As the sun crested the hills and peaks surrounding Breckenridge, athletes from across the world rolled up to the start line ready to take on a daunting challenge. 

The Breck Epic — a six-stage mountain bike race — has become an athletic cornerstone of Summit County. While each stage alone is formidable, the full, six-day race has a unique way of sneaking up on riders — shaking and humbling even the strongest athlete to their core. 

Throughout the race, competitors are tasked with conquering backcountry trails packed with soul-crushing climbs and bone-rattling descents. They also must master the delicate balance of riding fast, fueling smart and resting enough to fight another day.

After smoke filled the skies on Saturday morning, Aug. 9, athletes competing in the 17th annual Breck Epic were gifted with better riding conditions for the first day of racing on Sunday, Aug. 10. 

At 8:30 a.m. riders steadily pedaled away from the Stephen C. West Ice Arena parking lot and began taking on the first stage of the race — Pennsylvania Creek. Traveling 35.7 miles and climbing close to 6,000 feet, Pennsylvania Creek serves as a proper warm up for the rest of the six-day race. 

Leading the field in the women’s pro elite race was Lauren Stephens of Aegis Cycling Foundation. Hailing from Dallas, Texas, Stephens dominated the first stage of the race, crossing the finish line in Carter Park in a time of 3 hours, 24 minutes and 28 seconds. Not far behind Stephens was Leah Van der Linden of Boulder. Linden completed the first stage nearly a minute behind Stephens in 3:25:20. Whitefish, Montana’s Stella Hobbs took third overall (3:27:30) while Julie Momber of Prescott, Arizona finished in fourth (3:28:42) and Crested Butte’s Erin Kelly took fifth (3:33:30).

Although Stephens recorded the fastest time in the women’s pro elite race, 23-year-old Madigan Munro had the fastest time among the 55 women who started Stage 1. The three-time U23 national champion finished the stage in a time of 3:05:09 to handily top the Stages 1-3 open women division. 

In the men’s pro elite race, Longmont’s Matt Pike cruised to the victory, topping the field by over two minutes. Pike captured his first win of the race, crossing the finish line in 2:46:43. Caleb Bottcher of the United Kingdom took second in 2:48:53 with Cassius Anderson of Novato, Canada secured the third podium spot with a time of 2:50:34. Stefano Barberi of Reno, Nevada was the fourth overall finisher in 2:51:27 while Cory Wallace of Jasper, Alberta, Canada took fifth in 2:52:38.

The second stage of the race — The Colorado Trail — on Monday, Aug. 11, consisted of 42.5 miles and 6,565 feet of climbing.

After taking second behind Stephens on the first stage, Linden got her first win of the race, crossing the finish line of Stage 2 in a time of 4:02:37. Over two minutes later, Stephens crossed the finish line in second (4:04:31). Momber took third in the stage with a time of 4:13:44, Minturn’s Ingrid Stensvaag took fourth (4:18:23) and Kelly finished in fifth (4:20:48).

Pike once again spearheaded the results in the men’s pro elite race. Besting the rest of the field by a little over 30 seconds, Pike finished the second stage in 3:20:52 to claim his second stage win of the race. Bottcher took second (3:21:23), Wallace took third (3:25:35), Anderson finished in fourth (3:27:56) and San Luis Obispo, California’s Lance Haidet finished in fifth (3:28:32).

On Tuesday, Aug. 12, athletes once again peeled themselves from the solace of their beds and lined their tires up behind the start line of the third stage. Named the Circumnavigation of Mt. Guyot, cyclists begin from Lower Washington Street in Breckenridge before traveling 40.5-miles and climbing 7,100 feet. 

Serving as the race’s onesie day, cyclists climb to the top of French Pass where they receive a handful of skittles prior to hauling down to the finish line at the B&B Trailhead. 

Linden secured her second-straight stage win on Tuesday, completing the race in 4:08:51. Stephens followed closely behind Linden in second (4:10:45) with Momber taking third (4:19:18) and Syd Schulz of Los Alamos, New Mexico taking fourth (4:23:20). Hobbs finished right behind Schulz in fifth in a time of 4:24:01.

On the men’s side, Pike came one step closer to being crowned a 2025 Breck Epic champion. The experienced rider completed the third stage in a time of 3:25:16 to add a third stage victory to his name. While Pike had been followed by Bottcher over the first two stages, Simon Pellaud of the United Kingdom emerged as a challenger on Tuesday. Notching his first top-five finish of the race, Pellaud took second overall over Stage 3 in a time of 3:26:18. Haidet took third (3:29:12), Anderson finished in fourth (3:30:19) and Macky Franklin of Los Alamos, New Mexico finished in fifth (3:31:40). 

At the race’s halfway point, Linden leads the women’s pro elite field with a total time of 11:36:37. Stephens sits in second place with a time of 11:39:43 with Momber in third with a time of 12:01:43.

Sporting a total time of 9:32:50, Pike currently leads the men’s pro elite field by close to 16 minutes. Anderson sits in second (9:48:48) with Bottcher in third (9:50:51). 

Tuesday also marked the conclusion of the race for those only competing in Stages 1-3. Winning each stage and completing the race in a time of 10:33:40, Munro won the women’s open race by over three hours. Colorado Springs’ Kylie Moerk took second (13:45:07), and Calgary, Alberta, Canada’s Trish Grajczyk finished in third (14:35:09).

Denver’s Mason Lawerence won the men’s open Stages 1-3 race in a time of 11:37:01. Francisco Montoya of Innisfil, Ontario, Canada finished in second (11:55:06) and Breckenridge’s Dominic Baker took third (12:31:15).

Wednesday morning, Aug. 13, will mark the start of the race’s fourth stage — Aqueduct. Additionally, a group of brave riders will take on the Mega Epic which tasks cyclists with completing all six stages in a fastest-known-time format. 

Mega Epic riders will depart from downtown Breckenridge ahead of competitors tackling Stage 4 at 8:25 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The rest of the race’s field will then follow at 8:30 a.m.

For more information, visit BreckEpic.com.