Half the town of Breckenridge, Colorado seemed to be in costumes today(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Announcer Larry Grossman, race organizer Jeff Westcott, and an unidentified young woman on the stage before the race(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Rae Brownsberger (Grove Subaru) setting a shocking pace at the front of the woman’s field during lap one(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Marlee Dixon (MTBracenews.com-Pivot) was still smiling near the top of the Boreas Pass Climb as she chased Brownsberger(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
This little girl may have had the best costume of the day(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Evelyn Dong (Full Cycle) riding in third place during lap one(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
A group of young men with flags preceded the official parade(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Payson McElveen (Orange Seal) with a lead over Rotem Ishay during lap two(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Ksenia Lepikhina (Tokyo Joes) riding to an impressive fourth place finish(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
A group of Amateur Men on Boreas Pass Road(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Rotem Ishay (Jamis) with Payson McElveen (Orange Seal) glued to his wheel pass over one of the many streams full of snowmelt(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Pete Karinen (Broken Spoke) led for much of the initial climb out of Breckenridge(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Rotem Ishay (Jamis) with a small gap over Payson McElveen (Orange Seal)(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
J.J. Clark (Pro Cycling) crossing one of the wooden bridges over a stream in French Gulch on his way to a fourth-place finish(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Caleb Johnson(CRC Janitorial-Scott) hammering out of the saddle near the end of the first lap(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
A Honey Stinger rider bearing down four miles from the finish of lap one(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Rotem Ishay (Jamis) leading Payson McElveen (Orange Seal) through a section of the course called "Dredges"(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Amateur racers passing by some spectacular views(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Jakup Valigura (Full Cycle) on the front row at the start(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
USA Marathon Champion Payson McElveen (Orange Seal) on the front row(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
The Breckenridge ski area was visible from the start(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Evelyn Dong (Full Cycle) and the rest of the pro women started with the men(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Scott McCalmon riding through an aspen grove in French Gulch(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
leading as the pro men started onto the dirt section of Boreas Pass Road(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
The pro men’s field hits the dirt section of the course with many strong endurance riders in the group(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Marlee Dixon (MTBracenews.com-Pivot) won the Firecracker 50m last yea(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
The Pro Women and the Pro Men all started together (Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
The town of Breckenridge was full of spectators to watch the race and the Fourth of July parade(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
The peloton on the six-mile climb up Boreas Pass Road(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
The peloton about two miles from the top of the initial climb with eventual race winner Payson McElveen (Orange Seal) riding second wheel(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
The leader riding a paceline on the dirt section of Boreas Pass Road(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
One of the amateur riders posed for the cameras on the steep climb out of Breckenridge(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
Alexis Skarda (Stan's NoTubes) was riding for a team today (Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
The crowd on Main Street was huge for the start of the race(Image credit: Dave McElwaine)
In what turned out to be a battle for the ages high in the Rocky Mountains, Payson McElveen (Orange Seal) edged out former Israeli Champion Rotem Ishay (Team Jamis Bikes). Taylor Schelden (Tokyo Joes) keep pace with the leaders for most of the first lap, but faded a bit on lap two and settled for a third-place finish. J.J. Clark (Pro Cycling) finished fourth nearly fifteen minutes off the winning time. Dana Weber (Stage 21 Cycling) took fifth place.
Breckenridge, Colorado precedes it's Fourth of July parade with the Firecracker 50 race. Hundreds of racers line up to compete on one of the toughest courses in America. It consists of two twenty-five mile laps, each starting with a six-mile climb up Boreas Pass Road. The racing takes place all above 9,600 feet elevation. The weather cooperated this year with temperatures mostly in the 70's.
Having an outstanding year with high finishes in the Epic Rides Series and a national championship victory over Howard Grotts (Specialized) in Arkansas, McElveen is on a roll. He and Grotts often train together at altitude in their adopted home of Durango, Colorado.
McElveen commented on the race, "The course was long and demanding, but the real challenge was the incredibly high elevation. I'm told the course was longer this year too. We solidified a lead group on the first lap with Rotem and Taylor Sheldon (Jelly Belly road rider who recently raced the Tour of California). Rotem was riding very strong, and has shown incredible form at the races he's attended all summer. He was riding impressively aggressively considering the high elevation, throwing lots of attacks on the first lap.
"I wasn't feeling amazing after coming off a big training block in Leadville, but knew that the course was so hard everyone would be on a similar level of fatigue on the second lap."
McElveen added, "I made my move on the extremely steep Little French climb, and then pinned it as hard as I could to the line. I so happy Rotem finished a strong second. He's like a brother to me, and has been instrumental in my development. Representing the National Champion's kit was a unique honour that I won't soon forget. It was extra sweet to cap off the day with a hard-fought win. I'll definitely be back for this one."
Breckenridge was a sea of people on race day, with thousands lining the streets. Behind the riders, dozens of floats were lined up for the July 4th parade.
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Pro Women
Breckenridge resident Marlee Dixon (MTBracingnews.com-Pivot) successfully defended her 2016 title with a three-minute victory over surprisingly strong Rae Brownsberger (Grove Subaru). Evelyn Dong (Full Cycle) seemed to struggle during the first lap, but nearly matched Dixon's time on lap two to claim third place overall. Ksenia lepikhina (Tokyo Joes) finished fourth, while Sara Sheets rounded out the podium in fifth place.
The Pro Women started with the Pro men. During the initial six-mile road climb, all of the lead women kept pace with the men for several miles, and only lost contact once Boreas Pass Road turned to dirt.
Dixon commented on her race to Cyclingnews, "This year was definitely harder with the additional single track added in and the dry dusty conditions…we were all riding together up Boreas Pass Road and once on the steeper Illinois gulch road I pulled into the lead. Once on the dirt road, Rae caught and passed me. She pulled away but then I caught her on pinball alley and descended into "nightmare" before her (which is where I crashed twice). She was right with me for the descent and down Sally barber road."
Dixon continued, "Once on French gulch road we rode together and chatted. I had never met her before in any races and she was really cool. She was in the lead for the little French climb but came off her bike at the last steep section and I passed her…At that point, I focused on finishing strong, enjoying the course and riding clean. I think knowing the course so well, living and training at altitude, and also getting cheers from all the locals on course helps me to race my best."
Full Results
Swipe to scroll horizontally
#
Rider Name (Country) Team
Result
1
Payson McElveen (Orange Seal)
3:52:33
2
Rotem Ishay (Team Jamis Bikes)
0:02:59
3
Taylor Shelden (Tokyo Joe's)
0:10:28
4
J.J. Clark (ProCycling-EnduroBites)
0:15:00
5
Dana Weber (Stage 21 Cycling)
0:19:04
6
Sam Okeefe (CCB Racing)
0:21:07
7
Thomas Spannring (Epic Endurance Cycling)
0:22:26
8
Caleb Thompson (l Scott P-b 2nd Ave Sports)
0:23:00
9
Kurt Kropp (Cycleton)
0:26:29
10
Samuel Dolzani (Honey Stinger-Bontrager)
0:28:45
11
Kelly Magelky (Honey Singer - Bontrager)
0:31:14
12
Scott Mccalmon
0:31:32
13
Pablo Fernandez (Bicycle Co-Stance No Tube-Jarritos)
