It has been a few weeks since Race Breck has hosted a mountain bike or trail running race. 

After starting the summer season off strong, the local race organizer put on the Firecracker 50 mountain bike race as well as the Independence Day 10K Trail Run in order to celebrate the patriotic holiday. 

After allowing athletes to recuperate from the challenging and lengthy feats of endurance, Race Breck resumed its Summit Mountain Challenge mountain bike race series on Wednesday, July 23. 

As another monsoonal rain shower hung overhead, bikers worked to warm up their legs for the Aspen Attack mountain bike race. Beginning way above the town of Breckenridge on Boreas Pass Road, cyclists of all ages were tasked with racing through the surrounding trails before finishing in the Stephen C. West Ice Arena parking lot located near the town’s core. 

Leading off the evening of racing were the athletes competing in the kids’ course race. Consisting of 2.2-miles straight downhill, cyclists under the age of 10 raced through the forest and to the finish line in hopes of being crowned the champion. 

Piper Gogolen of Breckenridge was the first athlete to cross the smooth pavement of the Stephen C. West Ice Arena parking lot on Wednesday night. Competing in the junior eight and under race, Gogolen, 6, clocked a time of 31 minutes, 22 seconds to win the race by over 10 minutes.

Leadville’s Lavender Pinter followed in second with a time of 41:52 to round out the results in the division. 

Another Breckenridge-based rider won the junior boys eight and under race. Taking on a field of five other cyclists, Reinaldo Guevara emerged from the forest in first place overall and promptly sprinted across the final timing mat. Guevara, 7, won the race in a time of 17:53 and was soon followed by Ezra Stamp in second (18:41) and Quincy Bourgault in third (19:56). 

The town of Breckenridge continued to shine bright in the girls 9- to 10-year-old race. Representing Team Summit, Iris Ryan of Breckenridge won the race in 14:11 while Breckenridge’s Fiammetta Niemkiewicz took second in 16:47. Sissy Martin finished in third place overall in the division in a time of 19:14.

Team Summit’s Henry Drumwright won the junior boys 9- to 10-year-old race by over three minutes. The Breckenridge resident clocked a time of 14:24 in order to claim the gold medal with Zebulon Stamp taking second (17:24) and Team Summit’s Carson Ebert taking third (17:44).

The junior 11- to 12-year-old boys and girls took on a 4.7-mile course that started out on Aspen Alley, turned left on the Blue River Trail and then turned toward the ice rink parking lot via the Illinois Creek Trail. 

A sea-level-based athlete earned the honor of standing on the top step of the podium in the junior girls 11- to 12-year-old race. Hailing from Lawrenceville, Georgia, Gioia Bergese took first overall in a time of 42:19.  Bergese was followed by Blue River’s Callie Schanker who rode across the finish line representing Team Summit in a time of 54:36.

Breck Malley of Scottsdale, Arizona, was the first cyclist to get his tire across the finish line in the junior boys 11- to 12-year-old race. The 11-year-old rider crossed the finish line in 28:11 to beat out two Team Summit riders from Breckenridge. Trailing by 36 seconds, Gabe Loomis took second in the race in a time of 28:47 while Miles Drumwright finished in third in 31:17.

The 13- to 15-year-old junior boys were some of the first cyclists to take on the 7.9-mile short course race. Spearheading the field was Jonny Moss of Nederland, Ryan Levi of Silverthorne and Wilson Anderson of Leadville. The three talented riders battled throughout the entirety of the race, but in the end it was Moss who found the extra gear, finishing in first place in a time of 41:13.

Three seconds later, Levi — who races for Team Summit — took second in a time of 41:16, with Anderson taking third in the same exact time. 

The junior girls 13- to 15-year-old race was not as stacked as the boy’s race, as Summit County’s Tessa Jacobs handily rode away with the contest, recording a time of 50:05. Annika Krum of Leadville took second in 57:24 with Breckenridge’s Maeve Niemkiewicz taking third in 59:08.

The short-course races were rounded out by the beginner men’s 16-plus race. Jack Grussendorf of Colorado Springs won the beginner men’s 16-plus race. Grussendorf, 16, finished the race in a time of 49:47 with Frisco’s David Fitzpatrick taking second (59:32) and Breckenridge’s Max Garske, 16, finishing in third (59:44). 

The Aspen Attack long-course race tasked participants with traveling 13 miles and climbing 1,663 feet. It was Golden’s Nathaniel Vacura that recorded the top time on the course, claiming first place in the men’s pro race in a time of 1:01:21. 

Vacura was followed by Silverthorne’s Sam Pflugh in second (1:01:40) with Breckenridge’s Jeff Kepler taking third (1:03:59). 

Summit County’s Aila Harmala was the sole competitor in the women’s pro race. Recording a time of 1:18:36, Harmala took first in the women’s pro race and also had one of the fastest long-course times among women. 

The top overall women’s time was claimed by Maria Leech in the expert and singlespeed women 16-plus race. The seasoned rider took first overall in the race in a time of 1:13:22 and was swiftly followed by Breckenridge’s Becky Walter (1:14:28) in second and Breckenridge’s Justina Liss in third (1:16:56). 

Finnley Stanek of Leadville was the winner of the sport women 16-plus race in a time of 1:17:43.  Stanek was followed by Frisco’s Mikki Grebetz (1:28:10) and Frisco’s June Baniewicz (1:28:34). 

The men’s expert 16- to 39-year-old age division was won by Centennial’s Derek Pitzer, 17, in a time of 1:03:53. Pitzer was followed by Canon City’s Caleb McKnelly in second (1:05:09) and Silverthorne’s Duncan Koehn in third (1:09:50). 

Joseph Glass of Manitou Springs was the first athlete to cross the finish line in the expert men 40- to 49-year-old age division. Glass crossed the finish line in 1:04:57, while Breckenridge’s Teague Holmes took second (1:06:56) and Andres Gamboa Vanderlaat of Breckenridge took third (1:07:54). 

In the expert 50-plus race, Scott Campbell pedaled himself to the victory, clocking a time of 1:08:03. Mickey Florio took second in 1:11:20.

The next Summit Mountain Challenge mountain bike race — Peaks Trail Time Trial — will take place on Aug. 6. In the time trial race format, athletes will be tasked with biking the 7.6-miles from the Peaks Trailhead in Breckenridge to the entrance of Miners Creek Road in Frisco as fast as possible.

To sign up for the competition, visit RaceBreck.com.