Take it from a professional mountain biker – the Breck Epic is a bucket lister.
“This is the race you always look up to, look forward to,” says Nicole Valentine, the women’s 2021 three-day champion. “You keep it at the top of the list of incredible events you must participate in.”
This year Valentine is doubling down on her hometown stage race and riding in the full Breck Epic: six days, 240 miles, roughly 40,000 vertical feet, all above 9,000 feet.
Joining her are more than 60 women from across the globe. The women’s field is exponentially larger than ever before at the Breck Epic. Race director Mike McCormack says it might be the largest women’s field in the history of multi-stage mountain bike racing.
“Professional mountain bikers, professional gravel racers, professional road riders, professional triathletes,” Valentine says of the eclectic women’s field. “Most of the athletes I know said the same thing: This is the year.”
Riding in the men’s field is another Breckenridge local, James Adamson. Like Valentine, he’s done the three-day race before. And he wanted more.
“This year I trained a little bit more, did more mental preparation for the long, drawn-out six day,” Adamson says. “I’m getting the bike ready, getting my mind ready, just getting excited for the event.”
Before opening stage of the 2024 Breck Epic on Sunday, Aug. 11, Krystal 93 news director Phil Lindeman talked with Valentine and Adamson about training, nerves, and their nemesis stage.
How are you prepping for the Epic?
Valentine: When I did the Breck Epic three years ago I was on a hard-tail mountain bike. I learned during that race, yes, it’s good for uphills and flat trail, but the Breck Epic has some tech terrain. Big rocks and step downs. This year I’ve been using the full suspension in preparation and feeling really good about that.
Adamson: Adding much longer rides back to back, so 30 and 40-mile days through the week, and just putting more time on the bike. That base endurance will push me over the summits. Some days we’re climbing two or three big mountains in there. It takes endurance and perseverance to get through it. I call it “enduro-ance.” It’s a lot of downhill racing and uphill racing. And dialing in my diet to get the electrolytes and everything I need when I’m training. These (stages) are incredibly taxing. Being sustained is more important than being super powerful.
What advice do you have for lowlanders?
Adamson: It can be taxing and grueling on your body. Recovery time is extended at high altitude. Your sleep is hampered, you’ll be hurting more. My recommendation for anyone coming up is stay hydrated, sleep longer than you normally do – as many hours as you can in bed – eat as much good food as you can, and don’t go out too fast.
What stage are you looking forward to the most?
Valentine: The French Pass Mt. Guyot loop (Stage 3) is my favorite. I did that last summer just for fun. It’s a must-do ride every summer for me. I love the high alpine pass. It’s so beautiful. Last year we were going through snowbanks. Most of them have melted this year, but the wildflowers are in super bloom right now. I think riders coming from out of town are in for a real treat.
Adamson: Guyot. I like going around the mountain. There’s something majestic about circumnavigating Guyot. The climb up there is grueling – steep hike-a-bike with multiple false summits – but once you get down, you’re rewarded with this amazing descent, and then another grueling climb, and then you hit one of the best sections of the Colorado Tral in the county, down to the Middle Fork of the Swan River. It starts with this epic luge, kind of slicing through the forest, and then you drop into this rock garden, and it’s really technical. The faster you take it, the more you roll the dice.
What stage are you dreading already?
Valentine: Wheeler Pass. The rocky climb and descent on that are not my favorite.
Adamson: A lot of people eye Wheeler as a nemesis stage. Lots of walking in the beginning. It’s pretty grueling. But in my mind, it’s the Aqueduct stage, Stage 4. It’s lower, it’s hotter, and there are really crazy climbs, like Vomit Hill, and then you go up the side of West Ridge from Summit Gulch Road. There’s something about those climbs. They’re hot, they’re steep, they’re agonizing in a way, and they’re all together, so you end up climbing a ton in that day. It really draws it out of you. That’s the day to commit to endurance pacing. It’s just hanging in the game there.
Where do you hope to be after six days?
Valentine: It would be such an honor to be on the podium. This year is a completely different race from three years ago, with the best of the best coming out. I’m looking to live it up, every moment, and use it as an opportunity to race smart. I hope to get stronger every day. I’ll start out moderate and hopefully move up the rankings every day.
Adamson: It’s easy to set goals, talk about what’s important externally, but internally it’s about remaining rhythmic, powerful, pedaling and pushing hard, and keeping my head in the game. We’re talking about a long burn here. I’ve noticed people come out the first day like a one-day race, and a lot of the people who threw down hard dropped way back, or dropped out. My personal main goal is to hang in there, keep the wheels on the ground.