Grant and Carey win stage 4 at Breck Epic

Once again, racers made it to the queen stage. With the most vertical over the most amount of miles, stage 4 was a punch in the gut after three hard days of racing. Luckily, much of the trail was fast rolling, giving racers a slight reprieve after days of loose, rocky climbs and descents.

For the first hour, the racing was tight and many were working in packs. Ninety minutes in, Alex Grant led a tight group of Todd Wells, Ben Sonntag, and Takei Kyosuke. Macky Franklin was close behind, followed by Michiel Van Aelbroeck and Nick Truitt. Soon after, the rest of the pack quickly filed in.

After three hours of racing, however, the top four pulled away significantly, and Sonntag led the group by a couple of seconds. Just two miles from the finish, Sonntag looked down to see his crank arm hanging by his left foot and with just a slight tug, his right foot was left holding his right crank arm and spindle. Luckily he came out of the debacle unscathed save for a couple of minutes lost on the lead group.

Alex Grant crossed the line first, to take his first stage win of this year's race.

At the finish line, there was talk of either having a better-than-expected day, or feeling quite flat. Cyldesdale overall leader, Scott Reid pedaled easier than normal through the backside of the race and came through the finish line fast and feeling good, while duo open men's leaders, Yuki Ikeda and Jeff Kerkove had opposite feelings on the state of their legs after the stage.

Women's race leader Amanda Carey came through the finish line solo and fast, but with Kate Aardal close on her wheel, as did singlespeed leader, Dax Massey, though he talked of having run a slightly larger gear than he would have liked. Carlos Vulgamott of Golden Bike Shop rolled through second for singlespeed, with Dan Durland in third.

Feeling good or not, after four days of pushing hard on the pedals, bikes began to feel the pressure. Jonathan Davis came through with a rear flat and a broken rear derailleur, which caused him to run the last six miles. He still finished an impressive third in the men's 40+ category. Gina and Phil Kelly finished their stage on the tandem, but came through with a cracked rear hub and a brake that wouldn't release. A couple of broken collarbones claimed riders, both due to rocky descents and mechanicals.

The racing became tighter in the coed duo category, with Natalie and Sean Raborn taking their second win of the race, and shortening their deficit to only 27 seconds. The pressure is on for Julie and Steven Kelly to hold their lead.

New this year is a second three day race, where competitors will race stages 4-6. Summit County local, Darren Cheek leads Doug Descheneaux by nearly two hours after day one.

On the enduro side, Franklin took the win in stage three by just tenths of a second over Truitt, while singlespeeder Massey took third. Truitt still retains the lead in the enduro segments.

Today was a day of family and friends, with fathers taking pictures with their daughters at the finish line, and friends gathering to chat rather than running off to recover. The camaraderie at the Breck Epic continues to shine each year, with competitors throwing each other chains and tool bags on course, and finish lines feeling more like a backyard barbecue than a race venue. These are the moments that keep people coming back each year.

On tap for stage 5 is a bucket list ride up and over the saddle between Peaks 8 and 9 on the Wheeler Trail. This is the Epic, however, so the stage doesn’t start with an easy spin up the ski area, but traverses across the bottom of Peak 9 to the backside of Peak 10, where racers will meet up with and begin their literal hike up the Wheeler trail, until they reach the summit where the ride becomes truly memorable. This is a stage not to be missed.

Stage 4 Results

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Men open
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Alex Grant3:25:09
2Todd Wells0:00:00
3Takei Kyosuke0:02:39
4Ben Sonntag0:05:31
5Macky Franklin0:15:38
6Franc Vanderven0:21:00
7Nick Truitt0:24:03
8Cary Smith0:24:09
9Drew Free0:25:08
10Nick Gould0:25:42
11James Meyer0:26:10
12Ty Hansen0:31:09
13Scott Leonard0:31:58
14Jeff Ellis0:31:59
15Brent Gorman0:32:00
16Peter Butt0:35:44
17Charlie Rundell0:40:20
18Jason Hilimire0:45:29
19Tim Berntson0:46:29
20Derek Bissett0:56:45
21Von Edwards0:57:35
22Tim Lutz0:57:43
23Ben Truitt1:01:38
24Luke Sagur1:02:55
25Jasen Thorpe1:30:36
26Christopher Farney1:37:44
27Peter Weybright1:48:12
28Phillip Ball1:49:24
29Chris Castilian1:49:29
30Joey Roa1:58:28
31Tim Kelton2:39:46
32Davis McNeil3:06:52
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Men singlespeed
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Dax Massey4:06:54
2Carlos Vulgamott0:08:28
3Dan Durland0:11:05
4Jody Elovitz0:16:52
5Tim Brezsnyak0:18:44
6Vince Anderson0:21:38
7Kurt Gensheimer0:36:00
8Robin Dutton0:38:22
9Tim Ahern0:39:03
10Hans Hjelde0:42:38
11David Benjes0:44:01
12Kenny Jones0:44:15
13Rich Dillen0:45:21
14Christopher Latura0:49:41
15John Odle1:05:17
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Men 30+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Michael Danish3:54:17
2Raf De Bakker0:00:44
3Jafar Tabaian0:12:33
4Nesse ØYstein0:16:02
5Jason Hilgers0:20:18
6Dominik Hug0:22:25
7Geir Ottar Kvernstuen0:27:56
8Jeremy Trask0:32:29
9Garren Watkins0:33:08
10Daniel Miller0:44:11
11Cory Bolen0:44:16
12Felipe Borja0:45:04
13Brian Barrett0:49:13
14James Prentice1:06:43
15Michael Cosgrove1:07:38
16Aric Hartley1:08:34
17Mark Freda1:14:56
18Mike Reardon1:16:21
19Benjamin Wiegand1:30:13
20Glenn Harris1:35:39
21David Dansby1:40:34
22Andrew Rizzi1:46:03
23Brett Merrington2:13:39
24Ross McKegney2:38:23
25Philip Thompson2:39:40
26Allan Kwok3:46:20
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Men 40+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jerry Long4:05:36
2Michael Piker0:09:14
3Jonathan Davis0:09:39
4Chad Davis0:10:41
5Jeff Cospolich0:11:31
6Rob Shaver0:13:06
7Shawn Lortie0:17:03
8Brian Sells0:20:29
9Trever Bushnell0:25:56
10Bob Saffell0:26:19
11Mike Driver0:26:19
12Ray Warner0:26:51
13Curt Wilhelm0:28:58
14Jason Sumner0:35:08
15Sean Hassinger0:39:13
16Yuri Cook0:40:23
17Chris McKillican0:41:39
18Mike Riederer0:42:09
19Lane Sanders0:45:23
20Paul Rapinz0:46:31
21Rich Brown0:48:04
22Michael Berg0:48:11
23Dean Etienne0:51:31
24Peter Knoop0:54:39
25Brad Newby0:56:27
26Johnny Petrosky0:56:51
27Nate McHugh1:00:40
28Jason Potter1:00:54
29Carlyle Naylor1:01:58
30Menno Jongsma1:14:13
31Brad Shield1:15:09
32Marc Schwartz1:18:46
33Lennie Moon1:19:13
34Roger Ivey1:21:19
35Mark Bartley1:24:43
36David Buchler1:26:07
37Patrick Morton1:27:20
38Bill Brazier1:29:18
39Joel Roberts1:30:54
40Joel Doctor1:31:05
41Matthew Sullivan1:31:46
42Milan Skrecek1:32:08
43Scott Liversedge1:33:10
44Paul Dellorco1:33:18
45Leslie Handy1:46:20
46Samuel Turney1:48:11
47Nolan Farhy1:48:43
48David Meban1:50:58
49Sergio Correa1:56:14
50Alex Tibwitta2:36:08
51Derek Chung3:17:47
52Robert Reed3:25:51
53Richard Lane3:48:30
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Men 50+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Charlie Hayes4:09:20
2Jeffery Frost0:15:39
3Chris Grove0:26:01
4Kevin English0:29:51
5Rob Piper0:49:13
6Greg McKennis0:58:03
7Ron Sanborn0:58:24
8Scott McCallum1:01:28
9Matt Hanrahan1:05:00
10Denis Hall1:05:45
11Greg Schultejann1:14:00
12Tetsuo Shimoda1:20:10
13Eric Lovins1:22:08
14David Kelnberger1:29:31
15Jim Pittacora1:40:15
16Dirk Long1:41:27
17Mark Halwa1:48:14
18Steve Cole1:54:21
19Mark Leeper2:07:25
20Ty Garber2:17:56
21Garry Mcculloch2:40:54
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Clydesdale men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Scott Reid4:12:31
2Steven Thompson0:44:44
3Eric Dejong1:00:42
4Andrew Mclaren1:16:17
5Peter Fobare1:52:10
6Alex McPherson2:25:13
7Moishe Lettvin3:14:48
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Women open
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Amanda Carey4:22:36
2Kate Aardal0:00:15
3Kristin Aamodt0:02:15
4Susan Haywood0:09:46
5Lydia Tanner0:39:49
6Sarka Ruzickova0:57:09
7Alice Pirard1:43:57
8Katherine Knight2:23:45
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Women singlespeed
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Andrea Wilson4:59:31
2Susan Sherman1:31:43
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Women 30+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Paige Witherington5:11:44
2Cathy Graham0:30:31
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Women 40+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Shannon Gibson5:06:14
2Kristin Riley-Lazo0:20:32
3Karen Holmes0:24:59
4Heather Gilbert0:27:20
5Tricia Davis0:51:57
6Gill Smith1:34:15
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Women 50+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Christiane Bouchard5:27:33
2Stephanie Landy0:36:31
3Lori Halwa1:11:09
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Duo men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Yuki Ikeda & Jeff Kerkove3:53:41
2Paul Fronhofer & Dan Fronhofer0:38:15
3Kurtis Averill0:39:12
4Jose Marie Eyzaguirre & Joaq Rodriguez1:24:15
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Duo men 80+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Todd Meier & Matt Woodruff4:09:26
2Kyle Boschen & Dean Cahow0:48:36
3Stuart Walsworth & Jeff Wu0:56:13
4Jay Averill & Stefan Mundt1:33:29
5Brian Deason & Rodne Hill1:51:07
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Duo men 100+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Eric Davis4:35:58
2Rob Herceg & Rick Metzger0:50:28
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Duo women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Laureen Coffelt & Timari Pruis5:45:07
2Star Affolter & Grace Ragland1:37:27
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Duo co-ed
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Natalie Raborn & Sean Raborn4:53:46
2Julie Kelly & Steven Kelly0:05:06
3Heather Rizzi & Kurt Mason0:36:26
4Michele Bliss & John Bliss0:51:45
5Phil Kelly & Gina Virzi-Kelly1:16:21

General classification after stage 4

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Men open
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Todd Wells12:13:03
2Alex Grant0:03:47
3Ben Sonntag0:16:59
4Macky Franklin0:55:13
5Franc Vanderven1:15:58
6Cary Smith1:30:44
7Drew Free1:47:02
8Nick Gould1:48:42
9Nick Truitt1:54:44
10James Meyer1:55:59
11Takei Kyosuke2:02:08
12Brent Gorman2:04:57
13Ty Hansen2:09:12
14Peter Butt2:11:49
15Scott Leonard2:21:28
16Jeff Ellis2:30:18
17Charlie Rundell2:45:29
18Jason Hilimire2:49:38
19Tim Berntson2:57:13
20Tim Lutz3:28:16
21Luke Sagur4:00:54
22Von Edwards4:04:31
23Ben Truitt4:11:41
24Jasen Thorpe5:31:20
25Christopher Farney6:49:09
26Joey Roa7:05:20
27Phillip Ball7:10:56
28Chris Castilian7:22:55
29Derek Bissett7:36:11
30Peter Weybright7:49:15
31Davis McNeil9:14:20
32Tim Kelton9:40:24
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Men singlespeed
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Dax Massey14:35:52
2Dan Durland0:46:26
3Carlos Vulgamott0:54:03
4Jody Elovitz1:48:31
5Vince Anderson2:22:39
6Tim Brezsnyak2:25:37
7Robin Dutton2:27:42
8Kurt Gensheimer2:28:15
9Rich Dillen2:33:11
10Kenny Jones2:51:05
11David Benjes2:56:18
12Hans Hjelde3:31:17
13Tim Ahern4:14:01
14John Odle4:17:34
15Christopher Latura4:26:44
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Men 30+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Raf De Bakker14:40:05
2Michael Danish0:08:41
3Jafar Tabaian0:21:50
4Nesse ØYstein0:33:33
5Geir Ottar Kvernstuen1:01:34
6Dominik Hug1:03:57
7Brian Barrett1:16:42
8Jason Hilgers1:19:01
9Felipe Borja1:25:18
10Jeremy Trask1:29:38
11Garren Watkins1:33:38
12Daniel Miller2:23:36
13Cory Bolen2:35:28
14Michael Cosgrove3:29:07
15James Prentice3:46:45
16Mike Reardon4:00:03
17Mark Freda4:11:21
18Aric Hartley4:28:23
19Benjamin Wiegand5:03:37
20Glenn Harris5:05:39
21David Dansby5:09:37
22Brett Merrington6:46:48
23Ross McKegney6:53:37
24Andrew Rizzi7:08:12
25Philip Thompson7:40:54
26Allan Kwok13:38:55
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Men 40+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Jonathan Davis14:54:15
2Jeff Cospolich0:15:02
3Jerry Long0:17:00
4Michael Piker0:24:54
5Curt Wilhelm0:29:22
6Chad Davis0:36:01
7Rob Shaver0:44:34
8Ray Warner1:08:38
9Shawn Lortie1:20:33
10Mike Driver1:36:31
11Brian Sells1:47:09
12Trever Bushnell1:47:47
13Bob Saffell1:48:06
14Sean Hassinger2:06:02
15Paul Rapinz2:18:38
16Peter Knoop2:22:31
17Yuri Cook2:25:39
18Jason Sumner2:45:51
19Mike Riederer2:53:26
20Chris McKillican2:53:58
21Brad Newby2:56:20
22Michael Berg3:00:57
23Johnny Petrosky3:07:51
24Rich Brown3:09:32
25Dean Etienne3:11:41
26Lane Sanders3:17:58
27Carlyle Naylor3:29:23
28Jason Potter3:44:06
29Nate McHugh3:49:05
30Marc Schwartz4:27:03
31Lennie Moon4:27:36
32David Buchler4:31:00
33Menno Jongsma4:38:17
34Matthew Sullivan4:55:15
35Samuel Turney4:57:34
36Brad Shield5:00:51
37Joel Doctor5:23:23
38Roger Ivey5:23:52
39Scott Liversedge5:41:43
40Paul Dellorco5:42:55
41Bill Brazier5:47:31
42Joel Roberts5:49:47
43Mark Bartley5:49:52
44Patrick Morton5:59:20
45Leslie Handy6:24:59
46Milan Skrecek6:32:04
47David Meban6:43:46
48Sergio Correa7:05:25
49Nolan Farhy7:23:03
50Alex Tibwitta8:56:08
51Robert Reed11:43:14
52Derek Chung12:54:01
53Richard Lane13:29:00
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Men 50+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Charlie Hayes15:00:48
2Jeffery Frost0:44:58
3Chris Grove1:53:02
4Kevin English2:08:29
5Ron Sanborn3:30:11
6Rob Piper3:41:14
7Greg McKennis3:58:46
8Tetsuo Shimoda4:03:47
9Scott McCallum4:07:55
10Denis Hall4:11:08
11Matt Hanrahan4:21:22
12Greg Schultejann4:34:03
13David Kelnberger5:08:58
14Jim Pittacora5:23:06
15Eric Lovins5:28:47
16Dirk Long5:59:35
17Mark Halwa6:18:10
18Steve Cole6:38:59
19Mark Leeper6:49:02
20Ty Garber8:53:01
21Garry Mcculloch9:33:47
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Clydesdale
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Scott Reid15:24:44
2Steven Thompson2:12:44
3Andrew Mclaren4:25:22
4Peter Fobare4:34:53
5Eric Dejong4:45:05
6Alex McPherson9:04:48
7Moishe Lettvin10:37:12
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Women open
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Amanda Carey15:51:25
2Kate Aardal0:04:49
3Susan Haywood0:14:28
4Kristin Aamodt0:54:18
5Alice Pirard2:11:01
6Lydia Tanner2:25:39
7Sarka Ruzickova3:44:30
8Katherine Knight8:27:12
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Women singlespeed
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Andrea Wilson18:27:31
2Susan Sherman4:58:25
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Women 30+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Paige Witherington19:14:44
2Cathy Graham2:16:33
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Women 40+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Shannon Gibson18:05:20
2Kristin Riley-Lazo2:00:15
3Heather Gilbert2:15:18
4Karen Holmes2:26:51
5Tricia Davis3:36:18
6Gill Smith5:39:40
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Women 50+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Christiane Bouchard20:22:18
2Stephanie Landy1:13:01
3Lori Halwa2:49:33
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Duo men
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Yuki Ikeda & Jeff Kerkove14:05:45
2Kurtis Averill1:39:15
3Paul Fronhofer & Dan Fronhofer2:29:36
4Jose Marie Eyzaguirre & Joaq Rodriguez5:47:47
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Duo men 80+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Todd Meier & Matt Woodruff15:17:47
2Kyle Boschen & Dean Cahow2:29:16
3Jay Averill & Stefan Mundt6:05:01
4Brian Deason & Rodne Hill6:10:44
5Stuart Walsworth & Jeff Wu6:42:23
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Duo men 100+
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Eric Davis17:07:03
2Rob Herceg & Rick Metzger3:08:47
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Duo women
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Laureen Coffelt & Timari Pruis21:24:38
2Star Affolter & Grace Ragland4:22:10
Row 2 - Cell 0 Julie Kelly & Steven KellyRow 2 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Duo Co-ed
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Natalie Raborn & Sean Raborn18:07:19
2Heather Rizzi & Kurt Mason2:32:55
3Phil Kelly & Gina Virzi-Kelly3:05:19
4Michele Bliss & John Bliss3:15:43

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