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Summit County riders excel in Tour de French Gulch mountain bike race

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Cody Jones

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Cody Jones/Summit Daily News
Max Swenson competes in the Tour de French Gulch mountain bike race on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.
Cody Jones/Summit Daily News

As rain clouds started to back up against the Tenmile Range, mountain bikers paid no attention to the oncoming weather, but rather warmed up for the Tour de French Gulch mountain bike race on Wednesday, June 11. 

As a light rain storm dampened the often dusty trails surrounding French Gulch Road, cyclists shed their outer layers and grouped up at the start line located within the B&B Trailhead parking lot.

Like every Summit Mountain Challenge bike race, the evening was spearheaded by athletes competing on the kids course. At 3.9-miles long with 420 feet of climbing, cyclists quickly took off from the starting line and began climbing uphill. 

Three athletes competed in the junior girls eight-and-under division. After nearly an hour of racing, Breckenridge’s Stella Starmann was crowned the champion of the race. Starmann crossed the finish line in a time of 56:58 with Alma’s Ziggy Johnson taking second and Breckenridge’s Piper Gogolen finishing in third.

Two Summit County residents topped the results in the junior boys eight-and-under division. Silverthorne’s Kai Campell won the race in a time of 36:52 with Reinaldo Guevara taking second (38:01).The podium was rounded out by Weston Thaemert in third with a time of 38:09.

The junior girls 9- to 10-year-old division was won by Breckenridge’s Iris Ryan. Ryan won the race by nearly two minutes, finishing the race in 30:35. Ryan was followed by fellow Breckenridge resident Madelyn Letson (32:21) and Laurel Sullivan (33:09). Breckenridge’s Fiammetta Niemkiewicz narrowly missed out on the podium, taking fourth in 36:51.

Summit’s crop of youth mountain bikers continued to shine bright in the junior boys 9- to 10-year-old division. Marking the fourth-straight race where a Summit County local topped the podium, Henry Drumwright of Breckenridge won in a time of 27:38. Zebulon Stamp followed Drumwright in second (28:44) and Ian Loerch took third (30:56).

The kids-course races were concluded by the junior 11- to 12-year-old divisions. Breckenridge’s Nellie Greenwood won the girls race in 28:29 with Silverthorne’s Cora Campbell taking second in 29:30. In the boys’ division, Breckenridge’s Gabe Loomis cruised over the finish line in first place in a time of 22:59.

Cameron Krause of Fort Collins took second (23:41) and Leo Gilbert of Summit County took third (25:45).

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Athletes competing in the junior 13- to 15-year-old boys division were the first to take on the 7.5-mile short-course race distance. Silverthorne’s Ryan Levi and Leadville’s Wilson Anderson battled one another to the finish line, but it was Levi who was able to get his tire across the timing mat first. 

Levi finished in a time of 44:15 with Anderson clocking the same exact time for second place. The duo was followed by Canon City’s Joshua Graber in third (47:06), Breckenridge’s Dillon Marts in fourth (48:58) and Breckenridge’s Max Swenson in fifth (49:38). 

The first non-Summit County athlete of the evening to win a junior race was Aspen Roberson in the girls 13- to 15-year-old division. The Colorado Springs cyclist finished the race in a time of 47:25, successfully claiming the top spot on the podium. Breckenridge’s Lucy Greenwood took second (48:01) with Annika Krum of Lakewood finishing in third (49:50).

A total of four athletes competed in the beginner men and women 16-plus divisions. Frisco’s Chad Devitt won the men’s race in 1:03:55 with Dillon’s Jennifer Pratt taking the title in the women’s race in a time of 1:20:36. Devitt was followed by Breckenridge’s Tom Kozlowski (1:17:15), with Pratt being followed by Cindy Dallow of Silverthorne (1:30:41). 

One of the most competitive moments of the night occurred in the men’s pro open division. Stacked with skilled riders, the field made the quick turn onto French Gulch Road before falling into a peloton.

After 10.7 miles of spirited racing, it was Canon City’s Ryan Graber who crossed the finish line in first place. Graber finished the race in 50:53 with Breckenridge’s Taylor Shelden taking second (51:18) and Arvada’s Nathaniel Vacura taking third (51:49). 

The women’s pro open division was won by Alison Dunlap of Colorado Springs in 1:09:19. Dunlap was followed by Golden’s Rebecca Gross — the only other competitor in the race — in second place (1:11:48).

In the expert race categories, Breckenridge’s Jared Christianson topped the men’s 16- to 39-year-old division in a time of 51:10. Manitou Springs’ Joseph Glass took first in the expert men 40- to 49-year-old division (52:53) with Jason Reynolds of Highlands Ranch taking the crown in the expert men 50-plus race (57:07).

The women’s expert and single speed 16-plus race was won by Maria Leech (1:05:01). Breckenridge’s Justina Liss took second (1:07:33) and Katie Middleton of Breckenridge took third (1:09:20). 

Other notable results from the evening included Denver’s Ike Nicoll winning the open men 60-plus race (1:04:55) and Ann Stanek of Leadville taking first in the open women 45-plus division (1:05:27). 

The Summit Mountain Challenge mountain bike series will continue with the Swan River Rampage on Wednesday, June 25. The race will be staged out of Good Times Adventure Tours off Tiger Road in Breckenridge. The first race is slated to start at 4:50 p.m.

To sign up for the race or other races in the series, visit RaceBreck.com

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