Your list of stuff sounds correct, but really want to make sure they have adequate shade so golf umbrellas may or may not cut it.
Leadville podcast swears by Twin Lakes alternate but my crew always goes to Twin Lakes proper. It’s more of a party atmosphere there which can make it more chaotic, but I think that’s also more fun for the spectators. If you want a calmer, smaller aid station send them to alternate. If they go to main Twin Lakes make sure you roughly know where in the quarter mile or so to look for them and/or make sure they have a sign or something so you can easily spot them in advance.
I only ever do Twin Lakes + neutrals and have never tried to have to have my crew meet me at Pipeline inbound but some others do of course. It’s possible but logistically more complicated so I’d overall recommend not doing that for a first time crew. You either need practice and know exactly where to go or say have your crew split after you come through Twin Lakes outbound so 1-2 of them can go on ahead to Pipeline. The remaining crew would have to take the shuttle back to town.
Your speed of course does affect this since it’s a lot less time for them to beat you to Pipeline if you’re hauling ass. At 2.6 W/kg it’s more doable but still would recommend them to pre-drive to Twin Lakes and Pipeline before race day to know exactly where to be if you go that route.
My overall advice at 2.6 W/kg is to pace smart and have the right gearing. You need to be able to ride all or nearly all of Columbine prior to the goat trail. So that’s probably a 28T or maybe a 30T with a 10-52 if you ride 1x. You don’t need to be hammering the flats, you need to not spend hours walking your bike. When I see people pushing their bike up the smooth dirt road at the base of columbine they’re not making the cutoff.
I know many folks like twin lakes alternate, but I think twin lakes is a better choice if your crew is just setting up shop at a single place (not trying to meet you at pipeline as well). If you are only going to see them twice (outbound and inbound), the regular twin lakes is spaced a little better from a time standpoint. It’s not a huge difference, but I’m really ready to stop at twin lakes outbound and the inbound comes up earlier than I’d choose. It is a long way to the finish from twin lakes outbound. Alternate makes for a longer wait for the outbound stop and then the inbound stop moves earlier for alternate. If your crew is trying to do both pipeline and twin lakes, the alternate stop makes a lot more sense because it gives them a little more time to make the trip between stops.
Your list looks good, just make sure they have sunscreen. Also, some noise makers (cowbells, etc.) can be fun to cheer on the racers (and maybe annoy their neighbors).
My wife crewed for me last year and there was no way I was going to stress her out by asking her to try to meet me at pipeline. The only reason I’d really need her there is if I had a mechanical, but that section of the course is the least likely to have a flat or wreck (knock on wood). As you said, it’s easy to bring enough nutrition to finish the race. If you like a certain drink mix, bring the mix and let neutral support add water. I ran a hydration pack all day, but grabbed an empty bottle with drink mix powder in it at twin lakes and I had them fill it at pipeline. That way I didn’t have to mess with the hydration pack at pipeline. I’ll also slam a coke at pipeline. The pipeline to carter stretch is the toughest from a hydration standpoint, particularly if it’s hot.
It’s nice seeing your crew/friends/family during the race, but there is enough neutral support that you really don’t need a crew unless you have a mechanical issue (and I bet you could get help from others on that as well).
Great info! I’ve done LV before but this is my first time having a crew (of one husband). I’m hoping to make it a fun day for him too, he’s very social so I thought Twin Lakes would be the best location. Question about getting out to Twin Lakes, the latest email mentioned shuttles, does that work out OK? Or what is the parking situation like? I think he’ll only have one small cooler and a backpack.
I think a pop-up shelter / canopy like you’d use for a sporting event is best but obviously bulky so probably a non-starter if you are flying in. My crew is fortunate enough that we merge with another crew of people I know who always brings big shelter so they can huddle under there. Since they’re going to bring chairs regardless, there are camping chairs with built in-canopies that I always have them bring I wouldn’t want that to be your only access to shade, but it’s a hell of a lot better than nothing. I’m harping on the shade thing because the 2 years I did the race (2018 and 2021) were both very sunny and hot years and Twin Lakes is at one of the lower parts of the race. It can get hot there in the afternoon and people will bake in the high elevation.
No firsthand experience with shuttle but for a single person packing lightly I don’t see why not use it. Primo parking fills up quickly at Twin Lakes so if he waits to watch you at the start before heading over there I would expect a modest hike. Then again if he packs lightly that isn’t a big deal vs lugging a ton of gear.
They are really promoting the use of the shuttles this year. Sounds like they have made a lot of adjustments to how they run them and at what frequency, so could be a good option for crew.
Along with neutral aid at Pipeline on the way back, Skratch had a set up their as well and was providing mix to anyone who wanted it. Garmin had a set up with a water station on the paved climb back up to Carter Summit. It was pretty warm last year so it seemed a lot of rider’s were taking advantage of it, although Carter Aid was not too much further up the road. Not sure if either will be back this year.
I rode the Stage Race this past weekend. The course rode really well and seemed a little more packed down this year compared to last. The racing lines are pretty worn in and visible on Powerline right now.
For the Stage Race they did not use the split near the top of Columbine where they had different lines for ascending and descending riders. This is the short section right after the Goat Trail when you are descending. They had opened this last year for both the SR and the LT100. It separated the riders coming up from those coming down through that one rough section. I forgot to ask why it was changed back but perhaps a private land issue? Regardless, the rider in front of me descending was bouncing all over the place and got into the line of the riders coming up forcing them to stop. There was also no room to pass here, but its short and then you get to the much wider open part of the descent.
The short climb right after Twin Lakes Dam as you get through the parking area is still really rocky. Its more of an issue on the descent as multiple folks got flats here. There are some really big rocks scattered in, so have to watch you line. One guy essentially blew up his rear wheel here and had to pick up and run his bike to the finish line at Twin Lakes.
I ran FS two of the days and HT on one of them. I was way happier on the FS and faster too. Managed to make the cut under 8:30 to snag a Big Buckle and Green Corral for LT100.
Getting excited about this. I qualified last November in Austin and cannot believe it’s here. I’ve compared my Leadville time through the corral charts to hopefully give me an idea of what to expect. Does anyone know of any average finish times based on corral position other than the chart from the race organizers? Good luck to everyone heading out!
Congrats! Really enjoyed the stage race this past weekend and am looking forward to the 13th as well. I think i moved up from white to purple, have you heard if they have posted official corral times for the stage race yet?
It’s interesting that the Corral Position based on 2022 SR results is blank on the chart. I hadn’t heard that they were being adjusted so was thinking they would be the same as 2021. I guess we’ll see… They send out an email leading up to the race that has your starting corral and it should be updated based on your Stage Race results.
I’d bet they keep it the same, but maybe they are actually taking a look at the numbers. The stage race corral seeding has been 15-20 minutes generous based on past results, but there have been other qualifiers much further out of whack that were ignored for years. I haven’t really followed it recently, but maybe they are making an effort to better align corral placing.
With the introduction of wave starts, you really want to be in the right corral (not the furthest forward). No benefit to starting with a faster group if you get dropped and end up riding with the folks in the corral behind once they catch you.
I’ve been in Leadville since Friday and have hit pretty much all the course. It’s currently in great shape with enough rain to keep things firm and fast.
Opinion on the White Corral? My guess is that I will be an 11:30+ finisher and for sure not a fast descender. Low risk and keep it rubber side down is my goal. I’m thinking white 3 but being a first timer, really not certain.
If you think you will be able to climb St. Kevin’s (the first major climb), I would suggest trying to line up in the First White Corral. There are going to be quite a few in White who will be pushing on the first climb and if you have the ability to ride it, you’d probably want to be in front of them.
Thought I saw Dylan Johnson out on the road today riding a mountain bike with aerobars. He had a similar set up to win Mohican 100. I was driving to Twin Lakes at the time so didn’t get a perfect look to see 100% if it was him, but it looked like his kit.
Keegan on a drop bar bike would be pretty interesting. Seems to me it would mean he plans to attack early and try and go off the front. With his skills I wonder how much the drop bars would slow him on Powerline descent?
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I did send the obligatory “Please update my corral” email, we will see!
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