That just has to have electric assist, right?
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
wow.
Congrats @BCM and all of you guys. I follow this thread because of BCM. I’ve never done Leadville but have learned a lot about it the last few years coaching people up for it. It looks amazing in terms of the setting, but mad respect to you guys for all that saddle time on mountain bikes at elevation. Finishing is an accomplishment, even if you miss your goal time by 2 min or 5 min or nail it. I feel for @Textuality but again, man, great work, great time, nothing to hang your head about there. All of you guys got out there and did it, and that’s more than I’ll ever do for sure.
This thread helps me coach and learn about the event so I appreciate the inputs here guys. Congratulations again!
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Great job everyone!
I had a lot of fun and was on pace and felt great through Twin Lakes return (5:20) but completely imploded an hour later. Had absolutely nothing and limped home for a final time of 9:50. I had to even take two different few minute breaks to compose myself b/c I was starting to get worried that I wouldn’t even get across the finish line but gutted it out. Most of ‘the group’ I spent the first 6 hours with finished between 8:30 and 9:00.
Things to improve in the future! I still think sub 9 is well within my reach.
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Nice job everyone! I mostly lurk but wanted to thank everyone and @BCM for their guidance and preparation leading up to this race. It’s been on my bucket list ever since the TR podcast covered Nate’s race years ago. This was my first year putting in for the lottery and was pleasantly surprised to be picked. I picked the recommended Gran Fondo training plan in a Master’s variant and stuck to it pretty diligently. I lost 15lbs while still increasing power to get myself over 4w/kg for the first time ever.
Long story short everything went as planned yesterday with no mechanicals or issues. A little gut distress during Columbine but it went away by pipeline. I finished in 8:44 and I couldn’t have been happier.
That said, there were a lot of times I was on the ropes out there. The darkest was the last 20-30 minutes of Columbine which felt like a lifetime. I might have shed a couple tears on the descent. Pipeline was it’s own kind of nightmare but I felt the group I rode with to pipeline was very positive and we were joking around so it took the sting out of it. Every climb after pipeline I was just clawing my way up watching my power numbers fall lower and lower. I started worrying how close I was going to cut it. I found 2 more 4-man pace lines in the last 6 miles to help keep me motivated and deliver me to the finish line.
So many times yesterday during the second half that I was revived by the camaraderie of a good group trading pulls.
I see @grwoolf was 2 spots ahead of me! I wonder if he was the strong guy who took off from one of my last pace lines. The guy I’m thinking of even dropped his chain as he was about to pass me on one of the last decents, caught up in no time though.
Photo on the chance anyone reading this was riding with me:
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Oh, and I was just informed I can now say I beat Lance Armstrong in a bike race. 
https://www.athlinks.com/event/219291/results/Event/1064637/Course/2413780/Bib/322
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@Textuality I feel your pain. I turned in a 9:03 finish. I started in the red corral after earning it by just a few min in the Stage Race. Not sure if it was a blessing or curse though. It was great to have the Twin Lakes parking access for my crew, but the pace off the line of the silver/red corral was perhaps a bit too hot for my fitness. I tried to keep it dialed back and race my race, but in retrospect it’s clear that I went out too aggressive.
I’ve never gone that deep in a race before; I left a piece of myself on course yesterday. I never gave up, even when I began to question myself on Columbine. Leading up to the race I read multiple accounts posted by many of you on this thread about feeling like you were out of it at some point in the race, only to later realize that your goal was still achievable. I thought about nothing but that the entire back half of the race yesterday. When I realized I was still on the sub-9 bubble approaching the May Queen climb I found a new part of me that I didn’t know existed. I emptied the tank.
My goal was sub-9 and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed with getting so close and coming up so painfully short. But I couldn’t be more proud of how hard I worked yesterday. Thanks to many of you I raced with the mindset that it’s not over until it’s over. I’ll certainly be back to harvest those 3 min and then some.
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@DR_B Really sorry to hear that, but amazing job all the same. We almost certainly rode together for a while, don’t be surprised if I talked to you at some point, I’m overly chatty!
Ironically I had probably too much left at the end again. I needed to be way more aggressive with my overtakes, moreso on the ups than the downs (I just won’t risk it on the downs any more). I was already 10 minutes off pace by Carter outbound.
Oh, and would be interested in hearing what people learned to take forward.
Mine would be that Maurten definitely works for me as a fuelling strategy, and that I need to remove that stupid goddamn strap from the Evoc bladder as it must have cost me 3 minutes in total getting in the way when I needed to close the bladder up again. I still need to get stronger on the flats, but zero idea how (not that I’m planning on any more races going forward, I’m switching to the longer bikepacking events that suit my stubbornness better).
Oh, and that Race Kings need far lower pressures than the tyres I usually run. They’re super bouncy.
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9:45 here. I knew sub-9 was an ambitious goal for me and would require perfect conditions and a perfect day from me. Was on pace until TL inbound but knew it was over then. My tank hit empty on the death march up the goat trail and I ran on fumes the whole way back. Still glad I tried but it didn’t make the back half much fun. Improved 30 minutes from last years time and almost 2 hours from my 2022 time, so still plenty to be proud of.
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I’ve got so much respect for people that do it multiple years in a row.
I think the 10+ buckle people must have something properly wrong with them though! 
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I’m wondering how many of us were riding together. 8:43:56 for me from Green. I know someone else here recognized me from my stupid fathead poster I posted above and at TL Alternate, but this is me:
I was right around and going back and forth with Rich Froning from Pipeline inbound, ended up in a group with him and some others coming up the boulevard and was able to step on the gas a little and finish strong…
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Forgot to say, I rode with Ty for a while, overtook him back a few times too. lol
He was way faster than me on the downs though.
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That wasn’t me, but I bet we crossed paths a few times. I was in a blue and orange “Bat City” kit, and Unbound gravel socks riding a red Epic. Looks like you were 19 seconds behind me and I was 19 seconds behind @BCM . Not quite the same gaps at the finish line since it’s off chip time, but we must have been really close. If only we had known, we could have gotten a nice TR paceline going.
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Thinking about this race. I think I can win my age group. Seems like corral is very important, so probably good to do the Stage Race. I think I can do it sub 7:30
Questions:
If I do this, do I get an entry for the same year (2025), or for the next year (2026).
Is there a way to guarantee the entry for the same year? (2025)
Thanks
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If you win your Age Group in the Stage Race, then you will get the option to do the 100 either the same year or to defer to the following year.
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Thanks. If I don’t win the AG, but a good corral time, how do I get into LT100 for the next year, lottery or the stage race gives me “rights” for the following year?
There will be a number of coins given out at the Stage Race for each Age Group. The higher you finish the better chance you get a coin, but the number of coins given out has shrunk over the years.
Otherwise to get into the 100 your options are Lottery, Charity Slot, Camp plus Entry, or getting a sponsor slot.
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Thanks to everyone who provided race advice and information. Wanted to have a real good go at Leadville, and it was my first time.
My race went well, with no mechanicals, or major issues. Went 7:06, won 19-29, and got 45th overall. Had a normalized power of 283. Had a strong 2nd half, and no one passed me from the top of st Kevin’s outbound. I think I over-performed what most would expect by getting that time with a 3.5 w/kg normalized.
Might have had a minute or two more speed, but I don’t think sub 7 was on the cards from silver this year. Having a group from gold in the first half might have helped just to move faster on the flats. It’s been cool to see all these big efforts and hear from everyone, regardless of their time. Massive respect for those who suffered through misfortune or pushing their limits. I thought this might be a one and done for me, but I’m not so sure. I’ll have to see how I feel about next year,
For those interested, I think I got about 800g of carbs in for that effort, and didn’t take any for the last 20-30 minutes as there was a carrot I was chasing and didn’t want to come off the gas at all
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Just got back home and read all of the updates from Saturday, congratulations to everyone.
My goal was to go sub 9 from the orange corral but that did not work out. I was on track through Twin Lakes alternate but my back locked up halfway up Columbine and I had to continually get off the bike and stretch my back anytime I was sustained climbing. Stopped at the medic tent for some Tylenol inbound at Outward Bound but that didn’t help much.
Ended up finishing in 9h 42m which I am proud of considering there were multiple times I thought I would not even finish.
I will be back next year as I got a coin at the Tahoe Trail race a few weeks back. Just need to figure out what caused my back to lock up in the next 363 days 
Congrats again to everyone who started the race and to everyone who has shared information about this iconic race, for a first timer this forum was invaluable!!
Christian
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Great job everyone! What a day! Sound like I rode with several of you throughout the day. Finished in 8:46 with just about 5 hours/week average of dad training… Thanks Trainer Road!
For the people that like data: Since I did the race last year with very fast course conditions, I was curious the how much slower the course may have been this year. My NP this year was 11W higher than last year, but finished within 2 minutes of my time last year. 11W difference is about 6%, so we assume that is proportional to time, then I would have finished about 35 minutes faster on the same course conditions as last year… and this isn’t accounting for faster descending and coasting. So if you did the race this year and last year and are disappointed in your time, it’s likely that the course last year was just smoking fast.
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