With registration opening December 3rd and the way other gravel events have been selling out same day… who’s planning on going and who went last year?
My two initial questions are:
Link to main event page:
I rode my Trek Domane with 35mm rear 37mm front. Ideally, I’d be on 40mm+, but but will be riding the same next year - unless I happen to get a new bike!
Cost last year was $200 if I recall.
They’re adding 4 miles to the course. Supposedly single/double track. I haven’t ridden it, but I imagine it’ll be fine for any typical gravel bike.
I’m also putting in for the Leadville lottery, and will likely ride the Silver Rush. So there’s a scenario where I qualify for Leadville also, and end up doing the unofficial leadboat.
Raced on Focus Mares CX Rival 1: 42 up front, 11-32 rear. Would have liked more top end on the flats/descents and maybe an 11-36 for the climbs. Panaracer Gravel Kings SK 38s. Tires felt great, but I’ll be switching over to a file tread for next year and maybe even something slimmer.
If you have any sort of mtb/gravel skills, you’ll drop lots of people on the descents and the new single track for 2020. I’ll be using a vest for 2020 so I can limit my stops. I raced the blue and finished 30th overall/10th age group and that’s with a lot of socializing at the rest stops. Cost for blue was 150 last year but we received a discount last year.
There’s a descent after the Primal fry gulch gravel section that is just the best. Double track. Our main group dropped the field there last year. The last gravel descent is also a blast.
Not sure if I’m doing black or blue.
This is all good to know. Was hoping to squeak away with 32mm but figured that wouldn’t be ideal with the “new” course especially if people were already using wider last year. Would want to do the BLACK course so plenty of hours on the bike to potentially regret my gear selection.
If using my current bike I’d have to take the plunge to 650b’s for appropriate clearance.
And yikes, all these mass start gravel races seem to be $150 minimum
I think you’d be fine on 32s.A lot of the top pros and locals were on road tires, but you know, they’re on another level. But if you already have the tires, maybe give them a try on some gravel. There was only one section of really loose gravel: Primal Fry Gulch and if you weren’t near the front, you never saw the group again. Super loose, not too deep, but you want to be in the ‘line’. The sweet spot was in the gutter into the grass/ditch. Rest of the course was pretty tame.
As for the prices yeah. They sell out fast and are not cheap. Super inclusive am I right?
FWIW: Land Run was only 85$.
Okay, nice to hear this perspective. I have some GravelKing SK 32’s that I’ve dabbled with but on nothing too wild or loose though. Don’t really want to get new wheels for the upcoming season so I might just give 'er a go on more terrain.
And yeah, the prices and immediate sell-outs that eventually lead to a lottery system are not the most encouraging. Would like to attend a lot of these events but between varying gear needs per event, travel, lodging, and entry fees it stacks up no doubt.
It’s a level playing field but sadly I don’t have an arsenal of bikes/gear on standby for all the different demands of these races.
You could ride it on 32s, just would need to slower on some of the descents, and wouldn’t be as comfortable over the duration of the ride.
Makes sense. Would be rocking my 2020 Specialized Roubaix so hopefully helps compensate some of that discomfort of narrower tires.
Can’t the Roubaix fit more than 32mm?
Specialized claims clearance of up to 33mm but I haven’t tried beyond that limit. Curious to see if anyone has; I think I recall someone doing 35mm of the GravelKing SK’s
Buy a few tires and check it out. I’d bet the schwalbe 35mm G ones would fit - in particular in the front.
Registration opens tomorrow at 7 a.m.
Just took a look - Black Course goes at $225 before fees/taxes … OUCH
Leadville is $475! These races are designed to be “destination” events I.e. not just a race you do on any given weekend, so I guess the organizers take advantage of that. If you’re going to be making a trip/vacation out of the race, $225 doesn’t seem so much in comparison to flight, hotel, rental car, etc. etc.
Add to that the target market being mamils and they (we?) have plenty of money to burn on stuff like that 
Had planned to try and grab a slot, but Kid #2 will be going off to college somewhere around then…hasn’t picked the school yet so don’t know for sure when we need to drop her off, so unfortunately I’m gonna have to miss it.
Ahhh this is very true. I guess it’s different for those who live out west and could ride these roads any given weekend for free.
It seems it’s just a small percentage of people that want to “race at 100% effort” aside from the sponsored athletes that are likely having entry and commodities taken care of.
That’s where I and some other guys I know struggle with the idea of paying these high entries where perhaps only 10-25% of the field is there to go empty the tank vs. have a fun, challenging ride in a beautiful location.
that filled up quick…
I’m surprised it was open as long as it was…20+ minutes after it opened you could still grab a slot. I thought it would sell out immediately.
Ditto. I expect a lottery or other setup next year (2021), that follows the other “popular” events with rider count caps.
1100 people registered yesterday via discount codes/early registration Mark sent out to teams and also from people who raced last year.