Hynek conquers Colorado Trail at stage 2 of Breck Epic
Stage 2 winner Kristian Hynek (click to enlarge). Photo courtesy Breck Epic/Liam Doran
It was another day of high altitude suffering at the six-day Breck Epic cross-country stage race. On tap for stage 2 was the 43-mile Colorado Trail adventure with upwards of 7,200 feet of climbing. And once again the Topeak-Ergon trio of Kristian Hynek, Jeremiah Bishop and Alban Lakata were the class of the field, taking the top three spots on the day and in the 3-day open men’s category.
Hynek scored the stage win, crossing the line in 2:41:26, with stage 1 winner Lakata just 32 seconds behind, and Bishop another 3 seconds in arrears. The trio is using their time on the sweet singletrack in and around Breckenridge, Colorado, as prep for next weekend’s Leadville 100. Hynek now leads Lakata by 29 seconds in the chase for the 3-day overall title.
In the men’s 6-day competition Frans Claes (Loving Hut MTB Team), Ben Swanepoel (Squirt Lube) and Barry Wicks (Kona) made up the top three. His second straight stage win helped Claes up his advantage in the overall standings to 8:34 over Swanepoel.
Topeak-Ergon also took the day’s top honors on the women’s side of the ledger, with Brit Sally Bigham blasting away from her 3-day open category competitors, stopping the clock in 3:14:23, more than 50 minutes faster that 3-day second place finisher Maylen Noriega (Primaflor-Orbea). Bigham, who’s also prepping for Leadville, leads the 3-day overall by more than an hour.
In the women’s 6-day race, Marlee Dixon (mtbracenew.com/Pivot Cycles) was first to the finish, completing her Colorado Trail adventure in 3:25:07. Overall standings leader and stage 1 winner Evelyn Dong (Sho-Air/Cannondale) was second, just 8 seconds back, with Kelly Boniface (Moots) in third. In the women’s 6-day overall, Dong is out front, with Serena Gordon (Liv Co-Factory) second at 6:48, with Boniface in third at 6:56.
For full results please visit breckepic.com. For more from stage 2, check out another massive photo gallery from Eddie Clark and Liam Doran. Next up is Tuesday’s Mount Guyot stage 3 of the Breck Epic is arguably the race’s toughest, with riders covering 46 miles and 8100 feet of climbing.
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