Leadville 100 mountain bike race
Leadville 100 – Two years ago, the race was hardly known outside of the hardcore mountain biking crowd. It had earned quite a loyal following, but it was totally off the radar for most sports fans, let alone the mainstream population. But then, Lance Armstrong, who had been out from competitive cycling for a couple of years, announced that he would be competing at Leadville, and the media came down on the event in a frenzy. Lance would continue to finish 2nd behind 6 time Leadville champ Dave Wiens, who became an instant celebrity gaining the title of “the man who beat Lance.”
The Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race happens today in Leadville, Colorado, with more than 1500 racers from 48 states and twenty-one different countries participating in the annual event, which looks to have its deepest field ever, despite the loss of the biggest name in cycling – Lance Armstrong.
The race is actually 104 miles in length, and features an out-and-back format. The route begins and ends at 10,500 feet, but the riders will climb more than 11,600 feet, and reach a peak elevation of about 12,600 feet, while out on the track. The Leadville trail is not the most technical of rides, but the elevation will test the endurance and conditioning of the riders from the moment they kickoff until the finish hours later.
Shortly after that race, Armstrong announced he was coming out of retirement, and in 2009 he came back to Leadville fresh off a 3rd place finish in the Tour de France, and in much better riding condition. The cycling legend then continued to put the hammer down on the mostly amateur Leadville crowd. He ended up winning the race in record time, finishing in just 6 hours, 28 minutes, and 50 second, and just about a half hour in front of the 2nd place Wiens. Armstrong was so dominant, he ended up riding the final 65 miles completely alone.
Lance was scheduled to come back to defend his title, but earlier this week he backed off of the race, citing a lingering injury that he suffered in the Tour de France and wanting to spend time with his kids before they returned to school. But that race still has an unbelievably deep field, including Wiens, who is hungry to reclaim the win. He will be challenged by Matt Shriver, who ended up 3rd last year and Levi Leipheimer, a teammate of Armstrong’s on Team Radioshack. In addition, professional mountain bike riders Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Todd Wells and Jeremiah Bishop are all in attendance for the first time and are hoping to win the race as well.
The race begins underway at 6:30 AM local time with riders trickling across the finish line all afternoon and into the evening.
For race updates, check out the trailer for the film Race Across the Sky a documentary about the Leadville 100.