I think it should be like the Boston Marathon at this point. Even if it’s just showing you’ve completed a race comparable in length or time. I don’t think people should just be able to jump into Leadville with little to no experience.
Yes, I’m salty I’ve never gotten in.
I can see both sides, but Lifetime would likely get grilled if they required people to do a qualifier race. I guess if they allowed non-LT events as qualifiers it wouldn’t look like as much of a $ grab, but I think LT wants to keep events like Leadville and Unbound as inclusive as possible and open to beginners (which gets tough when demand greatly exceeds supply). And those inexperienced newbies are a big part of what makes Leadville and Unbound such a cool events (IMO). You have a legit pro race with world class athletes, a bunch of weekend warriors who take this stuff way too serious (I’m looking in the mirror), and then you have a decent number of folks who are in way over their head and finding out what they are capable of. The people trying to make time cuts and struggling to finish in 11-12+ hours are often the best stories in the race and it can be truly life changing for them. As much as I want my spot in the race, I can’t honestly say I’m more deserving or will get more out of the race than an inexperienced person. And I don’t think the inexperienced folks are creating safety issues, most of those issue come for over-eager weekend warriors.
I get it, but all of the amateur men have an equal chance/opportunity of getting a spot. And technically, the really experienced racers have an advantage since there is a path to get entry if you win your category at a qualifier event.
I’m OK with the lottery. I do think, however, that Lifetime should open up more spots from qualifying races - as this would give more incentive for people to attend a qualifier.
Regarding rider safety, the only crashes I have seen (or the immediate aftermath) have been single rider crashes - where it seems the rider pushed the envelope outside their skill level, or maybe had a lapse of concentration.
Have there been instances where inexperienced riders have taken out a group of others? I haven’t heard of that happening - so can’t say I think there’s a demonstrated need to have some kind of experience requirement.
“There was a meeting between some of the @lifetimegrandprix athletes and the organizers last fall, and among the many suggestions, doing away with drop bars at Leadville had near unanimous support. And, maybe even more surprising to some of y’all, it was @keegels99 (Keegan Swenson) who brought up the consideration of fairness. Getting a drop bar MTB to work usually requires getting an extra frame and going down a size, a luxury not everyone on the start line has…especially younger up-and-coming riders.
On top of that, most seemed to agree that having a mix of handlebar shapes wasn’t that sweet in a peloton going 40mph into a hole shot, and also might not set the best precedent for age group riders and their own bike setup decisions.”
I thought it was safety? Now it’s fairness? Ok.
The end of that statement seems pretty clear to me to be safety related as well.
It can be both.
Leaning on the safety aspect is always a good play. And I’m not implying there isn’t a potential long term safety issue with drop bars, it’s reasonable to think overzealous amateurs might wreck more often on drop bars compared to flat bars. Part of this feels very similar to when they banned aero bars for the pros at Unbound several years ago. It was also spun as a safety thing, but it was mostly just some influential riders who didn’t like aero bars in gravel racing. Whether those riders believed it was about safety or not doesn’t really matter, they had the influence to push for the change. I’m just glad they haven’t done if for amateurs or for the XL event.
And I do believe the bike setup/fairness thing for drop bars is a real factor (probably much more than safety for the pros). Even if everyone had the resources to set up a drop bar MTB, it’s still a pain in the butt for all the teams/riders to dial in the setup, manage/maintain the extra bikes, get some quality seat time to get used to it, etc. The one that has me scratching my head is that I think they are still going to allow drop bars at Chequamegon. If it’s being done in the name of fairness or standardized equipment, I don’t see why that wouldn’t apply to Chequamegon as well. Maybe I’m wrong about Chequamegon, but I think drop bars were only banned for Leadville and Little Sugar.
I’m still not a fan of limiting the equipment choice at Leadville, but if I was the race director at a huge race like Leadville, I’d probably make the same call. I’m just going to miss seeing all the weird setups out there. I had it in the back of my mind that I might try Leadville on my gravel bike at some point (at a very leisurely pace), but I guess it would need to be flat bars now if I do it.
New tires. Dubnital Rapid Trail. Went with the trail casing for a little extra protection. 710g. Bead to bead is 6”. Estimate that these will measure slightly less than 2.3” when mounted on 30mm rims.
These will sit in the closet for a while. The first action they see might be the Silver Rush. Although may run a beefier tire for that, and if so, will put the Dubs on the bike after the Silver Rush.
Have you raced SR before? The downhill is very different than LV100. If you haven’t raced both, my experience is that they are very different races, requiring different tire setups if you’re chasing an aggressive time.
Yep. Have ridden Silver Rush 4x, each time on a beefier tire than Dubs or Race Kings. I’ll be riding Moab Rocks in May on Vittoria Agarros. I may just leave those on for SR.
Is a dropper recommended? I typically keep one on my Epic 8 but considering taking it off for weight savings which is about 1/2 lb. I’ve read several articles that the course isn’t technical, just some loose, rutted descents.
personal choice. There is nothing on the course that would require a dropper, but I still run one to provide more confidence and margin for error on the descents. It’s also a speed boost on the fast road descents (2 long ones and a few shorter sections) since it allows a more aero position.
The descents aren’t technical at normal “riding” speeds, but during a race they are as fast as you want to make them and high consequence if something goes sideways. Powerline descent is the better part of 12 minutes (for me) with much of that at high speeds on varied terrain (rocks, huge ruts, marbles, etc). The extra control on the descents is a good trade off for me compared to the loss of ~1-2 minutes climbing on the day (and my Axs dropper adds closer to a full lb, if yours only adds .5lb, you are under 1 minute in weight penalty).
I debated using my rigid post to save a bit of weight but after running the numbers through bestbikesplit, that small amnt of weight would barely save me any time on climbs (maybe a minute all day). And I figured it would cost me time descending bc of confidence/skill and the aero impact of getting lower with a dropper. I stuck with the dropper and was glad I did. If you are leaning towards switching from a dropper to rigid, be sure to make the change before the race to get used to descending with a high post.
I’ve ridden once with a dropper. Once without. I think the all-in time difference was marginal based on looking at my segment times.
This year, I’m on the fence. I have been flatting a lot over the past couple of years - mainly from riding too aggressively on lighter tires than I should be running for the trails I’ve been riding - so flat prevention is pretty high on my mind this year at Leadville.
If I keep the dropper on my bike, it’ll mainly be to help prevent flats on the fast descents.
Adding: there’s a safety consideration also. The dropper buys you more margin for error when you’re going fast and are tired and not thinking straight. For example - as mentioned up thread - water bars on Kevin’s descent can be dangerous if you’re going and speed and get caught by surprise.
Great question. Yes, highly recommended. 18% of my time was coasting (1h 40m). Nearly all of that was with my dropper down. That’s a lot of time being more comfortable, lower center of gravity, being better able to absorb impacts with your human suspension.
Half pound gains that only have a financial tradeoff is where I’d look if 2-5 minutes is going to make a difference for you.
Ditching the dropper is a very lower reward with a high risk in my opinion.
Depends who you ask. The others have laid out the pros and cons pretty well here. If I were riding an Epic 8 that had a dropper, I would totally just leave it on and enjoy it. I’m on an Epic WC without a dropper and that works fine for me too. But I’m also sorta tall enough to still be able to move the bike around underneath me and I specifically don’t bomb the descents at LV.
It’s my first time doing Leadville, traveling from Ireland and trying to avoid rookie mistakes - and now that I’ve gotten over the shock of getting in after 6 years of applying I’m starting to get my logistics together and thought I’d throw a few of my many questions out to the forum. Sorry for all the questions, I promise I have read through the forum and I’ve pretty much been on a steady Leadville only diet on YouTube but nothing like hearing from riders who have done it before. I’m going to be traveling up in a camper van so hoping I could find a place to camp out of town, anyone done similar?
Congrats on getting in. That’s a good list of questions and I think the preparation/training for leadville can be as rewarding as the race itself. You are somewhat at the mercy of the race once it starts (there are often challenges that can’t be anticipated/managed), so prepare well and manage what you can manage and be mentally prepared to adjust if things go sideways.
We camp in the van on public lands near town. It’s great if you don’t require hookups. We come up for a couple weeks before and move around depending on daily activities (pre-riding course, hikes, etc.).
My wife has always crewed for me, but I don’t think it’s critical at this race. Aid stations are well stocked and fast and so are drop bags. To minimize crew stress, we only crew in a single location (twin lakes alternate), I would not ask a crew to try to travel between spots to meet me. I’ll hit neurtral aid at Outward bound on the way back and sometimes Carter to top off. The other factor with crew vs. neutral is whether you use a hydration pack and how quick you want to make your stops. Refilling a pack is a little slower than bottles for neutral aid. It’s not going to add minutes, but probably an extra 45 seconds or so for each stop and there is risk of having an issue messing with the bladder, etc.. With a crew, you can just swap out packs, no risk and you barely have to stop rolling.
There can be a lot of foot traffic and people on bikes cutting across to their crews. Slow down and keep your eyes on a swivel. Lots of wrecks happen in aid stations. Your brain won’t be working properly, so be hyper-aware when rolling through. Nothing worse than ending your day from a dumb crash in the feed zone. Where you stop depends on your pace. A pretty common strategy is to make the first stop at twin lakes (or twin lakes alternate) outbound and inbound and then top off at Outward Bound on the way back.
For me, the top of columbine and most of powerline can be dark moments. You may feel like your race is falling apart at times, but pretty much everyone experiences that at some point in the day. After 5 starts, the top of Columbine doesn’t even phase me any more despite the crawling pace, but Powerline still takes me to a dark place. Just be ready to experience a bit of darkness and know that it’s temporary as long as you keep pushing.
How much cold can you tolerate? The start is usually pretty cold and you’ll be bombing downhill out of town, but you’ll be hitting the first climb in only about 20 minutes (which will warm you up instantly). I wore arm warmers the first year (maybe 2), but have just gone with pure summer gear since then. The descent out of town is pretty brutal, but it’s usually out of my head once we hit the dirt road (~10 minutes in) and I’m totally warm once we hit the climb. Lots of folks wear arm warmers and vests at the start, I just don’t like screwing with that stuff on the climb. I do always carry a rain jacket, shower cap, and nitrile gloves wrapped up in my downtube storage for emergency weather, but I’ve never needed them.
Not really an “item”, but I do find it’s helpful to remember that it’s just a bike ride. Easier said than done with the build up and energy of the event, but I see a lot of folks out there on edge, yelling at others, etc. It’s a long day, try to take some time to chat with others, take in the views, thank the volunteers, and just enjoy the experience.
I’m a numbers nerd, so I spent a lot of time stalking others on strava to understand required wattage vs. segment times vs. overall pacing to hit target finish times. The first time I raced at Leadville (the stage race), almost all my split times were within a minute of my targets based on the planning I did. Again, it depend on your goals for the race. If finishing is primary goal, probably no need to worry about split times as much as just pacing properly. If trying to sneak in under a tight time goal, it becomes a math problem on how many watts you need to push. It can be an effective carrot on race day, but can also add the risk of blowing up if you can’t sustain the effort.
Good luck on your prep and training, hope to see you out there in the van down by the river or somewhere…
For #3, I’ve done the race only twice. First time used neutral aid stations and no drop bags, stopped three times total, peed all three times and that was a grand total of 5 minutes stopped. The second time, I had help. I stopped only two times, never peed during the race, and that was a total of 4 minutes of stopped time. So even though it sounds like it should have been way faster, it was one minute different. Would I love to have bottle/gel handups at every aid like a pro so I didn’t have to stop at all? Yes. In the end, it is small time diffs for the entire day. The neutral aid is very fast if you’re just pulling in and asking them to fill your bottles.
6/7. For me, the big thing was getting a little too psyched out by the altitude. I did tons of research, listened to everything, and all people say is “don’t go hard, don’t blow yourself up, once you do that, you’ll never come back”. I took that a little too far, rode too easy the first time, and just didn’t empty the tank like I should have. Maybe I’m a wuss, but learning to really push harder is something I’m still working on going into attempt #3 for me. The truth, I think, at LV and what those people are trying to convey, is that you don’t want to be riding at threshold and above very much at all. And these are your adjusted zones. There’s no reason to ever sprint to close a gap or chase a wheel that you shouldn’t be chasing like it’s an XC race. But it should be that high endurance/low tempo all day which is still very hard eventually.
I tend to hit a wall here and there in that section between Twin Lakes and Pipeline. It has happened in both directions in the different years. But I think what I have learned is that the moment I feel like that, I need to eat. Don’t just rigidly stick to your eating schedule if you feel weak for a bit. The effort isn’t consistent all day so it makes sense that certain parts are more taxing. Have the eating plan and schedule, but when I have felt weak, it was temporary and most likely just being low on fuel at that moment.
The leadville podcast with Fatty and Hotty is great. Obviously if you start from the start, there will be some outdated info on there now. But between that and watching youtube videos, I actually knew the course really well before I had ever even been there. And knowing the course sections and order helps because, like a long drive you have done many times, it makes it fell shorter because you can break it into pieces. It is much easier to ride to Carter Summit, then ride to the top of Sugar Loaf, then etc., than it is to be on the start and say, let’s ride 105 miles through Mordor.
Good luck! You’re asking good questions so I think you’ll be fine. And the people on here will have good advice for you as well (outside of myself ;-))
