Leadville 2021 Thread

[johnlabadia]

Thanks for all of the info! I dont really know the course at all, so I do find the Climb Pro feature (I use 3s power/HR there) and the ‘upcoming bend’ warning handy as well.

I’ll probably swap AP for NP… .that seems to make more sense. I do have cadence up there too. I prefer to spin, and I noticed when on some of the climbs at my natural 85ish rpm, I was way to high on power. I had to dial back cadence to 60’s to keep power in check. I actually swapped to a 30t from a 32t because of that. I prefer to spin, and I think the trade-off will work better for me.

[jmm]

FYI - 2021 course changes are posted on the LRS website.

[Jeramy]

Also - Wave Starts this year as suspected

[grwoolf]

Thanks for posting. I just gave it a quick review.

They are bypassing the private land between twin lakes and columbine. They are using the detour that folks typically use when pre-riding that stretch. It’s about 2 extra miles each way compared to the old race day route and it’s reasonably flat (for leadville) gravel roads. They are reducing a couple miles at the top of columbine with an earlier turn around, so you won’t go all the way to the cabin. Turn around will be at 51.8 miles, so my math says it’s about 1 mile before the prior turn around. That will eliminate the little kicker out of the feed zone heading back, but I think the turn around is still after all the significant climbing. Then, it looks like they are eliminating the single track return section to avoid the leaders running into the back of the race on that section (would have been a bigger problem with wave starts).

Overall, it’s adding a mile to the race and they say about 122’ of climbing also added. When I first heard of them possibly bypassing the public land, I was pretty concerned because that’s ~15 minutes extra for those 4 miles. Giving back 3 of those miles elsewhere softens it a little. With 2 of those miles at the top of columbine and a little bit of climbing involved, it might all balance out as reasonably close on time. I’ll be looking for every minute out there, so I’m hoping it’s not adding 5+ minutes to the course. We’ll see.

The painful part will be having the adjust my pacing sheets for mileage and target times. Shouldn’t be too bad since it’s all the changes are between twin lakes outbound and pipeline inbound.

[grwoolf]

@Jeramy

Also - Wave Starts this year as suspected

I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing for finish times, but I’m going to say “good” for anyone who qualified for an appropriate corral.

If you are a strong person sitting in the last (white) corral starting almost 20 minutes back, this could definitely cost you time without the ability to get in front of others before the climb. I’m hoping it will make the start of the race safer without so many people trying to move up. It will certainly be motivation for people to do qualifier races in the future, so that’s more revenue for Lifetime.

I’m in green and I expect it will take an extra minute or so for my group to get to St. Kevins (compared to prior years with all the big engines at the front), but that’s a fair tradeoff if it makes for a safer and less stressful start.

The wave starts are staggered at 3 minute intervals. I wonder how many early day heroes will be going all out for the first 30 minutes trying to leapfrog to groups up the road.

[Kuttermax]

Here is the info copied from the email to the riders:

Wave Starts

In order to spread riders out, reduce bottlenecks and increase safety on the course, we will be utilizing wave starts in 2021. This is a significant change from the mass start in the past, so please take note of your assigned corral and start time!

Wave starts will take place as follows:
Wave 1: 6:30AM - Gold AND Silver
Wave 2: 6:32AM - Red
Wave 3: 6:35AM - Green
Wave 4: 6:38AM - Purple
Wave 5: 6:41AM - Orange
Wave 6: 6:45AM - Blue
Wave 7: 6:49AM - White

IMPORTANT Course Changes

We will be making three changes to the LT100 MTB course. Please view below.

~ 43 Miles / 59 Miles - Riders will exit the trail, turn left towards Lost Canyon road and then turn right back towards the powerlines, taking the powerlines to FR398 (Lost Canyon) before heading up to Columbine. Riders will use the same route in reverse inbound.
Why? This ensures that we are not encroaching on private property.

~ 51.8 Miles - Columbine Turnaround - Athletes will turn around before the cabin at a larger area.
Why? This change will ensure we are not adding substantially different mileage, potentially jeopardizing 9-hr and 12-hr buckle cutoffs. Additionally USFS has new signage limiting vehicles near the historic turnaround. Lastly, the area is larger and allows for a more natural turnaround.

~ 68 Miles - County Road 10 - Riders will stay on County Road 10 for approximately 0.75 miles before turning left on CR136, taking a right on to Trail 1306 at mile 70.4.
Why? This allows for no head-on congestion on the single track from inbound leaders and outbound riders near the back.

Course Stat Comparisons:
2019
Map Information
7441 103.8 miles
12,601 Highest point
13,050’ Elevation gain

2021
Map Information
104.8 miles (+1 mile)
12,516’ Highest point (-85’)
13,172’ Elevation gain (+122’)

Course Cut Off Times

All course cut offs are based on gun time (6:30 AM). All course cut offs will be increased by 15 minutes to accommodate riders starting in later waves.

Outbound
10:45AM - (4 hours 15 minutes) Twin Lakes – mile 40

Inbound
2:30AM - (8 hours) Twin Lakes – mile 60
3:30PM - (9 hours) Pipeline – mile 73
3:30PM - 9-hour cutoff time for the Big Buckle
6:15PM - (11 hours 45 minutes) Carter Summit – mile 91
6:30PM - 12-hour final cutoff time for completion of the race.

[trailhead]

I’m very happy about this - got a green corral and like to start not all-out, so this should suit me very well.
I could see some people trying to jump to a group ahead, but 3 mins is a lot of ground to cover on decently fast groups I think.

[Reganm1]

Looks like we will skip brutal bill on the way home … that’s nice and not climbing out of columbine aid will help…

[grwoolf]

Is “brutal bill” the super steep/loose kicker that many (me included) have to hike the last little bit? I thought that was called “little stinker”, but not sure. I’m guessing people have a bunch of names for some of these course sections. I’d definitely be happy to skip that. No big loss on the single track, it’s a tough place to pass if someone is struggling to climb on the way back.

[grwoolf]

@trailhead

I’m very happy about this - got a green corral and like to start not all-out, so this should suit me very well.
I could see some people trying to jump to a group ahead, but 3 mins is a lot of ground to cover on decently fast groups I think.

I’m with you on that. I’m sure there will be some folks going all out at the start from green. I’m hoping they will drag the rest of us to the bottom of Kevins before they blow

[Dennis]

So I got put in white. I’ve never done it before and they didn’t have anything to go off of, so understandable I guess… but should I try to get bumped up? I’m just trying to go have a good time and sub 12 first time event.

[grwoolf]

The only way to get bumped up is to do a qualifier, so it’s probably too late for that unless you can make the stage race next weekend. If you are targeting sub 12, you will be totally fine in white. Being slowed down by traffic early can be a positive since many folks go out too hard. It’s a long day. That said, try to get toward the front of your group before the first climb if you have the fitness. There will be some walkers on St. Kevins in the white corral and you don’t want that kind of pacing control.

[Dennis]

Having never done it, pacing is my biggest question. I’m totally fine going for sub 12. I have the same power profile as a guy that posted a big write up of doing it sub 9, but he had done it before and had a week climatizing. Also I have a couple friends with me that probably can’t make sub 9.

[tgarson]

As @grwoolf said there’s not much you can do at this point. Corral placement is based on completing an official qualifier or the previous year’s LT100. If you don’t do a qualifier, you go in White.

There will plenty of other people in the same boat though. It’s not just “slow” people at the back. One extreme example is Ty Hall who deliberately starts last place and raises money for charity based on each person he passes. He typically finishes in about 8.5 hours.

[Dennis]

Do any of you have a good solution for two water bottles on a full suspension bike? I really don’t want to wear a backpack if I don’t have to but I’d rather prefer two bottles I think. One for sports drink another just water. … with maybe something added.

Also, just curious, what specialized training block did you all pick to train for Leadville? Not that it matters now… no time to change and make any adaptations but I’m just curious. I put in the mtn bike climbing race. In retrospect I’m not sure the workouts really are what Leadville needs but I’m not thinking it was a necessarily a bad choice.

[MI-XC]

@Dennis

Do any of you have a good solution for two water bottles on a full suspension bike?

[grwoolf]

@Dennis

Do any of you have a good solution for two water bottles on a full suspension bike?

My low tech approach that allows 2 large bottles-

Zip tie an additional cage on the top tube. I’ve been using this approach for years and it works very well. I added a rubber band on the extra cage because the bottle would have a tendency to scoot forward on chunky stuff. I drink out of the lower bottle and then swap the top to the lower when needed, so I only have to mess with the rubber band once and it’s not really needed for the empty bottle. For mounting, I put a section of bar tape between the frame and cage to protect the frame and also give a little non-skid effect so it stays in place. I’ve never had any issues with it moving. I actually wrecked once with it on and my leg broke the cage, but the cage never moved. It’s not going to win you any style points if that’s a concern, but you can see I don’t care about that (the mini pump won’t be the only thing taped to my frame on race day).

[tgarson]

Also, just curious, what specialized training block did you all pick to train for Leadville? Not that it matters now… no time to change and make any adaptations but I’m just curious

XC Marathon mid volume with some deviations to get some longer (albeit less structured) rides in on weekends. That’s just what plan builder put me on and honestly I didn’t look at the others to see if one might be better. Probably should have done that.

As for bottles, the solution that @MI-XC posted looks interesting. I tried a few others and never found one that didn’t bother me, that was a huge driver for me getting a FS with space for 2 in the triangle a few years ago and have never looked back. Before that, I just gave up and rode LT100 with a pack. That was preferable to me vs the dual bottle hacks I tried at the time but of course it’s subjective.

[Dennis]

Not much time left to fiddle with things and experiment so I think I’m just going to wear the pack but not fill the water as full as I can. No need to carry extra weight in the back. But I think I may get a super small waste pouch that I can put some easy to grab snacks in so I don’t have to remove the pack or stop while riding to eat. If I can just refill at the aid stations fast enough should be good to go.

Do those get backed up much? I suppose if you’re a super fast dude no problems but if you’re starting in the back and just going for sub 12… hmm.

[tgarson]

Do those get backed up much? I suppose if you’re a super fast dude no problems but if you’re starting in the back and just going for sub 12… hmm

Not in my experience. I’m not super fast, but have never started in White either. I’m in Green this time. Last time I was further back but can’t remember which.

Last time I didn’t stop outbound until Twin Lakes where my crew was. That was around the 3 hour mark that year. I swapped my pack bladder, then stopped there with my crew again on the way back which was a bit less than 3 hours later. I stopped at an aid station somewhere on the way back in after and it was basically empty. The race is really strung out by that point usually.

Overall though I’d have no problems with using only aid stations and having no crew based on crowdedness, but the big compromise is you get what they have and not your own hydration mix.