Thanks for the update. I’ve been hawking this for a while now and it’ll be interesting to see how this unfolds, especially given the rate of containment and how many are in the area working on the fire (over 700). As you pointed out, unless things start progressing more rapidly, the LT100 seems very questionable to me at this point simply due to how many roads are closed and how much of the course is affected by evacuation/pre-evac orders. If much of the manpower and fire fighting assets remain in place, I don’t see them permitting several thousand racers and crew sharing the roads, etc. And while I see your point about not getting to wrapped up about the route, for those of us shooting for a sub-9 finish (or simply checking this off the bucket list), any significant reroute is no longer the LT100 and it devalues the event. In the meantime, it’s taking a different kind of grit to keep the training press on knowing what’s happening out there…
I passed through Leadville last week just to check it out as I was meant to be there for Sugar Rush - I stayed the far side on the mountain in Alma to get some riding in that high and the smoke wasn’t too bad. I rode across Mosquito Pass into Leadville one day and had some lunch and ended up talking to a few locals.
I spoke with someone from USFS at the gas station and he said even when the fire is ‘out’ - they typically have a 2 week mop up process to make sure stumps etc aren’t burning and that a lot of the roads in the immediate area have been heavily trafficked so it’s just a pile of dust right now. There’s going to be a lot of traffic until that’s all done and while they’re getting a handle on things it’s far from out as of today. He didn’t make it sound like the area would be magically opened up within a month so while I’m plugging on with the last of the training, it’s with reduced enthusiasm and trying to redirect my energy to something else if I can come up with something.
It sounds like the fire has created a bit of a debate locally about the race-series going ahead this year and I’m not sure how they hold a successful event when the town is focused on recovering.
Not all locals welcome the influx on a normal year and while many welcome the economic benefits of racers I think there will be a lot of pressure to prioritize safety and treat Leadville with extra care this year if they do pull it off.
Ideally, race gets cancelled and riders and Lifetime cover the economic blow to the town.
Unfortunately no insurance policy, company or charitable corps of athletes can cover $25m in economic activity for Leadville.
What makes Leadville iconic carries obvious risk factors that can’t be fully mitigated.
This is a big deal for the town and locals regardless of where they sit on the benefit of the series.
For those wanting to donate:
Races are on seemingly - per an email from Lifetime this afternoon. Different course and depends on the fire naturally but seems like it’s a green light…
Let’s go!
I know a lot of people aren’t going to be excited about the LT100 happening on a different course, but I’m pretty stoked that races are happening in Leadville this summer. I really thought the Stage Race happening next week was a long shot. This is great for Leadville and the course changes will definitely throw some unknown/new challenges in for the racers.
It will be interesting to see the routes for the Stage Race next week. Hoping that will give us some idea of what we will be doing four weeks later.
Yea, as someone suggested earlier in this thread, I’m wondering if they’re going to leverage off the Silver Rush course to the east of town, which is unaffected by the fire-fighting efforts and heavy traffic on the traditional course roads. Aside from Hwy 24, it doesn’t appear there’s any other way to incorporate Columbine. One can only imagine the planning efforts going on right now behind the scenes at Lifetime…
There’s a lot of terrain to the east of town that would make for challenging riding. And a lot of old mining roads. I’m sure someone who knows those roads well could come up with an appropriate ~100 mile course (or less distance, but equivalent time - as there’s not a lot of flat terrain over there).
One constraint they’ll need to work around is the course will not be able to cross Route 24 - other than early in the morning - as it very hard to get permits to shut down a Colorado State Route. This likely means staying on the east side of Route 24 for the duration of the race. The iconic start at 6th and Harrison may need to move - eg perhaps start/finish is moved to the CMC college campus.
But all-in great news that the event is going ahead. And whatever course they come up with is sure to be a challenge, even if not the traditional route.
Yeah, I figure if the 3 stages of the Stage Race are connected, that’s probably a good indication they are planning to use the same course for the 100. And a lot of people do the Stage race as prep for the 100, so I think LT will try to make them similar. But with 3 weeks between the Stage race and LT100 this year, that does give some time to make adjustments if more of the original course becomes available. I’ll be up there volunteering at the STage race next week, so should get some good intel on what’s happening.
On a related note, the green light for the LT100 gave me a little extra motivation on my over/under intervals this morning. And now it’s off for some easy climbing in the heat this afternoon. Just a few more sweaty/nasty rides in the heat and humidity, looking forward to the dry mountain air.
Going through my ridewithgps data for Leadville and looking at last years course put on there by Tamira. Clicked on her name and saw this activity from last week. Could this be stage 1 of the stage race and the “start” loop for LT100?
Certainly looks like an option they are at least thinking about. Top notch detective work there! Seeing as how the race starts Friday, we should be getting the official route releases pretty quick here either way.
Nice sleuthing! That would be a big stage 1. The 3rd climb is the hardest climb from the Silver Rush.
If this is stage 1, I wonder if they’ll stack 2 other loops in a the same vicinity to get to three stages, or if they’ll send the route in a direction to get some flatter miles in. Maybe an out and back north east from town for stage 2, then a repeat of this stage in the opposite direction for stage 3?
Won’t have to wait for long to find out.
I believe there is still a plan to hit Twin Lakes and Columbine.
Could do for the stage race. For the 100 - Would be hard to do the loop on east side of town, and Columbine. Maybe the three stages for the stage race won’t sum to the course for the 100.
Any insider info on that or is it speculation? I’m really curious what the stage race looks like. If they aren’t trying to design a single course for the STage race and the 100, I could definitely see them doing the normal day 2 stage up and down columbine. It’s a known entity. But I don’t see how columbine is going to work combined with the east side. Maybe it’s all hands on deck to line up the stage race in the best way possible and then start fresh on the 100 course (3 weeks to do it and see how the fire progresses). I don’t see any way that Sugarloaf and powerline would be open, but I guess maybe it’s possible for St. Kevins up to carter and going around the lake on the road.
You beat me to it, totally agree. We should know in a couple days.
Just what I heard from a contact in town. There is also the interview in VailDaily where Tamira talks about a reroute, not a new course. Hopefully we will now by Wednesday at the latest.
That being said, with new trails, would that change the tire setup if the course did take in some of SR50?