh Gray1:15:14
18Christophe Van Lierde2:03:05
19Tim Harper2:15:02
20Alex Garcia4:39:04
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Solo men 40+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Peter Paelinck3:49:14
2Mark Llinares0:08:40
3Trever Bushnell0:17:03
4Tom Brodzinski0:21:36
5Scott Patterson0:23:47
6Gregg Pattison0:39:07
7Lennie Moon0:49:03
8Ron Hewitson0:58:13
9Eman Podgorny1:08:49
10Robert Lee1:11:36
11Daniel King1:14:10
12Brad Shield1:29:06
13Gary Hall1:33:21
14Danny Drogula1:37:49
15Craig Conner1:38:59
16Stefan Plas1:40:34
17John Riggs2:02:01
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Solo men 50+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Rich Cramer4:00:54
2Eric Davis0:06:16
3Mark Hershberger0:07:54
4Bruce Wilson0:09:01
5Kent Eriksen0:16:05
6Dean Cahow0:25:50
7Robert Laroche0:25:58
8Jim Mitchell0:26:30
9Paul Labissonniere1:03:17
10Tom Quinn1:03:44
11Jeff Soulier1:05:20
12Kelly Smith1:12:19
13Rick Metzger1:13:04
14Dirk Long1:28:57
15Greg Mckennis1:44:05
16Mark Halwa1:46:28
17Peter Borsato1:53:34
18Delynn Burkhalter2:14:44
19Stephen Ostrander2:27:12
20Keith Cooper2:57:04
21Mario Gustavo Bacce4:21:01
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Clydesdale
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Ken Kreidl4:23:16
2David Huntley0:18:15
3Kevin Andruschuk0:28:38
4Smith Stanford1:22:54
5Nick Armano2:25:33
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Solo women open
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sonya Looney4:11:20
2Selene Yeager0:09:04
3Katherine Lindquist0:18:27
4Jen Tilley0:34:29
5Brenda Munoz0:57:53
6Molly Cochran2:46:40
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Solo women 40+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Kathy Eckert4:46:15
2Lisa Lepoole0:04:10
3Kristi Olson0:08:08
4Laureen Coffelt0:26:42
5Tinneke Vandevoorde1:16:41
6Lori Halwa1:38:13
7Molly Breslin2:12:13
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Solo women 50+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Cynthia Ferrer6:40:16
2Alison Jones1:35:43
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Duo men open
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Huseby/Johnson3:48:40
2Wu/Busse0:34:43
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Duo men 80+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Overstreet/Thompson(Wilderness Sports)3:58:26
2Piker/Breznyak(Deadgoat Racing)0:00:52
3Pizzorni/Zanetta(Ruote Quadre Italy)1:58:37
4Welner/Perry(WaterMen Racing)2:42:15
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Duo men 100+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Gouge/Asleson4:24:57
2Jones/Ebbern(LiveOutThere.com)0:16:41
3Gable/Mortier0:47:26
4Gauld/Halprin(teamonetwentythree)1:46:37
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Duo open mixed
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Gersbach/Venzara(Honey Stinger/Trek)4:25:07
2Ryan/Raborn(Beti & the Beast)0:09:05
3Kreb/Malmberg(Kreb Malmberg)1:03:48
4Batchelor/Hoffman(Racer X)1:13:15
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3-day Solo men open
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Yuki Ikeda3:26:39
2Jorge Espinoza0:03:37
3Jeff Kerkove0:11:36
4Christian Mccarthy0:19:59
5Huybert Groenendaal0:21:25
6Patrick Valentine0:26:37
7Adam Pulford0:41:56
8Jordan Carr0:58:31
9Andy Pemberton1:05:26
10Eric Sorenson1:06:53
11Pedro Del Busto1:19:39
12Johnny Petrosky1:49:29
13Adam Pemberton1:50:53
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3-day Solo men 40+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Michael Hagen3:50:02
2Brian Hludiznski0:02:04
3Cary Smith0:04:24
4Donald Powell0:04:34
5Theodore Fleming0:07:30
6Andrew Yates0:16:50
7Don Roth0:31:48
8Marc Peruzzi0:43:31
9Roman Urbina0:47:40
10Tim Aigner0:56:24
11Peter Dunn1:03:22
12Marco Chinchilla1:04:19
13Jeff Bader1:33:41
14John Arguello1:39:04
15Tad Peacock1:39:06
16Mike Stoll1:55:30
17Larry Peters2:18:12
18Ted Kahan2:18:13
19Chris Baker2:55:05
20Richard Brown2:58:17
21Jim Baxa3:07:56
22Robert Forster3:17:36
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3-day Women open
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Pua Mata3:45:04
2Tina Martinez1:01:04
3Elizabeth Overstreet1:09:29
4Amy Thomas1:16:19
5Kelli Lusk1:22:52
6Amy Caldwell1:40:47
7Chelsea Mcgowan2:03:09
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Solo men general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Federico Ramirez6:27:50
2Cameron Chambers0:17:23
3Ben Aufderheide0:20:24
4Colin Cares0:22:51
5Blake Harlan0:24:36
6Travis Brown0:28:22
7Colby Pearce0:29:43
8Chris Baddick0:30:41
9Josh Tostado0:33:05
10Samuel Morrison0:37:45
11Kevin Kane0:39:24
12Macky Franklin0:41:47
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo singlespeed general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Vince Anderson7:27:42
2Michael Melley0:04:52
3Carter Jeffrey0:40:17
4Rob Lockey0:57:37
5Rich Dillen1:34:24
6John Odle1:57:34
7Peter Keiller2:51:38
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo men 30+ general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mike Schilling7:24:30
2Werner Van Der Merwe0:01:53
3Kevin Ormerod0:44:10
4Geir Ottar Kvernstuen0:46:31
5Rich Digeronimo0:55:15
6Jon Fugitt1:08:59
7Mario Araya1:09:02
8Nesse Oystein1:19:10
9Robin Dutton1:20:08
10Stephen Thompson1:23:33
11Cormac Ahern1:30:47
12Grant Hvizdos1:32:13
13Jesse Combs1:34:12
14Steven Pauwels1:47:12
15Andrew Jauquet1:49:46
16Chris Hurst2:09:18
17Josh Gray2:16:50
18Tim Harper3:48:19
19Christophe Van Lierde4:29:09
20Alex Garcia9:04:03
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo men 40+ general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Peter Paelinck7:40:35
2Mark Llinares0:07:43
3Trever Bushnell0:25:11
4Scott Patterson0:32:32
5Tom Brodzinski0:33:17
6Gregg Pattison1:18:17
7Ron Hewitson1:27:37
8Lennie Moon1:32:47
9Daniel King1:33:47
10Eman Podgorny2:17:40
11Robert Lee2:17:47
12Gary Hall2:22:32
13Craig Conner2:45:26
14Brad Shield2:57:14
15Stefan Plas3:03:42
16Danny Drogula3:07:43
17John Riggs4:01:48
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo men 50+ general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Rich Cramer7:58:09
2Eric Davis0:06:49
3Mark Hershberger0:10:42
4Bruce Wilson0:23:39
5Kent Eriksen0:25:06
6Dean Cahow0:45:25
7Jim Mitchell0:48:51
8Robert Laroche0:50:06
9Tom Quinn1:44:01
10Jeff Soulier1:46:17
11Kelly Smith1:58:24
12Rick Metzger2:17:40
13Paul Labissonniere2:34:23
14Dirk Long2:51:08
15Greg Mckennis3:06:15
16Peter Borsato3:06:21
17Delynn Burkhalter3:32:39
18Mark Halwa3:54:23
19Keith Cooper4:38:46
20Stephen Ostrander5:06:03
21Mario Gustavo Bacce8:30:55
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Clydesdale general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1David Huntley8:52:53
2Ken Kreidl0:30:29
3Kevin Andruschuk0:45:07
4Nick Armano2:34:17
5Smith Stanford2:56:58
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo women open general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Sonya Looney8:17:57
2Katherine Lindquist0:32:27
3Selene Yeager0:34:41
4Jen Tilley0:56:38
5Brenda Munoz1:35:51
6Molly Cochran4:37:59
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo women 40+ general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Kathy Eckert9:24:16
2Kristi Olson0:11:40
3Lisa Lepoole0:27:51
4Laureen Coffelt1:00:45
5Tinneke Vandevoorde2:38:03
6Lori Halwa3:04:48
7Molly Breslin4:15:36
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo women 50+ general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Cynthia Ferrer13:18:13
2Alison Jones2:36:05
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Duo men general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Huseby/Johnson7:47:03
2Wu/Busse0:48:59
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Men duo 80+ general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Overstreet/Thompson(Wilderness Sports)7:40:01
2Piker/Breznyak(Deadgoat Racing)0:11:07
3Pizzorni/Zanetta(Ruote Quadre Italy)4:09:44
4Welner/Perry(WaterMen Racing)4:55:54
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Men duo 100+ general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Gouge/Asleson8:37:58
2Jones/Ebbern(LiveOutThere.com)0:39:09
3Gable/Mortier1:21:19
4Gauld/Halprin(teamonetwentythree)3:52:44
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Co-ed duo general classification after stage 2
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Gersbach/Venzara(Honey Stinger/Trek)8:22:50
2Ryan/Raborn(Beti & the Beast)0:37:29
3Kreb/Malmberg(Kreb Malmberg)2:16:08
4Batchelor/Hoffman(Racer X)2:50:52

GC results for 3-day categories not available

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