September 11-13, 2008 | Breckenridge, CO
TT, STXC, XC
- Endurance Stage Race Series Finals
- Backcountry XC

OVERVIEW

EPIC BACKCOUNTRY OF BRECKENRIGE, COLORADO

If you've been around Colorado for a while you've probably heard of this one and wondered what became of it. The Fall Classic started way back in the day...back before suspension forks, oversized aluminum, and CamelBaks. Back before mountain bike racing was even a sport. 1984 to be exact. A bunch of Summit County badasses lined up on the street and discussed where the race should go. A big 80's style doobie was passed around. Much discussion ensued.

A course was finally decided upon and as the ceremonial herb sputtered out the race started with Scott Yule talking trash and Elwood "Chip" Barrett snickering. The Fall Classic was born! No one in the group wore a helmet...simply never occurred to them. No rules, no nuthin'! Over the next 15 years it grew from a ragtag bunch of hardcore mountain stoners into a racing spectacle. A hill climb and a circuit race were added along the way and it became the customary final stop on the former Colorado Off Road Points Series (the predecessor to the predecessor of the MSC Series). Stories are still told about the day Tinker Juarez puked at the top of the Humbug Hill Climb (don't worry, no Hill Climb this year). And then there was the year it snowed a couple inches the night before the XC stage and Rishi Grewal broke trail for the rest of the field on the Little French Flume. After a break of six years or so we brought it back. We ran the race for three years from 2002-2004, got snowed out in 2006, last year was one of the best XC races of the season, and now it's back again as the Endurance Finals for the Mountain States Cup Series!

REGISTRATION

PRE-REGISTRATION INFO: download the The Fall Classic Registration Form .  Forms mailed in must be postmarked by Saturday, September 5 to 600 Corporate Circle, Unit D Golden, CO 80401. Forms faxed to (303) 278-6906 or emailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it must be received by Wednesday, September 9. You can also call your registration in to 720-407-6142 by Wednesday, September 9.

Circuit race packet pick-up and registration will take place at the Breckenridge Nordic Center from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Plan accordingly to arrive more than one hour before your start wave time. The same number plate will be used for both the circuit race and cross country. If you are coming for only the cross country on Sunday, packet pick-up and registration will take place at Carter Park from 8 to 9:30 a.m.

RACE ENTRY TRANSFER POLICY

MAVERICK OPEN CLASSES 

We are offering two unique categories for The Fall Classic...Maverick Open Men and Maverick Open Women.

Here's the thought process...
There are several CAT 1-level riders that do not typically race in the Mountain States Cup Series. These folks do not have USA Cycling Annual Licenses. They can pony up the dough for an annual but, at this point in the season, this isn't real attractive to them.  And we really don't want them skewing the Overall Standings this late in the season.

Another option is for them to take the Sandbagger route and race as a Sport on a One Day License. We strongly discourage that...because they'd skew those Overall Standings and because it just isn't fair.

So, we are offering Maverick Open Men and Maverick Open Women for these folks. According to USA Cycling rules these folks can race with a One Day License. Maverick Open classes do not have age breakdowns. 

This category is also an attractive option for the Sport rider wishing to race the Big Course.

LODGING

www.breckaccomodations.com

www.greatwesternlodging.com

www.gobreck.com

CAMPING

Camping is tough here in Summit County.  There are a couple of USFS campgrounds in Frisco.  Beyond that there is a ton of USFS land you can camp on but that will leave you without any amenities.

For Camping info in the Dillon Ranger District visit the USFS website .

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12 HILL CLIMB (TT)

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12 CIRCUIT RACE presnted by

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The course is a 2.2 mile loop on both two-track and singletrack.   One section is on the Pence Miller Ditch, an old Flume from the mining era.  This trail is lined with aspen trees and we hope the foliage is cooperative. 

• Start at the Breck Nordic Center Lodge
• Ride Troll Forest Trail to  Shock Hill Trail
• Turn right onto Pence Miller Ditch Trail
• Climb up to Shock Hill Trail and ride back to Nordic Center Lodge

CIRCUIT RACE START TIMES AND DISTANCES

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 13 XC presented by 

CAT 2/3 XC Map      CAT 2/3 Elevation Profile
CAT 1/Pro XC Map   CAT 1/Pro Elevation Profile

CROSS COUNTRY COURSE DESCRIPTION

Start time is 10:00AM (Sunday) for all categories. We will have a neutral rollout controlled by a squad car.  We'll line you up by category and off you go. We will be calf marking! For those of you familiar with the area, here are the nuts and bolts of it!

• Start on Ridge St. in front of Mountain Outfitters.
• Ride north to Wellington and turn right 
• Wellington to French Gulch Road
• Turn left onto Gold Run Gulch Road
• Gold Run Gulch Road to Slalom Singletrack
• Descend Slalom Singletrack to fork, bear right, and ride to top of Toxic Forest
• Toxic Forest through ghostown of Preston and turn right past cabin
• Climb short grinder and turn left onto The Draw
• Ride The Draw to base of Heinous Hill
• At top of Heinous Hill turn right and descend to Lincoln Park
• Climb Humbug Highway to top of Humbug Hill (Firecracker backwards)
• Ride Little French Flume to top of Little French Gulch
• Descend Little French Gulch to French Gulch Road
• Turn right onto French Gulch Road and descend to Sally Barber Road
• Turn left onto Sally Barber Road and climb
• At Sally Barber Mine turn left onto BRAND NEW Nightmare on Baldy
  
• At top of Nightmare, merge onto road and stay on the contour
• Cross Baldy Rd and head to Pinball Alley
• Ride through Mt. Pride Mine all the way to Bakers Tank
• At Bakers Tank turn left onto Boreas Pass Rd.
• Ride BP Road 1.5 miles and turn right down Indiana Creek Road
• At 1/2 miles turn hard left and ride through ghostown of Dyersville.
• Pick up singletrack on other side of Dyersville and descend through creek.
• Turn right onto two track and descend.
• Ride through major creek crossing and continue descending
• Ride through major creek again and continue descending
• Descend through Spruce Valley Ranch on paved section
• Turn right onto Blue River Trail
• Take trail behind Little Mt. to Ice Rink
• Cross Boreas Pass Road to Sunbeam Trail
• Take Sunbeam Trail to Carter Park and finish
• TOTAL DISTANCE 28 MILES

CROSS COUNTRY CAT 2/3 COURSE DESCRIPTION
Categories for Sport/Beginner Course
CAT 2 Men
CAT 2 Women
Clydesdale
JR CAT 1 Women
JR CAT 2 Men
CAT 3 Men
CAT 3 Women
JR CAT 2/3 Women
JR CAT 3 Men

• Start on Ridge St. in front of Mountain Outfitters.
• Ride north to Wellington and turn right
• Wellington to French Gulch Road
• French Gulch Road east to Sally Barber Road
• Turn right on Sally Barber Road
• At Sally Barber Mine turn left onto BRAND NEW Nightmare on Baldy
  
• At top of Nightmare, merge onto road and stay on the contour
• Cross Baldy Rd and head to Pinball Alley
• Ride through Mt. Pride Mine all the way to Bakers Tank
• At Bakers Tank turn left onto Boreas Pass Rd.
• Ride BP Road 1.5 miles and turn right down Indiana Creek Road
• At 1/2 miles turn hard left and ride through ghostown of Dyersville.
• Pick up singletrack on other side of Dyersville and descend through creek.
• Turn right onto two track and descend.
• Ride through major creek crossing and continue descending
• Ride through major creek again and continue descending
• Descend through Spruce Valley Ranch on paved section
• Turn right onto Blue River Trail
• Take trail behind Little Mt. to Ice Rink
• Cross Boreas Pass Road to Sunbeam Trail
• Take Sunbeam Trail to Carter Park and finish
• TOTAL DISTANCE 18 MILES

AID STATIONS AND SAFETY

For the Cross Country Big Course, there will be 2 AID STATIONS. The first will be at Mile 9(Humbug Hill), the second will be at Mile 18(Bakers Tank).

For the Cross Country Sport/Beginner Course there will be 1 AID STATION at Mile 9(Bakers Tank).
We will provide Water and Gatorade in cage sized bottles. We will also provide CLIF Shots and Mini CLIF Bars.
If you want a personal item waiting for you at the Aid Stations, we will have trucks at the Start Area that will be heading out to the two stations. Place your personal belongings in the appropriate truck and your goodies will be waiting for you. Personal items will be set aside from the neutral materials and you are responsible for your own feed.
All personal items left at Aid Stations will be brought to Carter Park, site of the finish, once the Course Sweep gets to that spot.

We will have Lead and Sweep Motos on both courses. Additionally we will have an ATV roving at all times. EMT's will be stationed at both Aid Stations and at the finish.
All safety personnel will communicate via two way radio and/or cell phones.

If you encounter a medical situation you have two options.
1) Sit tight and wait for sweep to arrive.
2) Send word ahead to the next course marshal and/or Aid Station.
Be as clear as possible with regard to the location of the incident. Sometimes, the closest help may be backwards on the course.

AWARDS

Circuit race awards will take place immediate after each wave and award the top four of each wave. You must be present at the awards ceremony to receive your award or cash purse. All riders must be present to receive awards and cash purses for all MSC events. NO EXCEPTIONS will be made so, plan you trip home accordingly.

Cross country and series overall awards will be presented as soon after the race as possible at Carter Park, hopefully 3 p.m.

RACE PHOTOS

Will be provided by our official photography partner, Vast Action Photography. You can visit them at www.vastaction.com

HOW TO GET HERE

BRECKENRIDGE NORDIC CENTER

Directions:

• From Denver, take I-70 west to Exit 203 in Frisco.
• Take Highway 9 south for 9 miles to Breckenridge.
• At the Main St./Highway 9 split stay right continuing south on Highway 9 (North Park Ave.)
• Go Straight through one traffic light at Airport Road.
• At the next traffic light, approx 3/4 mile, turn right onto Ski Hill Road.
• Go up Ski Hill Road, around a big switchback, and 1/2 mile after the swithcback look for Breck Nordic Center sign and turn right into parking lot.

CARTER PARK

Directions:

• From Denver, take I-70 west to Exit 203 in Frisco.
• Take Highway 9 south for 9 miles to Breckenridge.
• At the Main St./Highway 9 Split STAY ON MAIN ST.
• Continue south on Main St. all the way to the south end of town.
• Go straight through the light at South Park Ave.
• At next light turn left onto Boreas Pass Road.
• After 200yds. turn right into Stephen C. West Ice Arena parking area.  Parking is available all day long at the Stephen C. West Ice Arena.  Please use spaces to the east of the arena and leave parking immediately in front for Ice Rink customers.  Thanks!
• TO GET TO THE VENUE FROM THE ICE ARENA, ride your bike across Boreas Pass Road onto Sunbeam Drive.  You'll see course markings (orange squares with black arrows). 
  
• Follow the arrows to the Sunbeam Trail which leads to Carter Park.

Other Parking options include:

•     Breckenridge Elementary School, Harris St./Jefferson Ave., adjacent to Carter Park, site of   Race HQ and Finish.
•     Carter Park-Limited parking here. 
•     Klack Placer Lot-French St. just south of Jefferson Ave.
•     Colorado Mountain College-Harris St. between Adams Ave. and Washington Ave.
•     Gondola Parking Lot-On North Park Ave.
•     Exchange Lot-Corner of Ridge St. and Lincoln Ave.
  

TECH/EXPO SPACE, VOLUNTEERS, SPONSORSHIP INQUIRIES & CONTACT INFO

If you're interested in volunteering, tech/expo space or finding out about sponsorship opportunities, please give us a shout at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .