Power of Four double returns to Aspen
The Aspen Times
Jeremy Swanson/Aspen Skiing Co. |
Power of Four — squared.
The fourth edition of the Power of Four, sponsored by the Aspen Skiing Co., will return to Aspen and Snowmass Village on Saturday and Sunday.
The 2014 Power of Four Mountain Bike Race will take off Saturday morning at 8 a.m. at the base of the Village Express chairlift in Snowmass Village
Four ski areas later, the race will finish at the base of Aspen Mountain.
Pro mountain biker Ben Sonntag of Durango won the mountain bike race last year.
Up four, down four
Four mountains. Four climbs. Four descents.
The Power of Four Mountain Bike Race will include individual riders and relay teams of two or four.
Cyclists will ride up Snowmass to the base of the Big Burn to connect to the Cross Mountain Trail.
From there, they ride over to the Elk Camp Summer Road and up to the top of the Vapor Trail.
That connects to the Government Trail and the familiar route back to Buttermilk.
Stage 2 is a climb of Tiehack before crossing Maroon Creek to Aspen Highlands and Stage 3.
Congo Trail
Access will be via the Teral Wade Bridge to the Aspen Recreation Center and then up the bike path to Aspen Highlands.
The climb there will be up Summer Road to the Congo Trail, down to Castle Creek and across to the start of the fourth stage, the climb up the backside of Aspen Mountain via Midnight Mine Road.
From there, it’s all the way up to the Sundeck. Then, to the East Rim Trail. On to Scott’s Trail.
And a finish down at the base of Aspen Mountain at the gondola building.
9,000 feet up; 9,000 down
According to race organizers, the course will cover 36 miles with 9,000 feet of climbing and 9,000 feet of descending.
Cash prizes will be awarded to the winner.
Pro mountain bike Ben Sonntag of Durango won the mountain bike race last year on a course with super-fast conditions.
The previous year, Aspen’s Keegan Swirbul defeated Lance Armstrong to win the Power of Four Mountain Bike Race.
Gretchen Reeves, a former standout adventure racer from Avon, won the women’s mountain bike race a year ago.
Boulder’s Blair Hurst was second to Reeves in the women’s solo division.
First race
Aspen ski mountaineer Max Tam won the first Power of Four Mountain Bike Race in 2011.
Race volunteers are needed this year. They also will receive Helly Hansen race shirts.
Volunteers should contact Maria Hidalgo at mhidalgo@aspen snowmass.com.
Additional information is available at the Skico website at http://www.aspensnowmass.com.
The post-race party for the Power of Four Mountain Bike Race will be hosted at Ajax Tavern, located at the base of Aspen Mountain.
Bike Categories
Bike categories for the solo riders include male, female, male singlespeed and female singlespeed.
Award ceremonies will be at 3:30 p.m. in the finish locations — Aspen Mountain on Saturday and Snowmass Village on Sunday.
Online registration, which is required, is available at aspen snowmass.com/poweroffour.
No race day registration is available for either event.
