Leadville 100 Race Report by Mark Odendahl
The LT100 is a 100+ mile long (more on that in a minute) bike race that starts at an altitude of 10,200 ft above sea level in downtown Leadville and travels out into the Rockies and up to 12,544 ft. There are more than 14,000 feet of total elevation gain on a course that is about 80% rough fire road/double track, 18% pavement and 2% singletrack. It has 3 huge climbs and about a dozen smaller ones. Entry is by lottery – 1500 get in and reportedly over 10,000 entered the lottery to try after last year’s movie. What makes it special is that the entire field starts at once on the out and back course – Tour de France pros and amateurs alike all race together.