Race Across The Sky 2010 Trailer

With the 2010 Leadville 100 mountain bike race behind us, we can all now look forward to this year's edition of  the Race Across The Sky movie from Citizen Pictures. The video below is a sneak peek at what we can expect from the film, which is scheduled to be available to hit theaters November 4th. Do to scheduling conflicts, I didn't have the opportunity to see last year's edition of the movie, but I'm hoping to catch it this time out. Looks great!

Thanks to Ultrarob for the tip!




Race Across The Sky 2010 from Citizen Pictures on Vimeo.

Rebecca Rusch Shares Her Leadville 100 Experience

Last Friday we had a video from Specialized rider Todd Wells, who shared his thoughts on the recently completed Leadville 100 mountain bike race. Today, we get a different perspective from another rider, sponsored by Specialized in the form of two-time defending Leadville champ Rebecca Rusch, who has earned the moniker "the Queen of Pain" thanks to her ability to suffer while racing.

Some of the best parts of this video for me were watching Rebecca go through her pre-race preparations, getting her food ready, going through the medical check, and so on. Before the race got underway, she mentioned that she would like to go after the course record, but everything would have to come together perfectly for that to happen. When she crossed the finish line for her second straight title, in just two tries, she ended up smashing the old record by more than 30 minutes.

Leadville 100 Ultramarathon is Tomorrow

The fun and games continue in Leadville tomorrow, as the dust has barely settled on the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race, which was run last weekend, and tomorrow top endurance athletes taking the line for the Leadville Trail 100-mile Run, an ultramarathon that uses a similar route, and shares the 50-miles out and back format.

Much like its mountain biking counterpart, this trail run features all kinds of challenges, including plenty of climbs and thin air. The foot race begins at 9200 feet and climbs as high as 12,600 feet at Hope Pass, with most of the route taking place over forest trails and along mountain roads.

The ultra-run will get underway tomorrow morning at 4AM local time. Those that finish within 25-hours will be awarded a massive belt buckle that proudly proclaims their feat. There is a 30-hour overall cut-off that all runners must meet, which ends at 10AM Sunday morning. If they haven't reached the finish line by then, they'll be picked-up from the course.

Good luck to all the runners. Have an amazing time, and don't forget to enjoy the view!

Todd Wells Shares His Leadville 100 Experience

Over the past week or so, I've written several posts about the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race, which took place in Leadville, Colorado last weekend. The event has earned itself quite a reputation, and garnered a good deal of media attention in recent years thanks to the growing number of professional riders who now participate in the ride. One of those riders this year was Todd Wells, who finished third in the race and shared his experiences in the video that I've posted below.

The video not only gives us a glimpse of what it was like for Todd, but also what the race is like in general. He talks about battling the course, dealing with the altitude, and the quick pace from the time the gun sounded, with interesting perspectives about how a race like this differs from a pure road race or cyclocross event. Good stuff!

Thanks to my friends William and Kate for sharing this on Facebook. I know you were both on hand in Leadville last weekend, and I hope you had a great time!

Leadville 100 Results: Levi Wins in Record Time!

The 2010 Leadville 100 mountain bike race is now behind us, and by all accounts it was another great event this past weekend. In fact, I'd say that it was so good that no one really missed Lance Armstrong being there, although I'm sure plenty of us would have enjoyed seeing him go head to head with the winner who ended up being Levi Leipheimer, Lance's teammate on Radioshack.

Levi ran such a good race he even broke Lance's course record set just last year. The winning time for the 2010 event was 6 hours, 16 minutes, and 37 seconds – 12 minutes faster than Lance was last year. Second place went to Jeremy Horgan, who finished in 6 hours and 25 minutes, which would also have bested Lance's time last year, and Todd Wells completed the podium, with a 6 hour and 30 minute time. Six time champ Dave Wiens finished 4th another three minutes back.

The men weren't the only ones burning up the course. Defending women's champ Rebecca Rusch set a new course record as well, shaving a half-hour off the previous record by coming in at 7 hours, 47 minutes and 35 seconds. Second place went to Amanda Carey with a time of 8 hours, 12 minutes, 54 seconds.


These fast times are really interesting. Even Wiens improved on his previous best times. It seems that the Leadville 100 has gone from relative obscurity to being completely on the radar for some of the top riders in the world. Just a few years back, it was barely a blip on the radar of sports fans, outside of those of us who follow these kinds of events, and now, it is attracting a very deep field of riders. The race has one man to thank for that, and that is Lance Armstrong, who elected to enter the race a couple of years back while he was in retirement 1.0, and that brought a ton of attention to the classic mountain biking competition.

Just how big has the race become? Large enough to attract a new national owner. Just before this year's race was run, it was announced that Lifetime Fitness had bought the race, and will take over management of the event in the years ahead. I suspect that "Race Across the Sky" is just starting to hit its stride.

Leadville 100 is Tomorrow!

One of the most challenging, and well known, single day mountain bike races in North America is being held tomorrow in Leadville, Colorado, where the Leadville Trail 100 will take place. The race is, actually 105 miles in length, featuring an out and back format that punishes riders not so much with its technical challenges but with the high altitude, and challenging climbs, that they'll have to contend with. The ride begins at 10,500 feet, and includes over 11,600 feet of climbing, with a net gain of more than 2000 feet over the length of the course.

A few years ago this event was well known amongst mountain biking fans, but was barely a blip on the radar for the mainstream population. Than a little-known rider by the name of Lance Armstrong elected to join the fun, and managed to do quite well for himself, claiming second place in 2008 behind six time Leadville champ Dave Wiens. Armstrong's participation in the race gave it lots of coverage, particularly after he failed to win, something that many people thought was a foregone conclusion.

Shortly after the 2008 Leadville 100, Armstrong announced his return to competitive cycling, and a more prepared, and in shape, Lance showed up last year to let everyone know who was the boss. That Lance Armstrong one the race going away, smashing the course record, and riding the last 65 miles alone, in the process. Unfortunately, he won't be back to defend his title this year, as he pulled out of the race earlier this week.

Armstrong's departure doesn't diminish the talented field all that much however, as Wiens is back to try to reclaim his title, while fending off strong competitors like Levi Leipheimer, Armstrong's Radioshack teammate, and Matt Shriver, who finished third last year. Other talented, but first time, Leadville hopefuls included Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Todd Wells and Jeremiah Bishop, all of whom have designs of winning the race.

Overall, there will be more than 1500 riders from 48 states and 21 countries, on hand to challenge each other and the course itself. Of those, there are 10 current and past National Champions, six U.S. Olympians, and four Mountain Bike Hall of Famers, making this one of the deepest fields in any race of its kind.

It should be a fun race, wish I were in Leadville to cover it. To my friends heading there, have a blast!

Leadville 100: Now With Less Lance

Fans of the Leadville 100 mountain bike race may be happy or sad to hear the news that Lance Armstrong has pulled out of this year's race, citing a slow to recover hip injury as the reason for his withdrawal. Considering how the seven-time Tour de France winner obliterated the field, not to mention the course record, last year, his exit may open the door up for someone else to win. Then again, it may just might allow six-time champ Dave Wiens to recapture his crown, taken by Armstrong in 2009.

The race is, not surprisingly, a 100 mile ride along a very tough trail through the Rocky Mountains. It begins, and ends, in the town of Leadville, which sits at 10,500 feet. Over the course of the 100 miles, 50 out and 50 back, competitors gain an additional 2000 feet. Altitude plays a huge factor in how riders perform in this mountain bike race.

In 2008, Armstrong rode in the race for the first time, before he announced his comeback, and took second place, losing to Wiens in the final miles of the ride. Last year it was a completely different story however, as an in-shape Armstrong set a course record of 6 hours, 28 minutes, and 50 seconds. Lance was so dominating that he rode the final 65-miles without any other riders around him at all.

In last month's Tour de France, Armstrong crashed, injuring a hip. That crash effectively ended his Tour aspirations and apparently they'll keep him from racing in the Leadville as well. Armstrong has also said that he will take the opportunity to spend some time with his kids, who will be returning to school in a few weeks as well.

With Lance off the roster, the national media is likely to leave the race alone, but now we'll have to see if Wiens can regain his crown or if the past two years have allowed others to close the gap with him. Should be a great race.

Leadville 100 is Saturday!

While one group of tough athletes will be beginning their race on Friday in the Badlands, an entirely different kind of race will be taking place on Saturday in Leadville, Colorado, home of the Leadville Trail 100, one of the toughest mountain bike races around.

The race is 50 miles, out and back, with a seven mile climb to the turn around point, which just so happens to fall at 12,600 feet. 90% of the trail is on dirt, and the race actually begins at 10,200 feet, so altitude obviously plays an issue. In contrast, the highest point in the 2009 Tour de France was a mere 8113 feet. All told, the riders face more than 14,000 feet of elevation gain across the entire length of the ride, which has a 12 hour cut-off.

You may recall that the Leadville got quite a bit of attention last year because Lance Armstrong decided to race in it. He ended up taking second place, getting dropped by six time champ Dave Wiens in the final miles. Shortly there after, Lance announced his return to competitive cycling, and we all know what has happened since then. He's gone on to ride in a number of big events across the globe, and took third in the Tour de France just last month. I think it is safe to say, that Lance will be in much better condition for his showdown with Dave this year, and you know that it has been a thorn in his side since he lost to Wiens last year.

In preparation for this epic rematch, the Leadville crew has set up a live video feed that you can pay $5.95 to watch. The race gets underway at 5:45 AM Mountain Time on Saturday, so get up early and spend your morning in front of the computer, watching Lance and Dave go at each other once again. I'll be focused on that other race that day, but I won't be able to help myself from checking in from time to time. Should be fun!