Firecracker 50

Mike Hogan - 2nd Masters Men 40+

The 2007 Firecracker 50 was an epic adventure on a beautiful July 4th in Breckenridge, Colorado. This years race was the USA National Marathon Championships & the course was perfect - tough climbs, fast descents, twisty tree single track, brutal tire shredding rocks & dust everywhere. There were over 800 starters, though nearly 1/3 the field failed to finish. Chipotle-Titus started 15 riders & ended the day with a national champion & 2 runners up. 

The huge 40+ master's men field started fast with Mike Hogan heading up the road tailing multiple time national champion, Tinker Juarez. Hogan lead the 2nd lap until the last descent when Tinker passed him for the win. Hogan finished 43 seconds behind the winning time of 4:06. Keith Sanders started at a very sensible pace & worked his way up constantly to finish 13th & Thomas Dooley was right on him in 14th. Drew Geer rounded out this field in 19th. 

Thomas Dooley

Keith Sanders

Jamie Kilkoyn had a fantastic ride to finish 16th in the 35-39 group. He sliced 15 minutes of his last year's time despite a much slower & tougher course this year. Dan Melish suffered a flat but hung in there after the worlds longest repair to finish  21st in the 30-34 group. Lester Pardoe finished 12th in the sport 35-39. Scott Pavlokovic & Bob Bieterman put in great first laps but did not have the legs today for a second. Mark Gouge ripped a tire on lap one & was out.  

Jamie Kilkoyn

Scott Pavlakovic

The women put on a fantastic show. Karen Hogan won the 40-49 championships ahead of team mates Jane Finsterwald in 2nd & Kay Levesque in 6th.  Heidi Godsil picked up the 5th place podium spot for the 30-39 race. Kim Pardoe picked up 11th in the sport 30-39 division. 

Jane Finsterwald - 2nd Masters Women

Kay Levesque

Heidi Godsil - 5th Women 30-39

Carol Newsom & Gary Thacker provided much needed support for the team - thanks for the help! Garrett & Wesley Geer were hiding in the trees snapping shots for us. 

15 starts

1 National Champion - Karen Hogan

4 podium finishes

next up: Winter Park on Saturday

Bob Bieterman

Keith described the trees as "Jedi racing" - fast turns through tight lodge pole pines.