Kappius races to victory ahead of Beisel

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Sunday's Ridgeline Rampage - the third stop in the Rocky Mountain Endurance Series - featured three exciting races in the hills of Castle Rock, Colorado. Each 10-mile lap offered stunning views, playful flow, and nearly 1000 feet of vertical gain.

The RME Ridgeline Rampage marathon riders completed six laps, with the half marathoners and junior riders completed three laps, and the sport and beginner fields completed two and one laps, respectively.

The riders christened the new course on Sunday morning with strong lap times and impressive camaraderie. With the fastest cyclists finishing 60 miles in just over four hours, the pro men's race was complete with a battle for first and game-changing mechanicals.

Kalan Beisel and fellow training buddy Brady Kappius didn't waste any time establishing their positions at the front of the pack. Beisel, who won the second race of the series - The Front Range 60 - in May, attacked on the fifth lap and secured a solid lead over Kappius. However half way through the last lap he flatted, and was caught.

"I was confident I had it. Then I heard that sound of death, and I knew it was a sidewall," said Beisel.

Kappius, the winner of the first race of the series - the Voodoo Fire - had been battling his own compromised tire with a slow leak surfacing on the last lap. It was anyone's game. Kappius ultimately took the win, blazing through the finish line with a time of 4:07:27 and 10psi in the front, with Beisel taking second place with a time of 4:13:49 and rolling in on nothing but a rear rim.

Kappius and Beisel destroyed the rest of the field, with third place nearly 20 minutes back.

The marathon women pedaled confidently through the blazing sun, with seemingly permanent smiles and just a few battle wounds. Stacy Moller took the win with a time of 5:19:02, with Sonya Bugbee just over two minutes behind.

This inaugural Ridgeline Rampage is part of the Rocky Mountain Endurance Series put on by Warriors Cycling. "It's a fun course, the neutral feed stations are great, and the competition is solid" said Andrew Carney of Fort Collins, racing singlespeed for Moots.

There are two RME series races remaining this season: The Breckenridge 100 (or alternatively the B-68) on July 16, and the PV Cycle Derby on September 4. Watch out for some tight battles for series points in both the men's and women's fields.

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