Will it though? I’d assume all the lifetime Grand Prix series riders won’t be concerned at all about what he does. They’re going to be worried about other series riders.
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Yes. People will use him to compare to people like Kegon. Try to see if they hold close. Granite, I feel like Kegon proved that the GP is legit when getting 5th at gravel worlds against the likes of Wout Van Aert while crashing and not having the big teams behind him and being in Europe. Also winning a worlds…..But people will refuse to accept that America has top-level racers that don’t have to race in Europe.
If it does rain it will make it more challenging in terms of flats. The dry dusty conditions the last few years were a little easier on tires.
Really? I have only ever been at the pointy end of the 50. So dust was never a big deal. But I figured that the lack of dust would improve visibility and thus lessen flats. Would it not also slow speeds down and thus make it harder to flat by hitting rocks at slower speeds.
Also does anyone know what kind of pace the front of the non elite will run. Just curious for plans of pacing and how long I should try to hold on, or if I should just let them go from the gun.
I did the 50 last year and it was really dusty. Very hard to see in the trees with the sunlight giving off a strobe light effect and dust. I hit way more potholes that I should have seeing as I’m not on the pointy end of the race. With the rain forecast, it will make things interesting this year in terms of flats. I’m running Maxxis Ramblers 45. Those have served me well the last two years.
Nice. I am running Pathfinders in 42 (blow out to 45). They have served me amazingly and never failed on the course until… pre-ride last Saturday, of course. So I robed another one of another bike and now we just pray. Maybe if it rains people will be more willing to call stuff out or something. Who knows.
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Rain washes away the fines. No fines means more pokey sharps. The more run off, the more fines get washed out.
If it was me racing I’d make sure my tires had some lug to them. Panaracer GK X1+ would be my choice.
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The winners were just under 19mph last year in the 100. But it’s less about overall pace and more about hanging on the punchy climbs. There are a couple small pavement climbs before you get to the dirt. If you are good at punchy climbing, it shouldn’t be an issue staying connected. They didn’t go that hard last year, but hard enough that it ripped things apart pretty good (and I didn’t try to hang). The first really selective point is about 12 miles in with the first sketchy downhill, turn at the bottom, following by a sharp climb. It’s a bit of a gamble trying to hang early, but I’d say go for it if punchy climbing is your thing. The really selective stuff doesn’t happen until the middle section of the race when people are getting tired and the groups just get smaller and smaller. Even if you get dropped at that point, staying with a fast group for the first 40-50 miles can bank a lot of time. A decent strategy as long as you are leaving enough in the tank for the second half. I rode pretty conservative last year and averaged right at 17mph and finished 50th. The group I was in passed up a lot of riders late who went out too hard. I rode the course today, I forgot what a beat down those climbs can be as the day wears on.
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I was going to do the 100 but crashed out in a race this past weekend and broke my collarbone. Supper bummed.
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Great to know. Rn my the 3h mark is my limit kinda. Basically, no matter how easy I go, at 3h my body starts to feel tired. Haven’t have much training past 3h so who woulda guessed it lol. Sounds like ill just go all out for 3h then die on the way back.
That sucks, wishing you a quick recovery.
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I might defer if rain forecast holds.
As for pace, I can say a negative split was the way to go for me. I passed so many people, especially the last 10 miles, who blew themselves up on the first 30mi climbs.
But seriously, leave something in the tank. It sounds like you know these roads well, so I guess you know what you are in for. There is just no easy way to get around that course, so not having some watts for the second half could make for a very long day.
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In my experience around bentonville, it takes rain pretty well (within reason). It will be messy if it rains, but the roads don’t really get muddy or slick like in the midwest. It’s all rock. I’m kind of a fan of racing in the rain as long as it doesn’t become a safety thing or freezing cold. You kind of get that spring classics vibe.
Yeah. Lol. I am punch but relitivly good on the flats. So I am kinda just planing on drilling the first 3h. Then accepting tiredish legs and getting aero for the latter half as I can usually cruise at a relatively high speed and recover when down and aero. (Think 23ish in bottom of zone 3 on road) so we shall see. I have raced enough to know what Drilling it within my limmits of a 100 mile race is.
The course will be fine. I’ve ridden a lot of the roads in the literal pouring rain. Like so hard that you can see about 15ft ahead and nothing else. Admittedly, I was off the front by myself when I was doing it, so group dynamics may be a problem. But you will just have a little bit of spray. No real mud. Just dirty watter if that makes since.
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I pre-rode the 100 course today. I had planned to hit the first ~40 miles and then turn around, but felt good at that point and decided to push on. I’m here to ride all week (the race is just a bonus) and it was a beautiful day. I had forgot how hard the middle part of that course is, but it was mostly a good day.
A few take-aways - The course is dry, similar to last year. It will be a dust fest early unless we get some rain. There was a lot more pavement and smooth sections than I remember (funny how you only remember the bad stuff), but plenty of chunk and loose stuff also. The early and later parts of the course are much smoother than the middle section. There is a longish crazy steep climb with about 22 miles to go that I’m pretty sure wasn’t there last year. I was pretty tired at that point and didn’t even try to ride it, but I’m not sure I could get up that hill even when fresh. Really loose and steep, I couldn’t even keep my footing at times. It’s got me considering swapping to a 40t chainring just for that hill, that might give me a chance with my 10-52 in the back. I’m not sure if it’s steeper than the first part of powerline at leadville, but it’s close and way harder technically with the loose gravel.
Also, for anyone pre-riding this week, there is a new section of the course that enters private property and it was a bit of a cluster today. I think it was around 72miles in with a gate and sign saying no trespassing. At first, I was going to divert around it, but it would have required jumping on a highway that I wasn’t sure was safe for riding. After riding around a bit to confirm that was the turn, a kid pulled up on a 4 wheeler and let me through the gate. His dad had told him people wouldn’t be coming until saturday, clearly there is a disconnect since lifetime published the route and the kid told me others had come by. Anyway, I went through the gate and tried to follow the route and there were more gates, a paved path with weeds as tall as me, and finally a locked gate at the end that was about 10ft tall (at the bottom of a hill I had to climb back up from). I like a little adventure, but I was running tight on daylight at this point and didn’t need the extra exploring time. I found an unlocked gate on an alternate route that got me back on the original route, so all turned out fine. If you are pre-riding this week, I would just take the highway if that gate isn’t open. Honestly, I kind of wish they would just route the race on the highway, that entire area was a mess, riding through fields and weeds.
This is where the route wants you to turn. I’m from Texas and we go through cattle gates all the time, but not when there are multiple no trespassing signs.
The route goes on this road, I assume they will either change the route or mow before race day. It doesn’t look too bad in the pic, but it’s borderline unpassable while just crawling along trying to find a path through the weeds.
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Yeah. The middle section is rough. Have you ridden the single track towards the end? Its what the 50m went up last year. I think if you are a skilled descender, it may be a good place to break from a group. As you pop out, descend a little bit, then hit a short punch of a climb. Good luck, y’all.
It appears there is more road than last year. Plus a shorter course will probably mean Big Sugar records.
What kind of gearing are you running?
I am running a 1x 46t chainring w an 10-44 cassette and while parts were a grind, none of the stuff I pre rode was unrideable and I probably wont need more gear at race pace.
yeah, that was a nice addition. Not at all technical, but fast. The only card I had to play at big sugar is to play the attrition game. I haven’t done a v02max interval since May and haven’t really trained at all since July, so I’ll be sag climbing at my own pace and then reeling things back in after every climb (at least until people get tired and stop crushing the climbs). Probably not the most efficient approach, but worked surprisingly well last year with similar fitness.
I’m running a 42t chainring and 10-52 cassette. Other than that one crazy hill, it felt really good today and I was just rolling easy. I could probably go with a bigger ring, but I don’t think it really buys you much on this course. I ran a 38 w/ 10-52 last year (max ring on my mtb) and never felt like the gearing hurt me. I have a 40t chainring with me and might swap to it for that one crazy hill, but I honestly think I’ll probably be walking that hill regardless of what gearing I have. Maybe it will be better on race day if a line wears in a bit, but it was crazy loose today.
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