Lance & Leadville
So the rumor Snake heard about a month ago is official: Lance will be attempting the Leadville Trail 100 come August of 2007. Surprising & cool. Carmichael’s experience at last years event must have been a good one. Something enough to motivate Lance who I’d imagine has enough on his plate to normally not even notice a race like Leadville. I’m impressed. Leadville is hard. It’s obvious he’s looking for a challenge.
I caught this quote over at
bicycling.com thanks to BJ:
“..It’s a mountain bike race in August held in Colorado called the Leadville 100. It’s about an 8 to 9 hour mountain bike race, mostly on single track that very few people do and even fewer finish.”
For the record, there is about 50 feet of psuedo-single track in that whole race. In fact, it is not “mostly single track”… it’s mostly a road. And a long, painful road at that. With all this, I’m guessing he’ll be doing what he can to put the wood screws to the field and I know at least one guy that might have a problem with that. Jake Rubelt has been at that race for what?… the last 4 years running and he’s not done yet. Of the last few years that he’s focused a significant amount of time and energy to Leadville, he’s come incredibly close to winning each and ever time with the this last year having been one where I witnessed it first hand. All I know is that the guy can, and has suffered for a long time and to see him come out fighting this next year will be sweet. I only hope that he has the ride of his life because if he does, I think he’s got great odds to defy.
Leadville is the original, first to market, ultra endurance event. It’s promoted and managed by the towns-folk and it’s the most “mining-town experience” I’ve ever had on a bike not to mention that it’s one of the hardest races I’ve ever done. I’m not a big fan of hills and if there are roads that climb higher and longer than those in Leadville, I hope I’m never on them. Indeed, if there was any amount of singletrack in that race, it would be all but impossible to finish in a day for most people. With it being fire road and at 10,000 ft, it still takes the winners 7+ hours and the average finish time is around 10 or 11 hours. Fundamentally for most, it is a challenge to finish.
I think it’ll be pretty sweet to see Lance line up with the rest of the working class at this race. It will undoubtedly be hard for him just like it is hard for everyone. And I will still be rooting for Snake because he deserves to win that race like nobodies business. I may even sign up so I can hand him a bottle or take his vest before he drops me on the first hill..