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Leadville 100..how do they...
How the **** do they start 1000 riders? Is it a mass start?
thanks, steve -- "The accused will now make a bogus statement." James Joyce |
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#2
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Leadville 100..how do they...
On Aug 22, 9:54 am, "steve" wrote:
How the **** do they start 1000 riders? Is it a mass start? thanks, steve -- "The accused will now make a bogus statement." James Joyce It's a mass start with people lined up more or less by expected finishing time. The first five miles or so are paved in order to let the pack string out before hitting the trail. |
#3
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Leadville 100..how do they...
On Aug 22, 7:54 am, "steve" wrote:
How the **** do they start 1000 riders? Is it a mass start? I believe it can be described as a cluster-f. The promoter starts it by lighting a fistful of hundreds, then they drive a 63 international dumptruck full of cash three blocks to the leadville bank, a hootin and hollerin and shootin guns. |
#4
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Leadville 100..how do they...
On Aug 23, 8:55 am, wrote:
On Aug 22, 7:54 am, "steve" wrote: How the **** do they start 1000 riders? Is it a mass start? I believe it can be described as a cluster-f. The promoter starts it by lighting a fistful of hundreds, then they drive a 63 international dumptruck full of cash three blocks to the leadville bank, a hootin and hollerin and shootin guns. I think mass start events with lots of participants are invariably cluster-fs. There is a mass-start 100 mile road ride here that draws about 800 riders each year. The first 10km or so is a mad dash to the first big hill. If you are not with the lead 1 or 2 groups over the hill (either due to traffic or getting dropped), forget about a good finish. This makes for huge jockeying to get a good start position followed by total max HR mayhem as everyone tries to pass everyone else before the hill. Everyone ignores the fact that the roads are open to cars and the riders spread across every available inch of road, and it is truely a cluster-f. I can't see how it is possible that an MTB ride that narrows down to a trail could be anything but way worse. Sounds like fun! Joseph |
#5
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Leadville 100..how do they...
I can't see how it is possible
that an MTB ride that narrows down to a trail could be anything but way worse. Sounds like fun! It's mitigated in a couple of ways: primarily, it never narrows down to a trail. Beyond that, riders self-seed based on projected finishing time with the top 100 finishers from the previous year in a special area at the front (very similar system as used in big marathons), there's a neutral start on closed roads until the turn onto dirt, then a long stretch of gently climbing/rolling doubletrack. That said, if you're strong and for some reason start at the back (or on a singlespeed) you'll be caught up behind slower people for much of the first climb even though it's doubletrack, which can be frustrating. But after the first climb, it's never so congested that it's impossible to pass, and there's no singletrack on the course anymore (when there was, it was an undeniable cf, even with fewer starters). |
#6
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Leadville 100..how do they...
On Aug 23, 10:39 am, "
wrote: On Aug 23, 8:55 am, wrote: On Aug 22, 7:54 am, "steve" wrote: How the **** do they start 1000 riders? Is it a mass start? I believe it can be described as a cluster-f. The promoter starts it by lighting a fistful of hundreds, then they drive a 63 international dumptruck full of cash three blocks to the leadville bank, a hootin and hollerin and shootin guns. I think mass start events with lots of participants are invariably cluster-fs. There is a mass-start 100 mile road ride here that draws about 800 riders each year. The first 10km or so is a mad dash to the first big hill. If you are not with the lead 1 or 2 groups over the hill (either due to traffic or getting dropped), forget about a good finish. This makes for huge jockeying to get a good start position followed by total max HR mayhem as everyone tries to pass everyone else before the hill. Everyone ignores the fact that the roads are open to cars and the riders spread across every available inch of road, and it is truely a cluster-f. I can't see how it is possible that an MTB ride that narrows down to a trail could be anything but way worse. Sounds like fun! Joseph Have you heard of the Tour of Tucson? They have two mass starts. One for the approx 200 pros or anyone who has completed the tour in less than 5 hours (112 miles). You usually get top pros, top triathletes, top amateurs, ex pros, a bunch of cat 1, 2, and 3 amateurs and a bunch of unknown fast cyclists in the front group. The other start, five minutes behind is for approximately 4000 plus cyclists. If you want to start anywhere near the front, you need to get your ass to the starting line at around 5 o'clock for a 7:00 am start, and freeze for two hours. It gets pretty crazy and competitive with people in the large mass trying to finish in 5 hours or less to get the platinum medal and to catch up with the front room. Andres |
#7
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Leadville 100..how do they...
In article .com,
wrote: On Aug 22, 9:54 am, "steve" wrote: How the **** do they start 1000 riders? Is it a mass start? thanks, steve -- "The accused will now make a bogus statement." James Joyce It's a mass start with people lined up more or less by expected finishing time. The first five miles or so are paved in order to let the pack string out before hitting the trail. Just as another data point, local marathon MTB races often start with a Le Mans run-to-the bikes, typically featuring a run of a km or so. Last year, two different local B-level (slow group, MTBs allowed) CX races started Le Mans style, one with about a 40 m run to the bikes, the other with about a 500 m run to the bikes. -- Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/ "I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos |
#8
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Leadville 100..how do they...
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#9
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Leadville 100..how do they...
On Aug 24, 6:52 am, Ryan Cousineau wrote:
Just as another data point, local marathon MTB races often start with a Le Mans run-to-the bikes, typically featuring a run of a km or so. Last year, two different local B-level (slow group, MTBs allowed) CX races started Le Mans style, one with about a 40 m run to the bikes, the other with about a 500 m run to the bikes. That is worse than doping. |
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