Going Deep at 12,000ft (3,600m)! Leadville Trail 100 Race Tactic and Power Analysis
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- The Leadville trail 100 is the most prestigious 100 mile MTB race in the US and this year the competition was deeper than it's ever been. I go into my altitude acclamation process, race tactics, and power analysis for this year's race.
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Niki Terpstra isn't in his prime anymore, but relaying with a Paris-Roubaix and Ronde van Vlaanderen champion and leaving him behind at the end must feel awesome.
he's 38. hes doing okay :D
@@super8hell ow and Niki broke almost every bone in his body two years ago. So yeah. He is doing okay 😉
Racing with niki terpstra !?!?! Amazing
@@wimpieshoots9731 slight exaggeration with "every bone in his body" a few ribs and collar bone.
You guys are simply amazing, People having never done races like this have no idea how hard it is.
I passed by your channel 2-3 months ago. I was preparing for a race and I have 2 months to spend for training. I am a long endurance ride enthusiast. Then I watched all your videos and kept all the studies, training structure, nutrition and racing strategies by heart. Come the day of the race, I felt stronger though not well prepared given the time constraint. Managed to finish 5th on my age category and 11th overall on the gravel category. That was the first time that I went up on the stage to claim that 5th place certificate. To sum it all, I learned a lot watching your videos. Applied and executed all the knowledge. Thank you for sharing and keep on doing these videos. Fist bumps from the PH
P.S. Old man Dylan is POG lol
Same but I got 1st .
One of the things that make pacing a 100 miler so difficult is that you're most likely peaking. So, your legs will feel EXTREMELY good at the start. When they feel that good, you just want to hammer. It takes enormous discipline to control that, but if you do you'll be rewarded in the last half of the race!
Amazing stats Dylan!! Anyone should be proud of those numbers. Well done!!
thank you for showing the distances in meters, I appreciate that!
Always enjoy your analysis and evidence base content 👌
Video ideas:
1. Is there any scientific evidence that openers the day or so before a race help?
2. Should you train caffeinated?
3. An entire video on A-Fib would be great. People ought to know the long-term dangers of training and not just the benefits.
Great point. I’m 39 now and just about every rider I know has had some weird heart things happen.
Magnesium insufficiency and deficiency are related to A-fib. Endurance athletes really need to watch their nutrition. They burn so much sodium, potassium, zinc, and especially magnesium. Magnesium Chloride is the most studied form and has a higher absorption rate.
Impressive race results! Thank you for this 15-min content and your transparency.
Congrats on the great result among elite competitors!
And a great looking kit!
As a triathlete I gotta say the aero bars on the mountain bike is legendary
John Tomac.
Nicely done! On my bucket list.
Backwards Hat Dylan was brutal at the end! “Unsubscribe”
😂😂😂
FAVORITE moment. Laughed out loud!
LMFAO
This video is sick. Congratulations on 20th 👊🏻
Thanks for a peak into your race brain love the break down and time you put into these
Nice work! I did Leadville in 2012-13-14- & 15. You beat my best time by 2 hrs haha. Good luck on the rest of the series.
Great work and race summary, Dylan
Thanks for sharing power numbers! Very interesting to see that at 202 NP/175 AVG, so about 30 W lower, and 25 lbs heavier I was exactly 2 hours slower than you.
Also to add to your note on the danger of the columbine descent, I was one of those going up while you guys flew down, and most of us were at least half hypoxic and not super aware of our surroundings...definitely worth erring on the side of caution!
Another really enjoyable to watch race recap video, cheers.
OK, easily my favorite guy on UA-cam for a dozen reasons. Therefore, and PLZ listen to this SPONSORS, I now have a very HIGH regard and interest in FLOW HYDRATION, FACTOR BIKES, and TRAININGPEAKS. I TRUST and RESPECT Dylan and THAT is why he is an effective advertiser. Good work, DJ!! BTW: BHD is freaking on point in this episode!
I can't wait to race this one day. It looks so hard yet so fun
huge congrats Dylan, epic result
Great video. Good story telling. You guys are monsters!
Outstanding review Dylan!! Congrats
LV is just a beast of a race. You crushed it. I will say that field was deep as heck.
You are an incredible cyclist amidst insanely talented human beings.
Great! Well done and thanks for sharing! Always educative and entertaining. Good luck for the next 2 event in the series! Xx
Brilliant video, love those race insights
Good to know it's not just your imagination - these races are getting faster.
Nice Job Dylan on your Leadville. I attempted my first Leadville this year to bad our paths didn't cross will in Leadville.
I'm not in 100 mile race shape, but I've done the Dakota Five O 3 times. I have done dozens of races in the Leadville area. Their winter racing series is the BEST! I plan to do the Fat Bike Worlds there this year, I've done it twice in Crested Butte. Oh, and I'll be 54 this year.
"I dropped Niki Terpstra on the climb" ... now that's a nice flex 🤣How backwards DJ didn't comment on that I will never know.
Great ride Dylan!
I have been doing more training than I ever have at 8-9k ft, and I never knew how much power dropped with altitude. I knew it dropped, b/c I could feel it, but not by that much! Makes me feel a lot better about my nationals at winter park, co numbers!!
as always great technical commentary of your race prep and race outcome.
You're a monster! Amazing job. I would love just to be able to ride and complete that event. I would also love sometime to climb pikes peak or Mount Evans. My closest experience at elevation was day hiking Mount Whitney. I can easily walk at three and a half to 4 mph but at the top of Whitney I was barely able to walk 1 mph.
You can ride up both as they are paved. Pikes Peak is steeper and more brutal though.
Awesome video. Race reports are the best. Thanks dude
Great racing! I love Dances With Wolves too!
Great video and race result. I liked the insights about your altitude acclimatization process. Will there be a bike check video?
Very good race walkthrough Dylan! Thanks. Ha, gotta chuckle out of your power conversions. Your 12,000 foot power is still better than my sea level output. But wait a minute, I'm old enough to be your Dad! Welcome to your future;-) Keep turning the cranks Mr. D!
Hey, great job at the race! And on this video :)
3600m amazing. Avg power is great. Btw this race in particular seems to me to be very old school.
Monatize as much as possible....you deserve it!! Awesome content!
I moved to colorado for 2 years a couple decades ago and I remember the first time I went up some stairs, tried to run up them like I normally do and felt like I was gonna die. That 10k+ elevation has gotta be rough
Awesome data! Thanks and great race
Great race report. Always enjoy your presentations…
Dylan I'd actually like to hear what you think about the deepening talent in gravel and mtb events. Lots of people seem to hate that "Alt" racing is becoming legitimized but I think that's actually a toxic perspective that only succeeds in keeping cycling niche and not visible to a larger audience. Obviously as an athlete you have a unique perspective that I would be interested in hearing. You did somewhat address this a bit in your Spirit of Gravel video.
this is precisely why I need Zwift to add altitude compensation for races , I live at 6000ft and that extra 10% would help a LOT
Time to move out to SEA LEVEL
Loving these. Good effort! Wish you'd make more content related to your training and racing. Maybe have a look at sweat elite and their current sub 2:20 marathon series. I know it's running and not cycling, but I feel Matt have a similar personality to you and that the format could be a good one to draw some ideas or inspiration from, if you'd ever consider expanding your racing content!
He's a coach and pro athlete so he's going to be a little limited on all the free info he gives us...as is, he has produced alot of content on training.
Holy cow! 160 bpm average for 6:46? 4,917 KJ expenditure doesn't tell half the story. Your total calorie burn was probably double that. Especially for mountain biking, even though it wasn't super technical. Very nice effort. It's great to see you on the MTB again too. Great video as usual.
dont race but love youre videos
Can’t way to see how the 2023 version with the Frankenstein drop bar front suspension only rear hard tail thing went. I actually was talking to some random bloke at the cafe who had actually custom built a bike out of spare parts just like that. I thought the set up was fascinating and said, that thing might not be enough for bike for here (think piles of rocks rather than “single track” ) but would be great for colorado.
Ah Lachlan... That guy is my superhero. He just really really seems to like bike riding. xD
Great performance altogether.
Congrats!
Any chance of a video looking at HRV studies, particularly the way that Whoop uses it as a factor in their recovery score?
I love these race report
Amazing work--great job!
Hello Dylan,
Thank you so much for your science-backed videos; best ones I have (randomly) come across on the internet. I thoroughly enjoyed your interviews with Stephen Seiler by the way!
My query: I was wondering whether you could review the various time-trial positions in terms of aero gains. I am particularly interested in your thoughts on the "praying manta" position. When I look at Graeme Obree in his "crouch" position", it seems to me this was an extreme version of the praying manta position (and it turned out to be the most aero in wind tunnel experiments).
I am still tinkering with the angle of my tri bars, but I personally tend to feel comfortable with my bars at a very wide angle (maybe up to 45 degrees). Is there such a thing as an optimal angle for tri bars? I appreciate there won't be any silver bullet...
Thank you!
Fabien
DYLAN, tell me more about that new Factor gravel bike..
Great recap!!!
Awesome content, don’t wanna play devil’s advocate, but since the “competition” seems to be getting better. Who checks the winners if they are clean ? Is there PED testing?
They definitely don’t have the budget for that
Kegan Swenson said that all of the lifetime events this season have had USADA there testing select individuals and the winners
@@kristopherfisher9109 And epo has a half life of 4 hours 😄
gotta bring that crit up! aint no 2 ways about it
I did it several times in the 90s before it got famous.
Well Done 🚴🏻
BHD would disapprove of the aero bars. Also stair stepping your altitude was a sign of weakness said BHD
I wonder what Niki's race report was like? "Steady 6 hour level 2 training ride" 🤠
Seeing some of your numbers here gives me hope. I just have to ignore the fact they were at 10,000ft and after 5 hours of racing 😅
Dylan, so appreciate your videos on your races. The info is so spot on! Question; I'm lifting heavy two days a week (Monday and Thursday) on which days should my two hard days on the bike be?
Another interesting race report. Do you have a video where you discuss the aero clips you have in this video?
I went to crested butte and the difference from the town at about 9k to going up the mountian about 11k was stagering . I could barely walk 100 m without being gassed
amazing dude! Incredible effort and awesome content in this video! plus you beat a Paris Roubaix winner to boot yeehaw!
For real! I would boast beating a Paris-Roubaix winner even if it were between stoplights!
I've noticed your saddles are all slammed forward. Is that a fit thing, a technique thing, or it's just where your body likes a saddle, thing? Great vid again, love watching and learning.
Pushing the saddle forward makes it more upright in relation to the BB, allowing the saddle to be raised to a "taller" over the bb point. This gives a more open thigh angle equating to more thigh room under the chest while extremely bent over aero bar position because of the very slack MTB seat tube. It also limits how much thigh muscle you can use and the power stroke and the use of the saddle as an anchor to push from. So it's a big trade off. It's a time trial position. For longer rides like these where the slower speed limits the effectiveness of being aero, isolating muscle for the sake of aero might not be the best choice
@@roadbike1014 agreed it also tends to shift your balance on the bike and puts way more weight on your hands/ arms/ shoulders
So is the difference this year between you and the front of these races purely genetic or is there anything you can do to gain since the competition isn’t getting easier?
Probably. Most pros training full time do relatively the same stuff, so assuming you’re resting and eating correctly, genetics are going to be the determining factor for how good you are. Dylan’s pretty young though, so im sure there’s still a lot of room for improvement
Check out the video that I did on how genetics impacts cycling performance. Spoiler alert, the answer is it has a large impact.
Be born with VO2max ceiling of 85+, train like a pro for 5-10 years to get your lactate threshold to 95% of that, and reap the reward;)
GRAVDURO!! Sign me up now
😂 great job Dylan nice one.
smart - stepping the altitude. Wonder how much of the weight loss is water & lean mass?
This is where I am going wrong, I just need to take 5 weeks off work to allow for altitude acclimation! I’ll just go explain that to the boss…..haha
How do you deal with gravel dust getting thrown up in front of you in races and training? Isn’t that harmful to inhale? I love gravel biking, but when a car passes, the dust is super annoying. Would love to know your thoughts, thanks!
12:57 Tod Wells at 17th place age 47 ...
Enjoyed this video quite a bit. Never knew how much of impact power at elevation to sea level. Very nerdy video but cool to see the breakdown. Clearly you dig deep into your results and data. At 160bpm heart rate what zone does this put you in?
thx for the content, curious who won?..
Great video but I was hoping BackwardsHatDylan would have gone over his sea level adjusted heartrate, average speed, and strava standing.. :)
Losing that muscle made a difference.. You did great regardless .. People are on Gear soo0000 yeah .
Doubt it, the limitation at altitude is o2 delivery, not muscle power. I live at 9,300', and ride between 5000' and 12000'; when I go to ride at lower elevations, my limitation is muscle power, and my O2 delivery (respiration rate) is very low. The weight Dylan lost likely helped out a lot on the climbs as climbing is all about W/Kg.
@@barrowsworm1226 I did Leadville years ago and I live at sea-level. I have a muscular build for my height and I really think that all my muscle and weight made me very poorly adapted to a good time at Leadville.
@@barrowsworm1226 It is about weight distribution when you're climbing. But to lose that weight in the way he did weakens you. It's not like he lost it. Riding it off..
@@barrowsworm1226 when someone says it's the lightest they've been in 6 years. And lost that weight because he got the altitude and did not eat correctly. There has to be some type of problem there don't you think?
Are you feeling the gains from your time at altitude now that you're back at lower altitudes? Are there gains?
Doubt it. Needs long term training not short term
@@Marco-717 He acclimatized for 4 weeks. I think that should be enough to feel some gains.
Isn’t it sad that the Grav-duro prediction will probably end up coming true? It’s downcountry all over again…
Downgravel, it’s the coming hot thing. Gonna need new bike and kit… 😂
Xco races at the top level are basically down country races anyway. Honestly, I think it's fair to divide biking into as many or as few categories as you want. Racers are going to pick the bike that most closely matches most of their races regardless of what you call it.
Hi Dylan, awesome videos as always! Hey, can you please tell me how tall you are? thanks!
??
the lack of oxygen would've killed me. lol
Can you share any info on conversion of power and in particular TSS? I recently completed Breck Epic and would be great info.
So how are people getting faster? Is it the bikes? Better training methods?
Do you use clip pedals for this
Lance was only around 6:30. He was probably also 20 lbs heavier.
I think one thing you didn’t really go over was if you thought the altitude training helped significantly? You faded in the 2nd half more than expected and I wonder if the 4 weeks paid the dividends expected vs getting there like 1 week before the race?
@Dylan Johnson... Where did you get those the Control Tech bar ends they look almost brand new? Also you better hang onto to those, as good bar ends are hard to find these days. Bike manufacters and bike shops don't want to stock them as unmechanically inclined cyclists were trying to install them on carbon handle bars that didn't have the reinforced handle bar tips that Ritchey Logic bars have which was leading to handle bar failures. Also with the rise of riser bars, less XC riders were interested in running them despite Ned Overender, John Tomac, and Thomas Frischknecht winning World Championships with them.
Thanks for the video and comentary on the Leadville 100, it is the best youtube content I have seen yet on the race. Also nice job on the 20th place.
I am curious, have you ever done a ride with bar ends and without? I would be curious to see your data and see how they effect your speed.
The winners were Trainer Road people. Does that mean anything?
Still don't get why everyone loves this course....an out and back under power lines with traffic.....( dont slay me , just a curious question,I know its considered prestige ) Try racing the Butte 100. 8000-9500 feet average on the continental divide trail in Montana, in a figure 8. Now this is a race course. and there is national and international competition at Butte. Named Pros as well.
LOL my thoughts exactly. I dunno why so many people are frothing for a mountain bike race with a few miles of single track and a paved road downhill start...
Totally agree! Now 80 - 90 miles of singletrack in Colorado would be awesome!
There's the one eyed dog in the Ozarks, too. Not as prestigious, but almost all single track.
I have zero interest in this race for that reason.
Is Leadville basically a gravel course??
What sunglasses did you race with?
It's almost like you're apologising for the fact that you didn't won. You don't need to do that. We all learn a lot from your content. I personally also apply the strategy of riding at my own pace in gran fondo's here in Europe. On a lower level as you are obviously, but still. I'm also not going to follow a group if they ride too fast and a lot of the times I pass them later in the race.
Does anyone have a link to the altitude power converter?
have you looked at doing MDH100