For the 10th time I toed the start line at the Breckenridge 100, you would think that it would get easier after doing a race so many times but it only engrains the suffering that is to come in my mind. I decided a couple of years ago that I would do this race 10 times then I would give it a break. After finishing 2nd for the last three years I was hungry for the win.
The 6 am start was not the coldest it has ever been but it was chilly enough to want to get the race going. The first climb over Wheeler Pass went well I was feeling good and the trail was in great shape, a little snow to cross but for the most part it was a beautiful morning and warming up quickly.
After two and a half hours I finished the first lap and was quick to start the second lap of three, this lap is the hardest but the most fun with lots of climbing but with that comes lots of descending. Halfway through this lap I had one of the worst crashes I’ve had in a long time, riding along the Little French Flume I caught my handlebars on a tree and flew off the flume backwards, down an embankment, into some logs. When I finally came to rest, I was 15 feet below the trail and not sure if I was broken or not, after a minute or so I gathered myself together and climbed back up the to the trail. Other than a couple scrapes and bruises luckily I was ok and continued with the race.
I was in the lead from early in the race, but really didn’t know how much of a lead I had and pushed hard all the way to the end. I was really glad to take the win again this year in a race that I feel a little bit of ownership with, I still can’t believe that I’ve done this race 10 times, I feel very lucky to have been healthy enough to be able to do this race for 10 years and to have won 7 times is just incredible to me.
