Stage 3 took racers up the rarely used French Pass, circumnavigated Mt. Guyot, and eventually flowed over to one of the least ridden, but most thrilling sections of the Colorado Trail. Rock strewn and root filled, Ross Schnell (Trek), arguably one of the most talented technical riders in the country, described the descent as World Cup downhill worthy. Women's solo six-day leader Amanda Carey (Kenda) compared it to riding in Pisgah National Forest - technical but ridable, challenging and punishing, yet incredibly rewarding.
The top two solo women, Carey and Yolandi Du Toit (Squirt Lube) stayed wheel to wheel for the duration of the race. After yesterday's miserable stage, Carey had an 11-minute lead over Du Toit, which she maintained today. Yesterday’s second place finisher and third woman overall, Karen Jarchow (Yeti Beti), fell ill with a stomach bug and had to pull out early. She will be back in tomorrow.
Mid-race, Jen Wilson, women's overall singlespeed leader had a substantial gap on second place, and was the third woman on trail behind Carey and Du Toit.
In the men's singlespeed race, Brady Kappius (Clif Bar) had also opened a gap on current overall leader, Macky Franklin (Oskar Blues/Reeb) by mid-race. Franklin's cleat had pulled out of his shoe near aid station one, so he spent his day descending with one foot on his pedals. Dax Massey (HoneyStinger/Trek) kept his third place standing.
With a strong solo men’s field in the six-day race, the leaders changed it up again. Twelve miles in, Matthys Beukes (Squirt Lube) and Ben Melt Swanepoel (Squirt Lube) railed a rocky, loose descent wheel-to-wheel, with overall race leader, Ben Sonntag, close behind. After a small gap behind Sonntag, Josh Tostato (Bach Builders) and Jake Wells (NoTubes) came through with Rotem Ishay (Team Jamis) and Calle Friberg close by.
Yesterday's early race leader, Nick Truitt (Yeti Pactimo Pro XC) came through a short time later with a slashed cable. The Shimano Sprinter van was on site at aid station one. Its mechanics Ryan Gaul, Jamie Bissell, and local mechanic Tim Assor had his bike fixed in under four minutes. When Ross Schnell came through with a loose brake rotor just minutes later, the guys worked like a race car pit crew to get him back on trail.
Tostado had a strong race, finishing a close fourth, after yesterday's stage filled with mechanicals. Wells is also steadily climbing back up the GC after having a devastating first stage and another flat today.
The finish line was a much different scene than yesterday, with the guys chatting about the incredible views French Pass held, boasting about riding the entire trail at 12,000 ft, and stealing bowls of post-race food for a snack in the dirt. With sunshine and warm temps, it felt more like a summer barbeque than a race finish, which is what the Breck Epic is about. Nightly racer meetings have a friendly feel with racer promoter Mike McCormack holding everyone's attention with promises of trails transforming riders in to Jedi-like machines and enthralling descriptions of some of the most awe-inspiring singletrack in the country.
The three-day Epic concluded today. In the men's open, Matt Simmons narrowly held his lead, finishing alongside second place overall man, Aaron Gulley. Holly Wade had a 45-second deficit in the women's open coming in to the stage, after a flat and coming near to hypothermia yesterday. Today, she increased her lead and took the overall. Mark Thompson held his lead on his home turf in the men's 40+ category.
Tomorrow, riders are in for their longest day, paired with the most elevation. This stage uses pieces of days one, two, and three (though all run in the opposite direction) with the addition of a couple unique trails, truly initiating riders into the diversity and scope of the Summit county trail system.
Full Results
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo Open Men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Benmelt Swanepoel
3:21:36
2
Ben Sonntag
0:01:28
3
Matthys Beukes
0:06:01
4
Tostado Josh
0:08:07
5
Rotem Ishay
0:13:53
6
Calle Friberg
0:13:54
7
Nick Truitt
0:19:24
8
Jake Wells
0:19:25
9
Ezekiel Hersh
0:20:24
10
Sloane Anderson
0:21:21
11
Ryan Clark
0:23:36
12
Shawn Bunnin
0:25:45
13
Nathan Brown
0:30:02
14
Peter Watson
0:33:30
15
Ross Schnell
0:36:08
16
Colby Pearce
0:39:32
17
Matt Woodruff
0:40:44
18
Vandendaele Thomas
0:43:02
19
Erik Bakke
0:44:15
20
Brent Steinberg
0:52:23
21
Taylor Lideen
0:53:54
22
Logan Vonbokel
0:58:02
23
Warren Stephenson
2:10:53
24
Derek Oldfield
2:16:47
25
Alex Tibwitta
3:12:13
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo Open Women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Amanda Carey
4:15:20
2
Yolandi Du Toit
0:00:04
3
Ciara Macmanus
0:42:04
4
Laura Gleason
1:42:51
5
Cindy Bonhage
2:05:48
6
Stephanie Wilkinson
2:29:32
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo Singlespeed Men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Brady Kappius
3:38:49
2
Macky Franklin
0:05:00
3
Dax Massey
0:11:53
4
Nate Miller
0:15:19
5
Michael Melley
0:16:09
6
Vince Anderson
0:19:43
7
Dan Durland
0:25:47
8
Charlie Hayes
0:33:47
9
Eric Davis
0:47:42
10
Montana Miller
0:54:03
11
Scott Upton
0:56:30
12
Donald Powers
0:56:32
13
Dejay Birtch
0:59:47
14
Ian Palermo
1:02:16
15
Dean Cahow
1:09:08
16
Aaron Shelmire
1:18:08
17
Rob Lochner
1:23:00
18
John Odle
1:30:25
19
Jeremy Palermo
1:37:51
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo Singlespeed Women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Jennifer Wilson
4:44:17
2
Andrea Wilson
0:17:29
3
Melissa Liebling
1:10:35
4
Sarah Musick
1:33:01
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo 30+ Men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
James Meyer
3:41:14
2
Johannes Huseby
0:22:35
3
Bradley Schmalzer
0:27:25
4
Ian Mills
0:28:44
5
John Heffner
0:45:48
6
Amit Dutta
1:05:04
7
Andrew Jauquet
1:13:33
8
Wu Jeff
1:33:02
9
Joshua Roeser
1:51:51
10
Philip Thompson
2:13:28
11
Craig Manthe
2:14:46
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo 40+ Men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Jeff Cospolich
4:13:48
2
Ken Thorp
0:08:13
3
Stephen Ushy
0:12:55
4
Shawn Lortie
0:15:14
5
Michael Quinn
0:22:39
6
Mike Driver
0:23:32
7
Jason Sumner
0:40:16
8
Chris Bryce
0:43:37
9
Brian Neyt
0:45:11
10
Charles Gauvin
0:48:44
11
Tom Boo
0:58:53
12
Brad Shield
1:08:30
13
Chris Castilian
1:14:54
14
David Mccormick
1:15:07
15
Lennie Moon
1:25:41
16
Chris Mckillican
1:34:20
17
Craig Mcghee
1:35:37
18
Joel Doctor
1:50:52
19
Farhy Nolan
1:50:53
20
John Arguello
1:52:47
21
Ty Garber
2:00:03
22
Moishe Lettvin
2:19:00
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo 50+ Men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Russell Kappius
4:01:09
2
Frost Jeffery
0:19:25
3
Bruce Wilson
0:27:51
4
Mike Kane
0:44:33
5
Rick Metzger
1:33:34
6
Carl Gable
1:34:29
7
Stan Mayer
1:45:55
8
Brooks Dean
2:08:41
9
Lindsay Gauld
2:11:31
10
Michael Bowen
2:17:26
11
Brendan Mcmahon
2:21:25
12
Mark Halwa
2:23:18
13
Stephen Ostrander
2:46:40
14
Rick Foutch
3:50:10
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo Clydesdale
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Kreidl Ken
5:14:15
2
Richard Szecsy
0:05:45
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo 40+ Women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Tina Martinez
5:00:11
2
Julie Kelly
0:03:24
3
Laureen Coffelt
0:34:32
4
Julie Urlaub
1:06:41
5
Mindi Hoffmaster
1:35:06
6
Lori Halwa
1:44:59
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Duo Open Men
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Blake Harlan & Bryan Alders
3:37:24
2
Rich Dillen & Peter Keiller
2:06:55
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Duo Men 80+
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Tim Brezsnyak & Michael Piker
4:12:21
2
Mike Hogan & Thomas Dooley
0:01:23
3
Kervin Quinones & Michael Trimble
0:01:37
4
Jason Morgan & Russell Henderson
0:16:44
5
Scott Baca & Sean Fay
0:38:21
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Duo Men 100+
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Russ Asleson & Mark Gourge
5:05:22
2
David Reed & John Pougiales
0:31:54
3
Joso Dias Da Chunha & Jorg Damas
0:43:02
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Duo Women
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Mary Davis & Rebecca Bruno
6:09:53
2
Carthy Chan & Linda Green
0:01:42
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Duo Coed
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Karen Rishel & Alan Rishel
5:31:26
2
John Bliss & Michele Bliss
0:16:58
3
Elden Nelson & Lisa Nelson
0:33:58
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Team Challenge
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
1-Speed Willas Wheels
4:21:19
2
Got Gears Willas Wheels
4:09:59
Swipe to scroll horizontally
3 Day Men Open
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Aaron Gulley
3:56:48
2
Matt Simmons
0:00:02
3
Cam Winn
0:34:28
4
Marco Amselem
0:50:29
5
Perce Steven
1:05:17
6
David Buchler
1:11:51
7
Rob Hudson
1:25:01
8
Robert Burnett
1:38:49
9
Kyle Swenor
1:49:32
10
Jeff Hallman
2:11:04
11
Jean Paul Desrosiers
2:24:00
Swipe to scroll horizontally
3 Day Women Open
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Holly Wade
5:07:55
2
Debbie Preller
0:22:58
3
Kristi Olson
0:39:15
4
Melanie Wong
1:05:53
5
Gill Smith
1:13:13
6
Trish Mayer
1:19:11
7
Devora Peterson
1:42:50
8
Sage Melley
1:47:05
9
Sandie Cheung
Row 8 - Cell 2
10
Lindsey Mockenhaupt
2:40:05
Swipe to scroll horizontally
3 Day Men 40+
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Mark Thompson
4:03:49
2
Brad Newby
0:25:12
3
Bill Hade
0:29:25
4
Chris Quinn
0:43:00
5
Marc Peruzzi
0:43:25
6
Jason Gaines
0:59:47
7
John Arnold
1:05:18
8
Andrew Black
1:10:13
9
Martins Larry
1:16:06
10
Todd Kooy
1:27:07
11
Chip Waite
1:31:02
12
Shimoda Tetsuo
1:37:26
13
Bartley Mark
1:53:30
14
Kyle Firestone
1:54:47
15
Joel Roberts
1:55:16
16
Boggiano Beto
2:15:24
17
Richard Flores
2:23:53
18
Ross Maxwell
2:27:01
19
Robert Nolan
2:33:30
20
Richard Lane
3:10:49
21
Andrew Newington
3:11:11
Swipe to scroll horizontally
3 Day Gran Fondo
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Cary Myers
4:33:56
2
Mike Blewitt
2:00:52
3
Karen Jarchow
2:11:55
4
Adam Pemberton
2:17:24
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo Open Men general classification after stage 3
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Ben Sonntag
9:52:05
2
Benmelt Swanepoel
0:09:37
3
Calle Friberg
0:20:31
4
Tostado Josh
0:20:42
5
Nick Truitt
0:26:00
6
Rotem Ishay
0:27:21
7
Matthys Beukes
0:28:45
8
Ryan Clark
0:52:48
9
Sloane Anderson
0:58:10
10
Ezekiel Hersh
0:58:59
11
Shawn Bunnin
1:18:58
12
Nathan Brown
1:19:35
13
Jake Wells
1:30:02
14
Peter Watson
1:31:04
15
Matt Woodruff
1:42:15
16
Vandendaele Thomas
1:56:58
17
Colby Pearce
2:13:20
18
Ross Schnell
2:14:04
19
Taylor Lideen
2:29:17
20
Brent Steinberg
2:39:12
21
Logan Vonbokel
3:01:38
22
Erik Bakke
4:23:54
23
Derek Oldfield
5:19:48
24
Warren Stephenson
6:09:30
25
Alex Tibwitta
8:29:29
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo Open Women general classification after stage 3
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Amanda Carey
12:22:21
2
Yolandi Du Toit
0:11:33
3
Ciara Macmanus
1:53:55
4
Laura Gleason
5:21:30
5
Cindy Bonhage
5:46:46
6
Stephanie Wilkinson
5:47:54
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo Singlespeed Men general classification after stage 3
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Brady Kappius
10:41:26
2
Macky Franklin
0:04:01
3
Dax Massey
0:19:32
4
Michael Melley
0:41:31
5
Dan Durland
0:51:37
6
Vince Anderson
0:58:32
7
Nate Miller
1:03:26
8
Charlie Hayes
1:30:29
9
Montana Miller
2:05:53
10
Eric Davis
2:16:22
11
Donald Powers
2:25:27
12
Scott Upton
2:31:23
13
Dean Cahow
2:50:57
14
Dejay Birtch
3:02:01
15
Ian Palermo
3:11:50
16
Aaron Shelmire
3:17:27
17
Rob Lochner
3:54:50
18
John Odle
4:29:32
19
Jeremy Palermo
4:43:36
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo Singlespeed Women general classification after stage 3
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Jennifer Wilson
13:26:34
2
Andrea Wilson
1:24:06
3
Sarah Musick
3:14:23
4
Melissa Liebling
3:20:22
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo 30+ Men general classification after stage 3
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
James Meyer
10:57:56
2
Johannes Huseby
0:53:38
3
Ian Mills
1:11:16
4
Bradley Schmalzer
1:14:51
5
John Heffner
2:06:55
6
Amit Dutta
2:51:10
7
Joshua Roeser
3:05:58
8
Andrew Jauquet
3:48:09
9
Wu Jeff
4:32:35
10
Craig Manthe
5:21:21
11
Philip Thompson
5:57:02
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo 40+ Men general classification after stage 3
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Jeff Cospolich
12:02:06
2
Ken Thorp
0:31:01
3
Mike Driver
0:34:56
4
Stephen Ushy
0:47:28
5
Michael Quinn
1:32:14
6
Shawn Lortie
1:39:39
7
Jason Sumner
1:47:40
8
Charles Gauvin
2:18:17
9
Tom Boo
3:03:02
10
Lennie Moon
3:04:30
11
Brad Shield
3:23:12
12
Brian Neyt
3:34:28
13
Chris Castilian
3:40:32
14
Chris Mckillican
3:55:57
15
David Mccormick
4:27:14
16
Craig Mcghee
4:49:56
17
Chris Bryce
4:54:00
18
Farhy Nolan
5:32:04
19
Joel Doctor
5:38:40
20
Ty Garber
6:00:12
21
John Arguello
6:18:36
22
Moishe Lettvin
7:05:45
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo 50+ Men general classification after stage 3
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Russell Kappius
11:25:51
2
Frost Jeffery
1:25:19
3
Bruce Wilson
1:43:40
4
Mike Kane
2:04:24
5
Rick Metzger
3:53:40
6
Carl Gable
4:31:32
7
Stan Mayer
5:12:01
8
Lindsay Gauld
6:13:44
9
Mark Halwa
6:25:03
10
Michael Bowen
7:09:48
11
Brooks Dean
7:49:41
12
Stephen Ostrander
8:07:50
13
Brendan Mcmahon
8:22:57
14
Rick Foutch
9:48:35
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo Clydesdale general classification after stage 3
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Kreidl Ken
14:41:33
2
Richard Szecsy
4:50:36
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Solo 40+ Women general classification after stage 3
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Tina Martinez
14:37:26
2
Julie Kelly
0:11:15
3
Laureen Coffelt
0:23:03
4
Lori Halwa
3:03:24
5
Mindi Hoffmaster
3:49:38
6
Julie Urlaub
3:49:43
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Duo Open Men general classification after stage 3
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Blake Harlan & Bryan Alders
10:42:44
2
Rich Dillen & Peter Keiller
5:16:33
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Duo Men 80+ general classification after stage 3
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Mike Hogan & Thomas Dooley
12:01:04
2
Kervin Quinones & Michael Trimble
0:17:03
3
Tim Brezsnyak & Michael Piker
0:26:07
4
Jason Morgan & Russell Henderson
0:59:04
5
Scott Baca & Sean Fay
1:43:54
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Duo Men 100+ general classification after stage 3
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Russ Asleson & Mark Gourge
13:48:23
2
David Reed & John Pougiales
2:10:12
3
Joso Dias Da Chunha & Jorg Damas
2:31:39
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Duo Women general classification after stage 3
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Mary Davis & Rebecca Bruno
17:58:29
2
Carthy Chan & Linda Green
0:01:34
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Duo Coed general classification after stage 3
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Karen Rishel & Alan Rishel
15:28:54
2
John Bliss & Michele Bliss
1:31:49
3
Elden Nelson & Lisa Nelson
1:56:15
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Team Challenge general classification after stage 3
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
1-Speed Willas Wheels
13:07:15
2
Got Gears Willas Wheels
7:11:52
Swipe to scroll horizontally
3 Day Men Open final general classification
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Matt Simmons
11:21:50
2
Aaron Gulley
0:27:42
3
Cam Winn
1:49:01
4
Marco Amselem
2:59:05
5
David Buchler
3:03:30
6
Perce Steven
3:07:49
7
Robert Burnett
3:33:33
8
Rob Hudson
3:45:36
9
Kyle Swenor
5:06:41
10
Jeff Hallman
5:44:06
11
Jean Paul Desrosiers
6:22:21
Swipe to scroll horizontally
3 Day Women Open final general classification
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Holly Wade
15:44:53
2
Debbie Preller
0:22:12
3
Kristi Olson
0:55:13
4
Melanie Wong
1:50:24
5
Sage Melley
1:53:56
6
Trish Mayer
2:50:45
7
Gill Smith
3:01:38
8
Devora Peterson
4:07:31
9
Sandie Cheung
4:48:47
10
Lindsey Mockenhaupt
5:42:43
Swipe to scroll horizontally
3 Day Men 40+ final general classification
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Mark Thompson
11:42:41
2
Bill Hade
1:24:17
3
Brad Newby
1:29:32
4
Marc Peruzzi
1:42:40
5
Chris Quinn
2:09:51
6
Jason Gaines
2:36:25
7
Andrew Black
3:02:49
8
Martins Larry
3:05:41
9
John Arnold
3:17:21
10
Chip Waite
4:08:32
11
Shimoda Tetsuo
4:13:03
12
Todd Kooy
4:23:14
13
Kyle Firestone
5:01:42
14
Joel Roberts
6:01:26
15
Boggiano Beto
6:06:08
16
Bartley Mark
6:39:26
17
Ross Maxwell
6:59:03
18
Richard Flores
7:47:27
19
Andrew Newington
7:50:55
20
Robert Nolan
8:01:22
21
Richard Lane
9:28:11
Swipe to scroll horizontally
3 Day Gran Fondo final general classification
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Cary Myers
4:33:56
2
Mike Blewitt
9:27:48
3
Karen Jarchow
10:43:49
4
Adam Pemberton
12:41:55
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*