Bishop extends lead in Breck Epic with another stage victory

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Stage 4 was described as the course that "just keeps coming at you, like a rabid dog". With 7,500 feet of climbing in 42 miles, it had to hurt. By the look on riders faces as they crossed the finished, promoter Mike McCormick was right, it was the hardest stage of the race so far.

The course offered little reprieve and several get-off-your-bike-and-push. As singlespeeder Dejay Birtch (Niner) described it, "You know it's a stiff hike-a-bike when you can use your seat as a headrest."

Despite the heat and relentless pedaling, Jeremiah Bishop (Cannondale) managed to put almost seven minutes on teammate Alex Grant, with a time of 3:22:44. Bishop broke the tie on times and assumed the GC lead. The pair was closely followed by Josh Tostado (Bach Builders), who beat out Cannondale rider Ben Sonntag by a single second.

In the women's field, Pua Sawicki (Okolestuff.com) maintained dominance, stretching her lead over Ivonne Kraft (Squirt/Bionicon) of Germany to over an hour, coming in at 3:55:49, just eight riders behind Bishop.

There was little upset in the GC standings today. Evan Plews stayed on top of the singlespeed category. Jeff Kerkove (Team Topeak-Ergon) and teammate Sonya Looney held on to their coed duo lead despite Looney admittedly blowing up on the first climb.

"I tried to hang on the wheels of the pro guys and blew up, didn't drink enough water, ate too much sugar and threw up in my mouth." Kerkove and Looney crossed the line in 4:35:08, followed once again by the Eriksens of Eriksen Cycles.

Thompson and Overstreet (Wilderness Sports) rode high and kept the lead in the men's duo 80+ category while Mark Sevenoff once again crossed the line in front of the solo 40+ men, and Russell Kappius, riding for Tokyo Joe's, kept his top spot in the solo 50+ men.

Racers smiled from ear to ear after stage 4 and chatted about the wonder of the course. Promoter McCormick promised that stage 5 will be easier although it will still feature a climb over Wheeler Pass at 12,600 feet.

Full Results for stage 4

General classification after stage 4