The "Toast" with the most

Anytime a racer returns to defend a title, there is an added bit of pressure resting on his or her back. That pressure increases exponentially when your winning streak stretches for four years. That was Josh 'Toast' Tostado's (Bach Builders / Santa Cruz) cross to bear as he entered his fifth Breckenridge 100 this past weekend and faced new competition on home turf. Last year's winner and the current leader of the NUE series Jeff Schalk (Trek Racing Co-Op) had not yet been to the high altitude climates of Breckenridge, but had chosen 2009 as his year to test the dominance of Tostado.

For Tostado, living at 10,000 feet elevation gives him a distinct advantage over the competition in a race that repeatedly crests the 12,500ft mark, but the shear perseverance and accomplishment of defending a title over five years has to be commended. Tostado managed to stay focused and confident in the face of the powerhouse that is Schalk, who has brought a new level of riding to the NUE series since he dominated in his first year on the scene in 2008. From the gun, Tostado and Schalk distanced themselves from the pack and spent the rest of the day together.

The Breck 100 has the longest finishing times of any of the NUE series races and Toast was ready to use his 24-hour racing abilities to his advantage. "I figured that he (Schalk) was usually finished after the seven-hour mark, and I figured I might have an advantage as the race stretched into the last hour and half." His prediction held true as he was able to drop a fading Schalk at the 80-mile mark in a more technical section of woods.

Yuki Saito (Topeak/Ergon) followed in third place. He has has had a jam-packed few weeks. On July fourth, he raced the Firecracker 50, then followed that up the next day by racing the inaugural Breck Epic for six days.

New faces in the women's class

Ester Horyani arrived Sunday on the scene as an unknown to the normal circle of women endurance riders, but came out leaving an impression on many of the top men in the field for her finishing time of just over 10 hours. That time put her in the top 12 overall of one of the most technically challenging 100 milers on the schedule. Unable to match her power were fellow Boulder resident Sonya Looney (Topeak/Ergon) and third place finisher and Breckenridge local Erika Tiezen (Bach Builders).

The question to ask is weather or not we'll see Horyani or Looney again, or are they satisfied with their 100 miler experiences?

Singlespeeders tackle big climbs

13,000 feet of climbing in a 100-mile race is a big day for anyone, but take away the advantage of gears and you've set yourself up for a possible suicide mission. A key ingredient to success at the Breck 100 this year was the winner's choice of a relatively easy gear of 32-22, while the second place rider chose not only a debilitating 32-20, but also tires that were virtually impossible to remove and reinstall when changing a flat.

Singlespeed winner Mark Thompson (Wilderness Sports) also conveniently chose to settle in Breckenridge. Unfortunately the NUE series singlespeed leader Gerald Pflug (Speedgoat/SPK) ruined his chances to take the top spot after flatting on the initial downhill of the race, and then spending a half hour with a complicated flat change.

Despite the problems for Pflug, he managed to hold off the third place finisher Joseph Gratcofsky (Twin Six) by four and a half minutes.

The National Ultra Endurance Series heads next to Pennsylvania's Wilderness 101 on August 1. Stay tuned to Cyclingnews for coverage.

 

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Women 19-29
1Eszter Horanyi10:07:19
2Sonya Looney (Topeak-Ergon)1:06:46
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Men 19-29
1Michael Simonson (Gary Fisher 29er cre)9:49:05
2Andrew Carney (Big Wheel Racing)0:44:43
3Daniel Nelson (Racers Cycle Service)0:58:46
4Stewart Gross (Go Big Sports)1:10:11
5Nathan Miller (Dales Pale Ale/TFW)1:15:07
6Stephen Carney1:22:15
7Gabe Klamer (Fitzeralds Bicycles)1:39:39
8Steven Clipperton2:18:17
9Lucas Chandler (Lucas Chandler)2:39:05
10Joe Slonecki (Founders Ales)2:39:34
11Brady Adams (byrds)3:07:42
DNSBret ZimmermanRow 11 - Cell 2
DNSMichael Chavez (michael chavez)Row 12 - Cell 2
DNSNathan Wangerin (Derby Bicycle Center)Row 13 - Cell 2
DNFBrandon Newcomer (Trek Boulder Store)Row 14 - Cell 2
DNFGreg Parham (Caveman Productions)Row 15 - Cell 2
DNFSteve Bartzen (Founders Ale Alger)Row 16 - Cell 2
DNFMatthew HamannRow 17 - Cell 2
DNFBrent Gorman (Speedway-Humpy's)Row 18 - Cell 2
DNFLuke Kuschmeader (Team Kuat)Row 19 - Cell 2
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Women 30-39
1Erika Tieszen (Bach Builders/Sitnah)12:31:44
2Bethany Elson (Jan's)0:02:14
3Danielle Musto (Kenda/Tomac/Hayes)0:48:14
DNSShalyn GatesRow 3 - Cell 2
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Men 30-39
1Josh Tostado (Santa Cruz/Bach)8:33:50
2Jeff Schalk (Trek Racing Co-Op)0:10:28
3Yuki Saito (Topeak-Ergon)0:39:21
4Cale Redpath (3D Racing)1:10:36
5Garth Prosser1:22:56
6Mike Cubison (Waltworks/Fuentes)1:23:03
7Doug Johnson (Bandwagon Racing)1:29:02
8Steve Reiter1:30:01
9Rob Lockey (Optimize Endurance)2:00:49
10Ryan Hamilton (CoMotion/Yeti)2:23:23
11Patrick Coady2:29:10
12Ian Smith (Waltworks)2:35:51
13Paul Wells (Melrad racing)2:37:30
14Brian Narajowski2:52:54
15Dominic Garcia3:10:16
16Michael Melley3:10:36
17Joseph Warner3:33:32
18Christopher Button3:40:09
19Dan Larocque (Tiger Cycling)3:41:41
20Tony Song4:03:48
21Kevin Cole4:05:16
22Jon Haftel4:14:18
23Sam Brede (Carvers)4:19:43
24Ken Kreidl (Spare Tire Racing)4:34:53
25Andrew Paradis4:44:27
26Shane Sandman5:17:55
27Brett Hawkins (Kangaroosh)5:19:31
DNSAndy Cessna (Salty Nuts)Row 27 - Cell 2
DNSRandles RyanRow 28 - Cell 2
DNFBrad Hunt (The Clammy Shammy)Row 29 - Cell 2
DNFDan GrubeRow 30 - Cell 2
DNFEric SalstrandRow 31 - Cell 2
DNFLance Loehding (Chipotle/Titus)Row 32 - Cell 2
DNFMichael McgawnRow 33 - Cell 2
DNFMike NicholsRow 34 - Cell 2
DNFScott DemersRow 35 - Cell 2
DNFScott WollastonRow 36 - Cell 2
DNFShawn Davison (Founders Brewing)Row 37 - Cell 2
DNFTravis Underwood (The Alpineer)Row 38 - Cell 2
DNFPatrick Kline (Bicycle Outfitters)Row 39 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Hamann (Hamann)Row 40 - Cell 2
DNFBeau Moonoyham (Team Kuat)Row 41 - Cell 2
DNFBrad WalleenRow 42 - Cell 2
DNFJerry BuckRow 43 - Cell 2
DNFJesse TibbettsRow 44 - Cell 2
DNFMike PlanskerRow 45 - Cell 2
DNFMiles Venzara (Directory Plus/Trek)Row 46 - Cell 2
DNFShawn Meredith (ALL MTN Racing)Row 47 - Cell 2
DNFStanislav Vrba (wilderness)Row 48 - Cell 2
DNFWarner Smith (Salty Nuts)Row 49 - Cell 2
DNFLonn Hart (NRC/Kona)Row 50 - Cell 2
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Women 40-49
1Audrey Oberlin13:54:15
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Men 40-49
1Kimo Seymour (Landis/Powerbar)9:26:44
2Ted Macblane (hub of aspen)0:28:29
3Matt Woodruff (BrokenSpoke Cycling)1:04:31
4Jeffrey Rank1:20:03
5Mark Gouge (Velonews/Titus)1:35:56
6Peter Piccolo (KHG Brain Tumor Foun)1:55:07
7Richard Brown (Noreast Cycling)2:01:26
8Jay Lewandowski2:11:38
9Ernie Johnson (OES/Bike Source)2:20:09
10Philip Briere2:22:04
11Thomas Wallace2:22:43
12Chuck Ray (sidetrack'd / Sports)2:24:28
13Kirk Telaneus2:33:31
14Ron Harris2:54:05
15Esteban Lipsher (Wilderness Sports)3:01:46
16Brad Grohusky (Wilderness Sports)3:07:43
17Glen Meader3:19:49
18Scott Hirst3:53:01
19Chad Townsend3:57:09
20Mac Johansen (Eyes Only)4:13:40
DNSChris SpeckRow 20 - Cell 2
DNSColin Trueman (Truesports)Row 21 - Cell 2
DNSJohn LienRow 22 - Cell 2
DNFEdward Spears (VDN)Row 23 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel King (Adreline Titus)Row 24 - Cell 2
DNFPeter Dunn (Team Bums)Row 25 - Cell 2
DNFDean HillRow 26 - Cell 2
DNFDon Henson (Higher Power)Row 27 - Cell 2
DNFJay HynekRow 28 - Cell 2
DNFCyril BohachevskyRow 29 - Cell 2
DNFRob WallachRow 30 - Cell 2
DNFRalph Oppermann (AFD)Row 31 - Cell 2
DNFVance McmurryRow 32 - Cell 2
DNFRobert WoolfRow 33 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel MarshRow 34 - Cell 2
DNFMichael MaleckiRow 35 - Cell 2
DNFSean CliffordRow 36 - Cell 2
DNFDavid Goldberg (solo)Row 37 - Cell 2
DNFDavid Schulhofer (Team Waste Management)Row 38 - Cell 2
DNFDerek Scott (Scott Energy)Row 39 - Cell 2
DNFJeff TrujilloRow 40 - Cell 2
DNFRyan O'dell (Endura/Kenda)Row 41 - Cell 2
DNFJeff Van BlarcomRow 42 - Cell 2
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Men 50+
1Rob Burgard11:15:21
2Mike Olichney0:52:09
3Tom Liebl (Hammer Nutrition)1:44:24
4Andy Forbes (georges boise)1:55:13
5Leon Fetzer2:02:20
6David Kelnberger (Fisher29er Crew)2:47:29
DNSEdward AdamsRow 6 - Cell 2
DNSWilliam CrossRow 7 - Cell 2
DNFBrad PetersonRow 8 - Cell 2
DNFRussell PetersonRow 9 - Cell 2
DNFDavid Grauer (orthopro)Row 10 - Cell 2
DNFGreg Turner (RBM/Velo Voodoo)Row 11 - Cell 2
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Singlespeed men
1Mark Thompson (Wilderness Sports)9:51:56
2Gerald Pflug (Speedgoat/SPK)1:14:53
3Joseph Gratcofsky Boulder (Twin Six)1:19:25
4Mark Elsasser (Independent Fabricat)1:52:48
5Danny Gnojek2:07:16
6Cameron Gallegos2:52:01
7Brad Wagner3:04:05
DNFDan BerglundRow 7 - Cell 2
DNFDave LyonsRow 8 - Cell 2
DNFMatt Turgeon (Big Wheel Racing)Row 9 - Cell 2
DNFMike Vanderberg (Team Dirt/Twin Six)Row 10 - Cell 2

 

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