Grant and Dixon win Breck Epic stage 3

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.

Results

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Men stage 3
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Alex Grant (Sho-Air/Cannondale)3:09:31
2Ben Sonntag (Stan's Notubes Elite Racing)0:08:27
3Joan Llordella (Buff Pro Team)0:07:08
4Justin Lindine (Team Redline)0:13:20
5Bryan Dillon (Bryan Dillon)0:14:22
6Nick Gould (Ska/Zia/Trek)0:21:11
7Carl Decker (Giant Factory Off-Road Powered By Sram09:32:29.060)0:18:49
8Brad Bingham (Kent Eriksen Cycles)0:26:53
9John Klish (Klishy)0:25:30
10Nick Truitt (Breck Bike Guides)0:32:49
11Justin Piontek (Adventure 212)0:33:47
12Sean Gilligan0:38:32
13Taylor Shelden (5-Hour Energy P/B Kenda)0:58:47
14Jason Kiefer (Sports Garage)0:43:58
15John Salskov (Slm Coaching)0:37:00
16Ryan Chambers1:04:51
17Andres Verdugo (Continental- Cikla Cuenca-La Europea)1:10:41
18Galen Omoore (Bike Mag Heavy Pedal Tour)1:26:22
19Brandon Barber (Mafia Racing/Wtf)1:25:39
20Rocky Gingg (Cycle Progression/Thunderbird Energetica 12:25:28.210)1:01:44
21Enrique Uribe (Hinojosa-Uribe)1:29:03
22Josh Patterson (Bad Goat Racing)1:33:16
23Eric Wen2:07:45
24Angel Hinojosa Urrutia2:16:38
25Mariano Montero (Los Roqui-Ticos)3:07:25
26Enrique Valverde4:25:20
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Women stage 3
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
4Marlee Dixon (Mtbracenews.Com / Epic Brewing)3:56:07
1Kate Aardal3:59:57
2Catherine Williamson0:08:20
3Kelly Boniface (Moots Cycles)0:12:25
6Elizabeth Sampey (Independent)0:18:21
5Laura Omeara0:22:17
7Kate Zander (Chumba Racing)0:32:37
8Amy Chiuchiolo0:40:29
10Katie Carmichael (Xcracer.Com/Scimitar)0:55:58
9Ivy Pedersen0:57:21
11Brooke Connell1:12:53
13Shantel Koenig1:33:43
12Liz Lee1:42:47
14Karen Armstrong2:04:39
15Kelly Neville2:26:11
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Singlespeed men stage 3
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Dax Massey (Thrasher)3:45:19
9Carlos Vulgamott (Gates Carbon Drive)3:50:34
2Vince Anderson0:03:10
3Dan Durland0:09:10
4Jason Hilgers0:10:48
5Henry Fischer (Willa's Wheels)0:14:01
6Rob Lockey0:18:07
7Dean Cahow0:20:14
8James Prentice0:23:23
10Hans Hjelde (Hh)1:16:13
11Wael Amara1:35:34
12David Kilmoyer (Routine Leg Works)1:45:44
13Michael Beck (Rlw Cycling Team)1:49:19
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Singlespeed women stage 3
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Maaike Everts5:54:17
2Sundra Hines0:02:32
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Men general classification after stage 3
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Alex Grant (Sho-Air/Cannondale)8:46:40
3Ben Sonntag (Stan's Notubes Elite Racing)9:03:26
2Joan Llordella (Buff Pro Team)0:02:38
4Justin Lindine (Team Redline)0:18:19
5Bryan Dillon (Bryan Dillon)0:21:16
7Nick Gould (Ska/Zia/Trek)0:27:50
6Carl Decker (Giant Factory Off-Road Powered By Sram)0:29:03
9Brad Bingham (Kent Eriksen Cycles)0:33:17
8John Klish (Klishy)0:48:15
10Nick Truitt (Breck Bike Guides)0:51:06
11Justin Piontek (Adventure 212)1:05:28
15Sean Gilligan1:08:21
12Taylor Shelden (5-Hour Energy P/B Kenda)1:28:14
14Jason Kiefer (Sports Garage)1:34:05
13John Salskov (Slm Coaching)2:18:43
20Ryan Chambers2:30:07
16Andres Verdugo (Continental- Cikla Cuenca-La Europea)2:47:01
17Galen Omoore (Bike Mag Heavy Pedal Tour)3:05:30
19Brandon Barber (Mafia Racing/Wtf)3:11:10
18Rocky Gingg (Cycle Progression/Thunderbird Energetica )3:22:02
21Enrique Uribe (Hinojosa-Uribe)3:23:52
22Josh Patterson (Bad Goat Racing)4:18:32
23Eric Wen4:55:21
24Angel Hinojosa Urrutia5:07:56
25Mariano Montero (Los Roqui-Ticos)8:43:48
26Enrique Valverde11:19:17
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Women general classification after stage 3
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Kate Aardal11:03:24
2Catherine Williamson0:08:29
3Kelly Boniface (Moots Cycles)0:13:26
4Marlee Dixon (Mtbracenews.Com / Epic Brewing)0:20:57
5Laura Omeara0:48:53
6Elizabeth Sampey (Independent)0:55:06
7Kate Zander (Chumba Racing)1:10:23
8Amy Chiuchiolo1:40:19
9Ivy Pedersen2:12:37
10Katie Carmichael (Xcracer.Com/Scimitar)2:21:05
11Brooke Connell3:40:20
12Liz Lee4:14:18
13Shantel Koenig4:44:10
14Karen Armstrong4:52:10
15Kelly Neville5:48:03
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Singlespeed men general classification after stage 3
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Dax Massey (Thrasher)10:22:07
2Vince Anderson0:14:13
3Dan Durland0:28:34
4Jason Hilgers0:33:08
5Henry Fischer (Willa's Wheels)0:49:08
6Rob Lockey1:02:16
7Dean Cahow1:04:03
8James Prentice1:10:08
9Carlos Vulgamott (Gates Carbon Drive)3:22:52
10Hans Hjelde (Hh)3:40:00
11Wael Amara3:58:13
12David Kilmoyer (Routine Leg Works)4:43:51
13Michael Beck (Rlw Cycling Team)4:48:21
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Singlespeed women general classification after stage 3
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Maaike Everts15:49:06
2Sundra Hines0:16:06

 

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