Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
2026 Colorado Trail Race Day 1: And They’re Off!
The 2026 Colorado Trail Race is underway, with Alex McCormack currently leading the charge in what’s shaping up to be an incredibly fast race along the high-elevation route. Find Alan Jacoby’s update from the first day of riding paired with a stunning selection of photos captured by Eddie Clark here…
PUBLISHED Aug 3, 2026
Photos by Eddie Clark
So far, so good for most racers. It was a comfy 70 degrees with clear skies when riders started pedaling at 4 a.m. on Sunday. The mild temps continued as they made their way up the first 2,000-foot climb before dropping to the S. Platte River and through the flowy Buffalo Creek singletrack. Many packed minimal water at the start to stay lighter for the first few hours and topped off at the spigot behind the Buffalo Creek fire station around mile 26.
The smooth gravel and pavement stretch along the Tarryall Detour tends to get incredibly hot. But again, light winds and pleasant temperatures made for fast travel along the “easy early miles” of the race. Some folks filled up on soda and pizza at the Stagestop Saloon around mile 100, before pushing on toward Kenosha and Georgia Pass.
Overnight, temps eventually dropped to the mid 40s up on Georgia Pass and the mid 50s everywhere else with partly clear skies.
It’s still very early on, but the CTR is starting to take shape. Up front, Alex McCormack is setting a blistering pace. Xavier Chiriboga, whose tracker wasn’t pinging early on, has been nipping at Alex’s heels, along with Brian Elander. The early splits have been faster than BIKEACKING.com’s own Neil Beltchenko’s times from his FKT in 2016. At Tarryall Reservoir, Alex was 48 minutes ahead of the FKT pace. At Georgia Pass, he was 1 hour and 24 minutes ahead, and after cresting Tenmile, he was still holding around 1 hour and 15 minutes ahead of Neil’s pace.
To be clear, records are off the table this year because of the shortened route due to the Willow Fire detour near Leadville. Regardless, the time comparisons show how remarkably fast the top three are moving. Brian Elander decided to snooze near the gas station by Copper Mountain, maybe waiting for it to open. Alex and Xavier have already pushed up and over Searle and Kokomo Pass, hammering toward Leadville. We’ll see if either of them stop for meaningful sleep anytime soon. Same for Rocky Gingg and Jacob Hora, who are currently in fourth and fifth and haven’t slept yet either.
Not far behind are a slew of others that made it up and over Georgia Pass and decided to bivy by Swan River. This includes Nicolette Jones, the women’s race leader, who’s also deeply ingrained in the overall top ten. The closest women to her, Celeste Carmignani, Leila Housain, and Torin Lackmann, are already around four or five hours back. Nicolette’s current pace also puts her about 45 minutes ahead of her 2024 winning time at the Georgia Pass split. If that’s any indication, she’s already on her way to making it three wins in three attempts on the CTR. Exciting! Nicole Peet was struggling with nausea and vomiting early on, but it appears she’s feeling better and has made her way up toward Suzy Moon Sommer.
The singlespeed battle is also taking form. It’s great seeing Miles Morris on his full-suspension SS keeping pace up at the front with Matt Annabel, who’s also looking for his third CTR win in the singlespeed division. Justin Bell, Joe Grant, Alex Kowalski, Brandon Bettes, and a few others are also easily within striking distance and have all made it up and over Georgia Pass.
I suspect we’ll see more separation in all the fields as sleep (or lack thereof) strategies begin factoring in and the riding gets tougher. Will the frontrunners be able to sustain this wicked pace, or will the sleep monsters catch up with them? Stay tuned for more updates as the rhythm of the race continues to unfold!
Check out the 2026 Colorado Trail Race Tracker page to follow along on the live tracking map, and stay tuned in for more event coverage. Find it here.
Further Reading
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