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Leaders begin to solidify as 2024 Breck Epic reaches halfway point

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Cody Jones

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Elaine Collins/Courtesy photo
Kaysee Armstrong, center in purple, begins Stage 2 of the Breck Epic on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024.
Elaine Collins/Courtesy photo

After three days of spirited racing, the 2024 Breck Epic mountain bike race has already reached the halfway point and race leaders are beginning to firmly emerge. 

The annual six-day race officially got underway on Sunday, Aug. 11, with morning rain showers delaying the start of the 35.7-mile Pennsylvania Creek stage. After waiting out the rain, competitors peeled off from the start line located in the Stephen C. West Ice Arena parking lot and took to a shortened course. 

Not averse to getting caked in mud and dirt, cyclists cruised across the rain-sodden trails, looking to take an early lead in the overall standings.

Spearheading the women’s pro elite division was Montana’s Stella Hobbs and last year’s runner-up, Kaysee Armstrong of Knoxville, Tennessee. Hobbs took the stage win on the first day of riding, completing the abbreviated course in 1 hour, 31 minutes and 54 seconds, and Armstrong took second in 1:32:56. Minturn’s Haley Dumke took third on the stage (1:35:47), and Evelyn Dong of Salt Lake City finished in fourth (1:36:23).

Stage 1 of the men’s pro elite race came down to the wire with Durango’s Riley Amos and Evergreen’s Robbie Day challenging one another across the finish line. In the end, it was Amos of Trek Factory Racing who took the win on Day 1, clocking a time of 1:13:11 to beat Day, who rides for the Bear National Team, by one second.

Returning from his triumphant Stage 5 win over 2023 Breck Epic winner Lachlan Morton, Matt Pike of Longmont took third overall on Stage 1 of the 2024 event in 1:13:49 with Durango’s Howard Grotts taking fourth overall in 1:15:08.

Following an afternoon of recovery, competitors wheeled themselves down to Washington Avenue in Breckenridge where Stage 2 — Colorado Trail — began under sunnier skies than on Sunday morning.

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After closely trailing Hobbs on the first day of racing, Armstrong rallied to a massive Stage-2 win on Monday. Racing as part of the Juliana Bicycles team, Armstrong completed the 42.5-mile course in 4:00.36. Hobbs of Great Northern Cycle and Ski finished second in 4:04:12 while Ellen Campbell of Durango took third (4:06:22) and Dumke finished in fourth (4:09:08).

Unlike the pro elite women’s race which saw a fair amount of shakeup from Stage 1 to 2, the men’s pro elite race remained basically unchanged.

Amos won his second race of the week by crossing the finish line in 3:11:17. In a battle for second place, Day and Grotts sprinted to the finish line with both cyclists recording identical times of 3:11:43. With Day and Grotts tying for second place, Ogden, Utah’s Zach Calton finished in third (3:11:45) and Bella Vista, Arkansas’ Taylor Lideen took fourth (3:12:48). 

Armstrong won her second-consecutive stage on Tuesday, Aug. 13, winning the Circumnavigation of Mount Guyot by close to four minutes. Armstrong recorded a time of 4:05:23 while Dong took second overall in 4:09:34.

Campbell finished in third (4:10:39), Andrea Dvorak of Longmont took fourth in (4:11:28) and Dumke finished in fifth (4:15:12).

In the men’s pro race, Amos on continued his winning ways, earning another stage win and completing the race in 3:08:56. Grotts crossed the finish line as the runner-up in 3:09:07 and Calton took third in 3:18:34.

With the Breck Epic now halfway over, leaders have emerged across all the race divisions including the professional field. 

Armstrong handily leads the women’s pro elite division with a total time of 9:38:53. Campbell is currently ranked second (9:55:05), Dvorak sits in third (10:00:03), Dumke sits in fourth (10:00:05) and Hobbs currently maintains fifth (10:03:20).

Amos leads the men’s pro elite field with a total time of 7:33:24 with Grotts over two minutes back in second with a time of 7:35:57. Calton sits in third (7:45:56), Day ranks fourth (7:46:21) and Manchester, Massachusetts’ Chris Mehlman is currently in fifth (8:06:43) going into Stage 4 of the race on Wednesday, Aug. 14. 

Stage 4 is the “Aqueduct” portion of the race and will be 42.3-miles long. The race will begin on the lower portion of Washington Avenue in downtown Breckenridge and will finish at the B&B Trailhead off of French Gulch Road. 

Competing in just Stages 1 through 3, Liz Carrington of Durango won the women’s open division (11:58:52) with Jorge Carzo Madero of Torreon, Mexico, winning the men’s open division (10:14:40). Breckenridge’s Trent Granshaw, 16, followed Madero in fourth place overall with a time of 12:02:37.

For a full list of results, visit BreckEpic.com. 

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