flag

Leadville Trail 100, 2017 - Race Recap and Results

Aug 14, 2017
by Hugh8584  
Riders cross the epic terrain at the 2017 Blueprint for Athletes Leadville 100 MTB race


Nearly 1,500 riders from all 50 states and 35 countries participated in the 24th Annual Blueprint for Athletes Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike (MTB) Race on Saturday, August 12. In the iconic event, participants rode more than 100 miles of challenging Colorado Rockies terrain at elevations ranging from 10,152 to 12,424 feet.

Following the 6:30am MST start, Howard Grotts (United States) and Larissa Connors (United States) emerged as the 2017 champions. In the male division, Grotts crossed the finish line with a 6:14:54, followed in second place by three-time champion Todd Wells (United States) who finished in 6:18:24. Payson McElveen (United States) rounded out the top three in 6:36:08. All of the top three male finishers hail from Durango, Colorado.

bigquotesThis was the first time doing the Leadville Trail 100 so I really wanted to take it conservatively. I knew I couldn’t dig too deep but at the same time, I knew I had to go as fast as I could. I ended up winning by four minutes at the end but until that point, I had no idea if it was four minutes or one minute. I’m sure I’ll be back. The fans, the crew, the racers, the scenery, it’s all pretty special here.—Howard Grotts

An exhausted Larissa Connors takes a moment to catch her breath after winning the 2017 Blueprint for Athletes Leadville 100 MTB Trail race

An exhausted Larissa Connors takes a moment to catch her breath after winning



In the women's race, Larissa Connors finished with a 7:31:51 followed by Andrea Dvorak (United States) in second place with a 7:58:18 and Anne Perry (United States) in 8:18:53. Another notable participant, Sugarland guitarist Thad Beaty, kicked off the race by playing the National Anthem, finishing in 11:49:21.

bigquotesThere were a lot of strong women out there and I was terrified the whole time, so once I was in the lead I just panicked for the last seven hours of the ride. I just rode panicked thinking how strong they were.—Larissa Connors

Leadville’s own Ty Hall competed as Transamerica’s Go-Giver to help raise money for the Leadville Legacy Foundation. As the Go-Giver, Hall started at the back of the race and passed fellow MTBers to raise awareness and funds to support the needs of the Leadville community. This year, Hall passed more than 1,300 riders during the race and raised more than $5,900 for the Leadville Legacy Foundation.

Riders cross the epic terrain at the 2017 Blueprint for Athletes Leadville 100 MTB race

Riders cross the epic terrain



Also this year, “One Arm Willie” Stewart and Andre Szucs raced to raise awareness and funds for the Challenged Athletes Foundation to help support people with physical challenges by providing access to sports and physical fitness. Both Stewart and Szucs are accomplished Paralympic athletes as Stewart lost one arm in a construction accident and Szucs was born without a lower right leg.

Additionally, Stewart is vying to become the first Challenged Athlete to earn the title of Leadman. Each Leadman candidate must complete the Leadville Trail Marathon, Leadville Silver Rush 50-Mile Mountain Bike or Silver Rush 50-Mile Trail Run, Leadville Trail 100 MTB and the Leadville Trail 10K Run.

The inaugural Leadville 100 Mountain Bike event launched in 1994 with 113 finishers and now in its 24th year, endurance athletes worldwide make the pilgrimage to Leadville, Colo., with the single goal of competing in ‘The Race Across the Sky’.

bigquotesCongratulations to Howard and Larissa on their amazing wins today and to all competitors who had the guts and determination to cross the finish line—we welcome you with open arms into our Leadville family. After 24 years of being a part of the 100 MTB event, I never tire of seeing the spirit of Leadville instilled in everyone on course, pushing themselves to the brink to embody a healthy way of life.—Ken Chlouber, Founder of the Leadville Race Series


The 2017 Blueprint for Athletes Leadville Race Series concludes Saturday, Aug. 19, with nearly 700 participants running the Blueprint for Athletes Leadville Trail 100 Run presented by New Balance. The legendary “Race Across the Sky” 100-Mile Trail Run began in 1983 and still draws thousands of participants to Leadville each year for a demanding 100-mile out-and-back run course with total elevation range, or climb, of more than 18,000 feet.

Riders cross the finish line of the 2017 Leadville MTB race at 11 hours 59 minutes and 59 seconds - one second before the 12-hour cut-off.


Results

2017 Leadville 100 MTB men s podium finishers Howard Grotts first place 6 14 54 Todd Wells second place 6 18 24 Payson McElveen third place 6 36 08

Top 10 Men

1. Howard Grotts – 06:14:54
2. Todd Wells – 06:18:24
3. Payson McElveen – 06:36:08
4. Christopher Jones – 06:55:16
5. Jamey Yanik – 06:56:13
6. Scott Tietzel – 06:57:46
7. Timothy Beardall – 07:04:04
8. Andrew Dorais – 07:07:07
9. Nate Whitman – 07:08:36
10. Christopher Jensen – 07:08:39


2017 Leadville 100 MTB women s podium finishers Larissa Connors first place 7 31 51 Andrea Dvorak second place 7 58 18 Anne Perry third place 8 18 53

Top 10 Women

1. Larissa Connors – 07:31:51
2. Andrea Dvorak – 07:58:18
3. Anne Perry – 08:18:53
4. Jennifer Smith – 08:24:35
5. Tara Kelly – 08:25:10
6. Chase Edwards – 08:29:52
7. Katrina Engelsted – 08:42:38
8. Renee Lockey – 08:46:28
9. Lisa Nelson – 08:48:23
10. Caitlin Bernstein – 08:58:41


Full results


MENTIONS: @Hugh8584


Posted In:
Racing and Events


Author Info:
Hugh8584 avatar

Member since Aug 14, 2017
1 articles
Report
Must Read This Week
Thank You For Everything, Pinkbike
75223 views
Pole Bicycles Has Filed for Bankruptcy
50480 views
[UPDATED] Final Elite XC Results & Overall Standings from the Mairiporã XC World Cup 2024
41852 views
First Ride: The Sub-$600 RockShox Domain and Psylo Forks
41068 views
Staff Ride: Matt Beer's NZ MTB Rally-Spec Ibis HD6
39951 views
Tree Root Pierces Harriet Harnden's Foot at Round 1 of the British National Downhill Series
37518 views
Review: Race Face's Era Chainring Uses Steel, Carbon, & Aluminum
27500 views
Industry Digest: Crowd Funding 36" eBikes, Canfield Bikes' Relocation, Recalls & More
26091 views
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup

35 Comments
  • 23 7
 "more than 100 miles of challenging Colorado Rockies terrain" Have you been on any other Colorado Rockies terrain? The distance and elevation may be challenging but the terrain sure isn't. It's a glorified gravel grinder race.
  • 13 1
 Agreed. Nothing but respect for those who do it, I am sure its hard as hell. But when essentially the entire race is on paved or dirt roads, hard to pass the test as a "mtn bike race" with me I guess.
  • 2 0
 @ianswilson815: Yeah, the Breck Epic is a much better representation of Colorado Rockies terrain. I don't think many people would be able to finish 100 miles in a day of that type of terrain though. The hardest MTB endurance race i've heard of up here is the mountains (montezumas) revenge: www.mountainsrevenge.com
  • 8 0
 I did race support there for a friend once, many years ago. Indeed, when you see these 'mountain bikes' with aero bars, you are safe in saying this is a glorified gravel race. I still laugh, because my friend (established mountain biker) got yelled at by others for passing riders on a doubletrack downhill while on a Sycip hardtail! That's the sort of brake-clutching roadies the event attracts.
Honestly, I lost interest in this event when they allowed you to pay your way in--you can just bypass that pesky entry lottery if you're willing to drop $5k or whatever asinine amount it is. From numbers/business perspective I get it, but it kind of sucks the soul out of the event.
  • 7 0
 powerlines got some tech... for a powerline road
  • 2 1
 @mikealive: why would someone get yelled at for passing in a race?
  • 3 0
 The Vapor Trails 125 is another challenging Colorado race up and around the Continental Divide near Salida: www.vaportrail125.com.
  • 2 0
 @davehuffstetler: At the safety meeting they go over all the normal stuff--it's dangerous out there, use caution, be prepared for swings in the weather, etc. They mentioned that some guy broke his neck and nearly died, other injuries.. pound home the idea that it's not worth it to go too fast, just ride safe and within your abilities.
My buddy is an accomplished rider--worked in shops for years, used to make the summer roadtrip to Whistler (from Nebraska, no less), I watched him roof drop a park pavilion with ease.. so this doubletrack was nothing he couldn't negotiate, but half the people who ride that race hardly have any business riding a bike off pavement in the first place. I'm sure they were just legitimately concerned for his safety. But to hear him tell it, all he was doing was getting on and off the brakes, not even full open, but was just blowing by these people glazing their pads on the decent.
  • 15 4
 How many of you guys have done the Leadville 100? Descending Powerline in insane traffic, descending Columbine at 25mph average for 20 minutes straight with delirious freds swerving onto the wrong side of the road on their way up, and going flat out down Sugarloaf after riding for 7 hours and climbing 12k feet at over 10k altitude are some of the scariest descents I've ever done (which includes some truly heinous stuff like Flying Monkey in UT). Would they be a challenge on a 170mm bike that you pushed to the top with all your gear on? No. In full spandex and a hardtail after turning your guts inside out for the better part of a day? Try it sometime and find out, you even get a neat belt buckle.
  • 2 0
 @GorgeousBeauGaston: I would totally do it, but not for 425 bucks, might loop the course unsupported one day on my cx bike for kicks. Living at 9k elevation though is an unfair advantage, also the full course is available online with gopro footage, and there are a ton of road transfers.
  • 3 0
 @GorgeousBeauGaston: I lotto'd for 5 years straight and finally stopped trying. I dont have time to race all the qualifier crap. My Buddy's a 2 time top 10 finisher (in his 50s!) and he says the race series is a sellout bunch of shit now. Used to be a bucket list...
  • 5 1
 @GorgeousBeauGaston: I have done it. The altitude makes the challenge. There were definitely people (a lot) who had no business riding off paved bike paths. There were definitely people who had no business trying to ride 100 miles. The terrain is not hard, its not technical, and there is minimal single track. And I did have a couple people pissed I had the audacity to pass them on the downhill. "Where do you think you're going?!?!" Ummmm... to the finish line? High altitude gravel grinder is a pretty accurate description. Now having said that, I am still super proud of that buckle and the experience that is Leadville. I would love to go back and get a big buckle, but I'm getting too old for that stuff (I'll just stick to the bike park... Smile
  • 1 0
 Whatever, as long as they are out of leadville again, I'm happy.
  • 1 1
 @davehuffstetler:

If it's anything like the road cyclists out here. . Because they're giant goobers
  • 2 0
 @GorgeousBeauGaston: Never said it wasn't hard, it absolutely is. But you just proved my opinion. Its hard and tough because you have been riding all day, not because it is an actually technically difficult mtb race. Distance, elevation and traffic should not be the only factors in the difficulty of a course.
  • 1 2
 @ianswilson815: It's just that "distance, elevation and traffic" are of more prominent than technical terrain. Could you have a race of 100 miles of rocky single track with dropoff's and other aspects which you consider "real mountain bike terrain" in addition to the same elevation gain as Leadville? I did Leadville and it has everything on that course. Some people are never satisfied unless they watch a Transformers movie.
  • 2 0
 @jlt98: And some people have to put 13.1 and LT100 stickers on the back of their minivans...
  • 1 0
 @jlt98: It's an out and back race...that should tell you that there will not be any truly technical terrain. But let's be real here--how much of that course is even singletrack? It's far less than even 50%. Give any mountain biker with an even reasonable skill set a cyclocross bike and some 45c's and they ride that whole course just fine. To me that is not really a mountain bike race. It's a race for people who want to say they did a mountain bike race.
  • 3 0
 @jlt98: Breck 100 is WAY more single track and WAY more technical. Food for thought. It will never be 100% single track and super techy, don't expect it to be. But the fact that the LT100 is over 80% roads (paved, dirt or forest double track) is just sad.
  • 1 0
 Making the race more technical does not make the race "harder" or more "real." It's a race, the fastest person on the course wins. Leadville is a much more competitive event (for amateurs) than all the other marathon singletrack events because it does bring out the roadies, triathletes, etc. that already have the lungs and legs to put down a ridiculous amount of watts for 7 hours. Believe me, if they changed the Leadville course to a 100 mile long rhythm section of 30 ft doubles and 5 foot rock drops to flat I would be back there in 2018, it would probably be the only XC race on earth that I am actually equipped to win. For me one of the hardest parts of Leadville were the flat paved road, you are either finishing the Powerline descent or on the way back after the slog back from Columbine and are suddenly in a road race where you can really not afford to get dropped, with heavy headwind on the way back. Everyone at Leadville is at some point way out of their comfort zone, whether it be the descents for the roadie types or the road pack riding for the MTBers. Same goes for the bike, if you are running files and a high post hardtail the descents are going to be rough, and if you are on a heavier 120mm bike on knobs that can do the descents nicely the road is going to be a struggle. And no, a cross bike is not better for the course, you lose too much time on the descents. Ironically I did the Tahoe qualifier on a cross bike, I initially planned on running Thunder Burts on my XC bike for Leadville but even those didn't hold up in practice, needed a Racing Ralph for the front which was still barely enough.

For me, technicality of a race does not make it more difficult, only the level of competition does. If you are the kind of person that only races to finish maybe you can argue Breck, BCBR, etc. is more of a REAL MTB RACE, but if you are looking for a race that's going to be really tough to finish at the top of your AG LT100 is the MTB endurance race to test yourself. At the end of the day all the distance MTB races are mostly for dentists, you are never going to see a death defying course because people actually have to show up, pay, and race for the race to exist at all.
  • 2 0
 @GorgeousBeauGaston: You're sort of blurring the argument though. No one is saying that the LT100 isn't *a race*, they are merely questioning at what point does a 'mountain bike race' lose the right to call itself that.

No, a CX bike wouldn't be the best bet for Leadville, but the fact that it would have clear advantages on a large portion of that track speaks to the technical (or lack thereof) difficulty of the track. When you see quite a few racers with aero bars mounted to their hardtails, you again have a pretty good indication that you're not truly in a mountain bike race. Again, let's be real here.. maybe 10% of those entered are actually 'racing'; the other 90% are going for the finish. So for the vast majority the challenge lies in the finish, not the placing--if that is the case, why not have more single track? By your logic everyone could just haul the mtb's out to the local crit series and have themselves a 'mountain bike race'.

The Leadville series will go on, and its challenges will remain. However, I believe your statement about distance mountain bike races being "mostly for dentists" shows your way of thinking, and your point of view that somehow the LT100 is somehow a mountain bike race. Cheers.
  • 2 0
 @GorgeousBeauGaston: When your racing with lycra, drop bars and skinny tires, you have to ask yourself, "self- what kind of race is this" ?
  • 7 0
 If you want challenging check out the Marji Gesink 50 or 100. That's where shit can get real.
  • 6 3
 I remember the time I was riding with my buddy Cully', Dave Cullinan, 1992 Downhill World Champion, who's career was cut short by a massive heart attack in 1994, he has had a titanium valve put in, pig valve in years after, then recently had a human cadaver valve put in-each time getting his chest ripped open for the operation. Last year we were in Mammoth for some MTB racing, and his heart exploded again-doctors told him he should never ride a MTB again-which is all he loves to do.

So we got him a levo, so he could ride bikes, riding bikes is what he loves to do. Couple months ago we were riding bikes in Laguna Beach, and we saw Larissa Connors, she saw Cully's Levo and just went on a rant about him riding it, how illegal they are in laguna (which is a very grey area)...anyway, cool of her to rant on a guy that is just trying to stay alive by giving him the happiness of riding a mountain bike.

At any rate, congrats to Todd Wells, 40+ bad ass, legend.
  • 1 0
 Well that was shitty of her.
  • 1 0
 Cullinan is a legend. I remember him being featured in the Diamondback catalog in the '90's. I saw an old guy ride an electric Mountain bike here in France where these kinds of bikes are pretty common nowadays. Hey, more power to them (literally).
  • 4 0
 Yeah Caitlin Bernstein! From 3rd last week in Pro at Downieville XC to 10th this weekend at Leadville. The girl can rip.
  • 4 3
 For all the Leadville bashers... Try the race before you bash. For those that think it is a gravel grinder, sign up and ride it on your CX/Grinder bike. It'll be fun to see you as the only rider on that type of bike walking to the finish line with a trashed rig.
  • 1 0
 There isn't a section on that course I wouldn't ride a cx bike. Now doing it all day, at that elevation would indeed suck.
  • 1 0
 @RobKong: I ride trails all the time on a CX bike and I have done Leadville. You would be at a huge disadvantage riding a CX bike on that course, if the bike survived. That being said, there's a reason why even the some pro's ride full suspension bikes - because it's a mountain bike course and a mountain bike is the only kind of bike that can complete the course the fastest. This logic would conclude it isn't as others are saying a glorified "gravel grinder".
  • 1 0
 @jlt98: if your CX bike can't survive a race that is mostly paved and gravel roads, its time to get a new cx bike. Looking at the course (the whole thing is on youtube) I would think drop bars, wide tires (borderline monstercross), and a front suspension fork like a lauf grit would be a huge advantage on it. If you ride a mountain bike on a road is it still mountain biking? Is riding a cx bike on a road still considered cx? Is riding a dirt jumper on a paved bike path still dirt jumping?
  • 1 0
 Forget the pro's tires. If you're interested in finding out what type of race it is, just do it, go there, ride all day, up and down St. Kevins, Powerline and Columbine, then take that last hill down to the finish. Leadville's a blast, plain and simple, an experience you'll never forget...just sayin'.
  • 5 0
 I'd like to know the times of the last 10 riders.
  • 2 0
 I would like to see some of the pros bike setups, would be interesting to see the tire choice, that would explain a lot of what type of race this is.
  • 2 0
 BUTTE 100. Montana . Phenomenal race and very hard , on the CDT. Well organized, great volunteers and unreal riding. 12,600 plus of vertical feet to climb between 7000-9500 feet elevation. True singletrack race.







Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv65 0.050232
Mobile Version of Website