Firecracker 50

The 11th annual edition of the Firecracker 50 mountain bike race took place on July 4th, 2011. The town of Breckenridge welcomed a full field of 750 mountain bikers for some classic Colorado mountain bike racing, as well as a vast array of July 4th events, concerts and celebrations.

The Firecracker 50 mountain bike race began at 9:30am as hundreds of racers staged themselves downtown to kick off Breckenridge's 4th of July parade. Spectators lined the streets, cheering the beginning of the race and the parade. Each age and ability group began their race with a neutral roll-out down Main street.

After passing through the downtown area, the flag was dropped and the racing began.

This year, there were some modifications to the race course to improve safety and to circumvent wet trails. The course was a tough one, as it was about 27 miles long with 4,000+ feet of elevation gain per lap. There were a number of steep sustained climbs, rocky descents, muddy roads and twisty-turny tree lined sections. It was REAL mountain biking. And, we had perfect weather conditions for mountain bike racing!

The race usually turns out to be one of attrition as the altitude, steep climbs, technical descents and distance take their toll on racers and their bikes. Somewhere close to 1/4 of all starters never finish! This year was no exception as flat tires, crashes and extreme fatigue ruled the day.

Team Feedback Sports had a strong contingent of three racers in the Cat 1 40-49 race, with Craig Hofer, Chris Phenicie and Ed Tokarski. They were racing against a deep and talented field that included former pro mountain bike racers, as well as a number of past and current national champions! Our guys ripped it up with Craig Hofer finishing 4th,

Chris Phenicie 5th (after crashing)

and Ed Tokarski 8th.

In the Pro division, Ken Benesh finished in 15th place in another stacked national caliber field of racers!

The super strong field was due to the Firecracker's inclusion in the brand new USA Cycling Pro Ultra Endurance Tour (UET) as well as its $2,500 cash prize payout! Ken finished with a time of 4:25:49 which was one of the top times of all 750 participants. Not far off were Craig Hofer in 4:33:34, Chris Phenicie in 4:35:34 and Ed Tokarski in 4:48:29.

In the women's Maverick/Open division, Marjie Tokarski finished on the podium in 3rd place! She completed the 54 miles in 5:50:10 which would have been a very solid finishing time in many of the men's races.



Rich DiGeronimo raced in his 5th solo Firecracker 50 and this time competed in the Maverick/Open category. The Maverick/Open division consisted of upper level male racers of all age groups, and was one of the largest and most competitive categories at the Firecracker. Rich finished in 39th place out of about 120 starters.


Also of note was that Adam Williams from team sponsor Golden Bike Shop was out racing the Firecracker. Adam competed in the Singlespeed division and finished the full 54 miles in less than 6 hours, including a crash. Racing the Firecracker course on a Singlespeed bike is no easy task by any stretch of the imagination.

It's great to have a sponsor, like Adam and Golden Bike Shop, who are so passionate about mountain biking. Thanks for all you do to support our sport and our team!


Other Feedback Sports racers competing at the Firecracker were Brian Taylor, Mike Schaub and Pat D'Innocenzo. They only had to ride one lap of the course, as they were competing in the duo/team divisions.