Photo by John Hanson
One of Summit County’s summer sporting staples, the Firecracker 50 mountain bike race, returned to its rightful place on the Fourth of July in Breckenridge after missing 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s like seeing a child that moved away and came back after a couple of years,” event director Jeff Westcott said, “because this event is 20 years old — it’s like my kid.”
Westcott credited the 93 local volunteers all along the race course for helping to put the race on in a world-class fashion.
“I think the reason why the race has enjoyed such longevity is because of the volunteers on course,” Westcott said. “For a rider to be able to race 50 miles and be able to count on a hand up and not really on a Camelbak (backpack) is really unique. The energy out there — it’s so well supported.”