No, Leadville overall isn’t as technical as Fuego XL. What can make Leadville feel technical is when you’re pointed downhill and have to contend with random washouts, rocks, and branches,that have been kicked on to the line, as well as riders who have slowed down because of the above. IMHO the most “technical” section is Powerline outbound.
The single track isn’t technical but has a lot of short sight lines and can catch you out.
If you didn’t have any issues on the Sea Otter Course, the only thing you have to pay attention to is how close you are to the limit on the downhills. LOTS of people on the course so holding back just a little bit would be my suggestion.
And pretty good odds you will be walking uphill on the goat trail past the tree line. I don’t recall what corrals have a good chance to ride it, but those chances drop the further back you go. It only takes that first person to unclip and it’s pretty much a done deal for everyone else behind them.
Right on, thank you both for the perspective, I really appreciate it. I can feel comfortable with the whole “let go and let God” approach when I have more clear lines of sight; went into Fuego XL completely blind
This helps confirm some things I need to focus on over the next few months - thanks again!
I would also say that you don’t have to absolutely bomb the descents at LV. You will spend way more time going up than down so climbing faster makes a much bigger difference to your finish time than descending a little faster. Plus, if mishaps happen, they will be on the descents. I don’t lollygag on the downs, but I protect my tires and my body so I can avoid stops to fix things.
If you can pre-ride some of the descents before the race would also help greatly!
To me Powerline is the hardest but you have good sight of everything. The challenge is some of the rocky sections, navigating the rain ruts and the “kitty litter” hard pack for the steep part. I would say the top part of Columbine would also be good to pre-ride, especially with the two way traffic, then either Sugarloaf and St. Kevins inbound.
The short single track section I would not worry about since it is not long and easy to navigate with no surprises. Clavicle hill just prior to the single track to me is harder…but also very short.
Each time I pre-road these sections the more comfortable I got. Also, great advise above on holding back a bit on descents since the climbs are where a lot of time can be made up. Flats will kill your time more than anything…just ask me with flatting on both Powerline descent and Columbine Climb last year
Looking forward to hearing others training updates!
Training update: My goal is to break 9 (after a 9:50 full meltdown last year) so I’ve been really focusing on 3 things for this year.
Nutrition on and off the bike (Last year, off the bike was okayish but still many ways to improve. On the bike, definitely failed)
FTP well above 4.0, is 4.5 a possibility? (Depending on the morning I weighed myself, the final week I was somewhere in the 3.96-4.01 range. That didn’t quite cut it)
Strength in hours 6-9. (My long rides last year should have been telling me that I didn’t have that 6+ hour endurance)
Progress 1: Main thing so far has been moving from ~20 beers a week to 1-5 beers a week. I’ve had some knee pain in the past that has eased and Im guessing the reduced alcohol has significantly decreased inflammation. Cooking dinners at home as well.
Progress 2: Had a nice breakthrough yesterday with an FTP test. Was able to do 4.29w/kg for 20 minutes putting my FTP in the 4-4.1 range. Hoping to add a few more tenths to that in the upcoming months!
Was also one of my best paced FTP tests where I could keep it super steady and just locked in at 99rpm. A good sign compared to last year where my tests would always fall off some during the last 5-10 minutes.
Progress3: Still work to do here. I’ve noticed things get a lot harder on zone2 rides after 4 hours. I think I may just need some 7 hour training rides.
I had my best time trial of the year last week with 3.65 w/kg for 24 minutes. I’m already up at 5k elevation. Had an AI FTP detection shortly after that which labeled my FTP as 3.47.
I’ve just been trying to do the 3 hard TR workouts (usually one VO2, one Sweet Spot or Tempo and one Threshold) a week style of training and increasing volume where I can. I’ve had a couple 4-5 hour rides, with my last one having an NP of 2.5 for 5 hours.
I’ll be doing the Unbound 100 next month. Hoping to get a 6 hour power out of that race so I can start honing in on more of a race pacing plan for August.
Non-training related, I am looking to enhance my brake setup. I am typically a heavy braker on descents. My current setup is a budget tektro one with 160mm rotors so I am doing reserach on that. I don’t want my brakes to give out while tearing downhill. Looking at bigger rotors (maybe Freeza technology), finned pads, etc…
Timing wise, that’s probably an ideal runup if Leadville is your A race. Looks like a really fun summer for you.
I’m doing a repeat of 2024 with Unbound as my A+ race and Leadville A-. Lots of racing leading into Unbound last year and this year, but nothing between Unbound and Leadville. I still did a good bit of volume between Unbound and Leadville last year, but hardly any intensity. That approach translated to good endurance at Leadville and I had a decent day, but felt like I needed more punch. I plan to work in more intervals this year leading into Leadville.
I’ve done the stage race in the past and it’s great prep for the 100, but I just can’t justify the expense of doing both events on top of my other races. Instead, I’ll be up in Leadville volunteering at the stage race and doing some pre-riding before the 100.
Those long DH sections (Powerline Outbound, Columbine Inbound) are most likely to cause “concern” if you’re riding the brakes and start to get fade. That last DH stretch on Powerline Outbound is NOT where you want to have an “ut oh” moment on the brakes.
Incremental changes, pads, rotor size, calipers, levers until you’re confidant in the setup, Or just skill up and get really good at modulating how much heat you let build up in the discs. Actually that should be first, and if you can’t get the hang of it, start looking at those changes.
I’ve been riding for 20 years on the road. I’ve done long mountain descents. I’m familiar with the tricks to prevent heat build up, like alternating, trying to delay the time to applying brakes and coasting when I feel comfortable. I’ve never had a failure, but I’ve also only done long long descents on rim brakes. I know the warning signs there. I don’t know the warning signs on disc brakes and am just trying to play it safe by upgrading equipment. I’ll be out for a preride weekend 4 weeks ahead of the event, so I plan to test my bikes mettle with some bigger discs and non-stock pads then, rather than in the race
It’s pretty common practice for people to use the rear brake more than the front to scrub speed on long descents. Not a problem in most situations, but I always make it a point to spread the load somewhat even front/rear at Leadville. Never had an issue cooking brakes with this approach.
My first year at Leadville, I turned a rear rotor a pretty blue color putting too much heat into it and warped it a little.
Thank you @wik04 & @DamonM for the advice - much appreciated and helps me feel more confident.
Was fortunate enough to get a ~180 mile weekend in this past weekend (~270 mile week), kept my power in check and honestly feel normal and motivated to do my scheduled VO2 session tonight (took Monday off). Maybe this whole TrainerRoad thing does work!
I just finished a 16 and a half hour week on the bike and feel crushed. I capped it with a 6 and half hour ride with a NP 65% (IF ..65) of FTP in 80 degree temps. However, that’s the point I suppose. I will create adaptation to that stress (or get injured or sick).
I stopped using miles as a metric because of the variability. It is all time based and normalized power. I also feel like it is the best way to pace long rides and races especially if your not trying to podium and just want the fastest time possible. Essentially it just becomes a long TT.
If you have good endurance and a lot of experience you can probably do around .7-.75 IF but most people are better off targeting .65-.7 IF. So when I do my long rides I try to target that range. It is very rare that people go too easy on their long rides or races.
Haha not sure the family would allow me that much time away, but fingers crossed I can at least get some 300+ mile weeks peppered across the next few months.
Speaking of distance, what do people suggest is a good aim for distance, either weekly or daily, leading up to Leadville? I know TR says you don’t need to do super long rides to prepare for a race like this but I’d be more comfortable with some long rides in my legs prior to doing the race.
Been putting in some big weeks on the bike this season, about ~230 total hours so far. Also slowly dropping pounds, but probably not going to get QUITE to 3 W/kg by August. Had a 100 mile gravel race a couple weeks ago and was able to do .70 avg (.85 NP) for 7 hours, so that is promising. Honestly hoping to break the 3 W/kg FTP to finish under 12 hours thing I keep seeing all over the internet. I know my fueling and bike will be dialed, beyond that, we’ll see how all that climbing at elevation treats me
out of me with your updates. I won’t get to 4.0 W/kg, I’m too heavy. I’m about 3.5 and need to loose 10lbs.
