I’m going with race kings, but made a late decision to run an insert in the rear. I just installed it, have never run inserts in anything. I just get nervous about banging a rim and pinch flatting on one of the descents. Figure I’ll give it a try pre-riding in leadville this week and roll with it if I don’t have issues. It’s only ~60grams, so hard to go wrong unless I end up having to screw with it during the race.
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I am running an insert in my rear tire for the first time this year. A Vittoria airliner light. You won’t notice it until you hit something hard and then the impact feels muffled. So you only notice it when it’s working - which is good.
Only downside to inserts is when you get a mondo sidewall slash and need to not the tire. Insert kind needs to come out… Most of the time
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Watching some longer videos from prior years, OMG so many people walking up Columbine.
Is the only way to avoid that particular hike is to be at the front of Blue and rail Powerline descent or be in a better corral?
Probably more import than where you start or how fast you go down powerline, your overall pace will dictate whether you are in a conga line on columbine. Usually the faster folks are in the earlier corrals, but not always. That congestion point starts ~48 miles into the race, so at that point everyone has had plenty of time to get in front of traffic if they have the legs. If you are riding ~9 hour pace from any corral, you should be fine. If you are riding ~11 hour pace from any corral, you will be stuck in traffic on Columbine. At ~10 pace, that’s where you might be on the bubble for the conga line depending on what corral you start in.
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In my experience if you want to avoid getting stuck behind walkers on goat trail you need to be at the front of Red or above, forget about it Blue.
Outside of the first few corrals or absolutely railing it from the start it’s a matter of when not if you get caught in the Conga. If you are a strong rider you can get out ahead of the worst of it at least.
So change into more comfortable conga line shoes before the walk starts?
Well, don’t wear road shoes and HTFU 
It is worthwhile seeing how comfortable and walkable your shoes are, but it’s not like you’re doing a marathon in them.
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What’s your projected finish time and goals for the race? My first reaction to changing shoes is that sounds overkill, but thought about it a bit more.
My first year at the race I had no time goal other than to finish. I didn’t follow a formal training plan, didn’t do any course recon. Just showed up for the experience. I knew I was going to be walking some but was surprised by how long the conga was. I wore more walkable MTB shoes and they were good for the hike.
The 2 years that I trained for sub-9 I wore gravel shoes. There’s some hiking around the sub-9 pace, but not much so those shoes were fine.
If you are going to be around 10-11 pace you are going to be in full conga so changing into more walkable MTB shoes at Twin Lakes might not actually be a terrible idea. I don’t think it’s going to save time per se, but it could improve your comfort vs wearing something ultra-stiff like gravel shoes.
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Yeah I currently wear Bont Vaypour-G which are surprisingly more walkable thank Shimano XC-9’s
Im not shooting for sub 9, but I am and will be training with a coach and will do recon or the camp, plus 3 weeks at altitude prior.
Conga or not I have a lot of work to do between now and next August.
Rode during the Stage Race this weekend. Course has been pretty dry and gotten sandy in spots to the point its filled in some areas between the rocks. The past few times I’ve riden there seemed to be more loose rocks in many of the sections. Clavicle Hill seem almost completely smooth. The dirt section of the Boulevard leading to that last steep rocky climb is completely dry/no puddles at all. If conditions stay like this it will make for a good LT100.
FWIW, I noticed Sofia running Tracer 47s on Day 2. Didn’t get a chance to see if she used them again on Day 3, but wouldn’t be a tire I would recommend for amateurs…
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Is it better to put in more power in the first half, or go at an even pace to finish sub 9? Wouldn’t even pacing be faster? Some Strava rides and the article below makes me wonder. It looks like Marvin was close to threshold on the first two climbs, then tempo for the rest of the first half. The second half looks like high Z2. Are riders just pushing hard to stick with the faster group?
@Jonathan just did an episode of the LT100 podcast with Fatty & Hotty, and seems to be a fan of going out slower to finish faster and staying well below altitude adjusted Threshold.
Let’s see if I can go from memory. His FTP was 305 in Reno, 320-325 at sea level, 250-260 at 10,000’. He was advocating climbing at 220, pushing the flats at 200. Finishing NP 70%-75%. All ballpark numbers.
His time was around 8:15, I think weight around 155#, and is an elite descender though, probably as good or better than many of the pros there.
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A lot of what I’ve read and from the pros I’ve talked to is that pushing at the begging is exactly that, being in a fast group at the bottom of Powerline, which in turn puts you in good shape to manage the rest of the effort for the rest of the race and avoid the conga line up Columbine.
I’m not sure that this is the best for most of us though. Pros are racing a different race and racing for position, not against the clock. If you blow yourself up early trying to stay with a group that’s faster than you should, you’ll pay for it in the second half of the race.
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100% agree. It’s a different race at the 6 hour pointy end.
At what time target does the conga start? Riders shooting for 8 hrs? Later? 9 1/2 or 10?
Also just because one gets stuck in the conga doesn’t mean a 9 hour time target is blown as long as you’ve got some left in the tank?
There is no way I would recommend going faster harder at the start of any ultra distance event unless you are really racing for the win and needing to drop competition, then all bets are off.
We see a whole bunch of people who DO that, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea at all. I always relate stories of marathon runners (only 3ish hours) who go out flying hoping to “bank time” and then end up losing 40 minutes on the back end because they’re walking. And by “flying” I mean like 15s/mile faster than what they’ve trained for. Can’t tell you how many people I pass late in races who blew themselves up early - same applies to a lot of long climbs and ultra distance events. It doesn’t take much to overcook yourself early and not know it until 7hrs in.
Many times, people overestimate how strong they are based on how good they feel and how amped up they are.
@BCM has it right, IMO. Negative split by NP/AP if you can, stay well below threshold as much as possible. .7-.75 IF for the duration, again, IMO.
Events like this, it should feel TOO EASY for the first few hours IMO.
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Take this with a grain of salt: I haven’t raced the 100 yet, this will be my first. I have ridden the entire course in camp. I’m targeting Sub 9, but I’m right at the “bubble” where I need a good day to make it happen, and no issues (4w/kg). Starting from the purple corral. I’m at elevation now and will have 12-13 days pre-race to acclimate. There are parts of Columbine Goat Trail and Powerline that I’ll be walking.
Everything I’ve heard about the “Bad” Conga Line is 10+ and the back corrals. Also, The distance from Powerline to Pipeline where drafting has the biggest impact isn’t THAT long. You don’t want to be too far forward where you have to put out too much power to stay with a group. You want to catch a group, but you want to catch the RIGHT group.
For me, I’m feeling like where I want gas in the tank is for Powerline inbound. You can literally lose a TON of time there if you’ve gone too hot.
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Lots more stories of people completely blown by that point than those of frustration with the conga.
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Thanks for all the feedback on pacing. It just confirms my suspicion on starting hard. Saving energy for Powerline helps put things into perspective.