The Breck Epic has deep roots in the mountain bike scene that evolved in the west of the USA, in its mountain origins, and its backcountry terrain. It’s high, wild, and rowdy. It’s hard as heck – and proud of it.
Central Colorado sits atop a huge, high plateau. Here you’ll find famous ski resorts like Aspen and Vail, as well as the biggest, bloodthirstiest mountain bike and gravel races in the world: Leadville and Steamboat. An hour or two up the road, the ski town of Breckenridge, or Breck for short, is one of the highest towns in the USA, at 2900 metres above sea level. That’s a full 1000 metres higher than Falls Creek, where Aussie athletes do their altitude training, and 700 metres higher than the summit of Mt Kosciuszko, Australia’s highest mountain.
The six-day Breck Epic is one of the world’s most notorious mountain bike stage races. It’s known for its elevation, for the quality of its trails and, as I found out first hand, for keeping the spirit of mountain bike alive in all its adventurous, unruly glory.
Driving up to Breckenridge doesn’t necessarily feel like driving into the high places of the world. Having travelled to Europe’s Alps to ride my mountain bike a few times over the years, I’d been expecting it to feel similar: a narrow winding road. Trains. Waterfalls. Snow-capped peaks with huge, rocky prominences. Instead, I cruise along one of Colorado’s broad highways with grassy plains and wooded hills on either side, being overtaken by big trucks driven by people in big hats towing big caravans. The only clue that I’m nearing 3000 metres elevation was a faint breathlessness, a
