Stay tuned to the Mountain blog this week, where we'll be previewing each stage of the Breck Epic. Click on the photo to launch a slide show, and read about Stage 6 below. Get more beta here: Stage 1 • Stage 2 • Stage 3 • Stage 4 • Stage 5

Finally, the last stage offers a respite. But be warned, after five days of racing some of the most difficult terrain in the country, you're liable to crack if you haven't already. Stick to your normal morning routine to minimize shock to your body.

Day six sees the Epic come full circle, as the course retraces the final miles of Stage 1 to roll back out Boreas Pass road, eventually dropping over to the old mining town of Como. Once on the Gold Dust Trail, prepare for full-out flume trail stoke. The singletrack winds through a dense pine forest before dropping into a deep mining flume, where it twists and turns its way down the mountain. After twice crossing the river on bridges with almost mandatory dismounts, be on the lookout for an extensive rock garden. Float over the rocks and continue to a loamy, forested section where the trees are as tight as slalom gates. Pop out on to Boreas Pass Road once more, and the spin is long but not steep.

Back at the singletrack, snap in to focus, as the last couple of miles become tire-grabbing, handlebar-spinning monsters to the tired racer. Across the finish line, that shiny finisher's belt buckle shines in your hands. You earned it. —Sydney Fox / Photos by Daniel Dunn

Want more? Sign up for the ultimate mountain bike race at breckepic.com. Get in touch on Facebook and Twitter: Follow the Breck Epic on Facebook and Twitter, and keep pace with your forerunners Sydney Fox (Facebook, Twitter), Nick Truitt (Facebook, Twitter), and Daniel Dunn (Facebook, Twitter).