BRECKENRIDGE - It might not be the biggest cyclocross race he enters each year, but there's a reason Jonathan Baker hasn't missed a Brecktobercross any of the past four Septembers.

He wins.

The 33-year-old Boulder resident made it a four-peat in the men's open division Sunday at the Breckenridge Nordic Center, securing the victory despite a broken seat post that forced him to ride the last two rainy laps standing up.

Baker's win was a nice beginning to the season, as usual, but he knows it won't be this easy for long. In three weeks, he's taking his top-10 national status (and his wife and two kids) to Belgium, where he'll compete against the world's elite for the next five months while on leave from his software engineer job on the Front Range.

"In the states, (cyclocross is) fun, but Belgium is really the epicenter of the sport," Baker said after Sunday's race. "I want to give it a shot."

Why? Try this: "You go to a race there and get paid to start (300-500 euros), and there's about 15,000 or 20,000 fans who paid to get in - 10 or 15 euros apiece," Baker said. "It's like a football game."

Baker's equal on the women's side Sunday, victor Kerry Barnholt of Boulder, brought quite a pedigree to her race, as well: She was a member of the U.S. delegation that traveled to the cyclocross world championships in January.

Local multisport star Jill Sorensen led the Summit County women by taking fifth in the open race, while a number of local men defended their home turf in the day's earlier competitions.

Jeff Cospolich's preriding time paid off as he won the category 3 competition; Tim Faia and Jared Roy swept the top two spots in that order in the 35-plus race; and Mark Taylor took a break from his race director duties to take fourth in the 45-plus class.

Darron Cheek and Thane Wright, meanwhile, joined the short list of racers who took on double duty, competing in two races while most everyone else was just happy to sweat through one.

Despite the spotty rains showers and chilly fall temps, a whopping 277 competitors participated in the event, which featured races of between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on the category.

"Early in the season people are so excited about cross - they'll drive for it," Roy said. "For a Summit County race, it was big."

Complete results will be posted today at www.americancycling.org, Taylor said.



Devon O'Neil can be contacted at (970) 668-4633, or at doneil@summitdaily.com.