Grant and Dixon win Breck Epic stage 3

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The paparazzi lined the streets, snapping photos of the rainbow of helmets and jerseys set against the dramatic Ten Mile range. Cow bells rang out while the man an the helm of the Breck Epic, Mike McCormack, scaled the start line scaffolding to conduct the morning meeting. On tap for today was the queen stage, with big climbs and descents to match. Arguably the best section of the Colorado trail was before the racers, with smooth, flowing trail that transitions suddenly to rock-strewn singletrack which tests even the most skilled riders.

Kyosuke Takei stood on the front line, ready to race. Questions were flying about the health of his shoulder after his crash yesterday, but the shoulder was back in place and Takei was determined to keep riding hard. Although he was no longer in contention for the overall because he didn't finish the day before, he could still push the top racers and push them he did.

The course climbed through town trails before descending down the loose, babyhead-rock filled Little French trail. After a hard left turn the racers found themselves at the first aid station. Takei led the charge at almost record pace, flying through the aid and on up to the first big climb of the day, French Pass. Joan Llordella was next through and Alex Grant and Ben Sonntag were wheel-to-wheel. The chase was on and the boys were up for the challenge.

The men's 30+ leader, Galo Tamayo Teran of the Continental-Cikla Cuenca- La Europa team, and men's 40+ leader, Jason Tullous, rolled through in the top 20 overall, as did the Duo Open men's team of Pau Zamora and Antonio Ortiz of the Buff Pro Team.

The trails lead racers through the valley between Mt Guyot and Baldy Mountain, up where the air is thin and the atmosphere is almost completely silent. Near the top of French Pass, riders were rewarded with Skittles for their giant effort. Soon it was a long descent followed by another long climb to ride over the Continental Divide, once more. This time, the reward was the best descent of the race, down a new section of the Colorado Trail.

At the top of the Divide, local Marlee Dixon was leading the women's race, with Kate Aardal sitting in second, Catherine Williamson in third, and Kelly Boniface in fourth. By the end of the Colorado Trail the men's race had strung out just a bit, with Takei and Grant in the lead. Llordello was not about to let them get away, however, and he was mere seconds behind. Soon Sonntag rolled through, but he had suffered a broken spoke, slowing down his descent. After a quick wheel change, he was back on for the chase.

Although the climbs had been tough up to this point, it wasn't going to let up any time soon. Riders were up another loose, rocky climb before contouring around the mountain, and then dropping down for a technical descent littered with punchy climbs. The relief of finishing today was visible on each racer's face.

Takei and Grant were racing together, with Grant just in front when Takei took a risk, passing Grant in a corner for the win, though Takei's time didn't count for the Solo Open men category. Llordella held his second place and Sonntag pulled up to Llordella but couldn't quite make the push to pass him. Redline's Justin Lindine rolled in in fourth and Grigg's Orthopedics racer Bryan Dillon came in fifth.

In the women's race, Dixon (mtbracenews.com/epic brewing) held on for the win, while Aardal came in second and Catherine Williamson came in third.

In the singlespeed race, Dax Massey took the win again, while Carlos Vulgamott had a redeeming race after a mechanical-filled stage two, coming in second, with Vince Anderson rolling in third.

Tomorrow welcomes a new batch of 3-day racers with the longest stage of the race.

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