Boulder cyclists battle up Vail Pass in GoPro Mountain Games road bike hill climb

The final cycling event of the 24th-annual GoPro Mountain Games was a battle between Boulder cyclists. Eric Brunner cruised through the 9.7-mile, 1600-foot climb in 26 minutes, 15.68 seconds, less than eight seconds ahead of Seth Hirsch.

“It was solid,” said Brunner, who finished ninth in the mountain bike cross-country race on Saturday. “Yesterday didn’t go well for me, but it was a good opener for today.”

Brunner knew Hirsch — a Footlocker cross-country high school All-American and NCAA DI runner at CU who has recently emerged as one of the best climbers in the Boulder area — was going to be tough. But he liked his chances, particularly along the relatively flat South Frontage Road.

“I knew I would have the advantage there and probably lose time on the climb, but clearly (Seth) was solid all around,” Brunner said.

“It’s kind of an interesting course,” Hirsch added. “Pretty flat for awhile and then it’s really just kind of steep the last two, three miles.”

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In order to “ensure a more fair and accessible competition focused on rider effort rather than equipment advantage,” time-trial bikes — as well as aero extension bars, disc wheels and other non-standard aerodynamic equipment — were not permitted. The 99 athletes who signed up were sent out of Vail Village in 30-second intervals. With Brunner riding down the ramp last, Hirsch — the winner of the inaugural Bighorn Road event in Gypsum last September — rode without any idea of where he stood relative to the pre-race favorite.

“There were good guys around me, too. I didn’t catch anyone or get caught by anyone, but I knew my power and I was really happy with how I paced it,” he said. “I was happy with the result. Obviously eight seconds stings a little bit but Eric is a great rider. He’s great at everything.”

Eagle’s Sam Brown (27:58.30) rounded out his three-race weekend as the top local in ninth. Former XTERRA world champion Josiah Middah (28:45.63) wasn’t too far back in 12th.

Brunner’s Boulder-based training partner, Ashley Frye, picked up a dominant win on the women’s side. The 26-year-old was almost 90 seconds clear of Erin Osborne, who finished runner-up for the second-straight day. Saturday’s XC champion, Deanna Mayles (34:45.87) was fourth in the eight-person pro field.

“It went really well. It’s such a fun race,” Frye said. “First 15 minutes I was like, ‘Oh god I want this to be steeper,’ and then once we got to the steep section I was like, ‘yes, this is it.'”

Similar to Hirsch, Frye was collegiate distance runner before her professional cycling career. The Texas-native arrived in Vail fresh off placing second in the general classification at the five-stage Tour of the Gila. She and Brunner both have their eyes set on U.S. Road Nationals later this month in Charleston, West Virginia.

“This is perfect prep,” Frye said. “Felt like it would be great to get a hard effort.”

“I was just blown away at how good the field was here,” added Brunner. “Probably the best field other than nationals. Fun vibe out here — good prize purse.”

Hirsch is gearing up for competitions up major Colorado climbs like Pikes Peak and Mt. Blue Sky. Outside of his 50-hour work week, he rides around 15 hours on the bike and runs a few more every week. He recently joined ‘Rollers,’ a team of retired professionals.

“I’m by far the youngest guy on the team,” he laughed. “I think they know there’s a lot of room I can improve.”

In addition to races, Hirsch’s heart is set on becoming the King of the Mountain on Flagstaff Road. He missed former pro Levi Leipheimer’s course record, set during stage 6 of the 2012 USA Pro Challenge. by just 11 seconds on a ride in April.

“Honestly,” Hirsch said regarding his fastest-known segment attempts, “sometimes those excite me the most.”