I’m still fascinated by the Leadville 100 mountain bike race. The race has the same feel as a premier ironman event complete with the season long training, the predawn start, hundreds of racers and the high profile riders. But for all the hype this race is still a race for everyman/woman who apply for limited lottery slots due to the many applicants. The hundreds who ride are out to test themselves in a way most of us wouldn’t. And what a test it it. The idea of a 100 mile mtb race is challenging enough for most riders. Adding in 15,000 feet of climbing while crossing part of the Rockies is just a little more than special sauce. It is hard enough to catch your breath on a steep, prolonged climb. It is quite another to try and suck sparse oxygen out of the air at 12,000+ feet. Those who have simply hiked at that altitude can attest to the challenge. I am thoroughly impressed with the field of riders who took this challenge.
I’ve been spending most of the morning hunting videos to get a flavor of the race course, the racers and the overall event. This post is an assemblage of videos posted mostly on YouTube cataloging the 2008 Leadville 100 mountain bike race. I’m hoping to save you some time sorting through videos of the race. If you see others of interest through out a comment and I’ll add them in.
If you only have time for one video the first video is a best bet. It is an overview from a guy who took clips from all over the course and spiced them together with headings and transitions. The next series of videos are in sequential order as best as I could discern. The video’s were taken by spectators which introduces a feeling of authenticity that professionally prepared video just can’t match. Of course you get some extras both good and bad with the amateur stuff. The 2nd to last video is a short piece done by Lance himself maybe for Livestrong Foundation the day after the race. I conclude with a link to an excellent article by Steve Frothingham which contains some great photos and a nicely done professional video. For a laugh I’ve also included a mashup video of Lance crushing the Alpe D’ Huez in 2001 to a Cake song.
On with the show:
Start to finish overview with some decent editing and views from several sections on the course
Ride up Columbine (interesting trailer park dog situation)
Dave and Lance hiking up a steep section
Velonews article with nice wrap-up video plus post race interviews with Dave and Lance
2001 Lance on Alpe D’ Huez (Cake – Going the Distance)
Allez915
6 comments
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August 21, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Jim
Here is another video from the LT100:
http://www.superhumanmag.com/content/view/763/92/
August 22, 2008 at 10:57 am
allez915
The above video from Jim is the best I’ve seen. Great race footage mixed with relavant interviews. Thanks Jim
Allez915
August 27, 2008 at 7:05 pm
anthony p lopez
I can’t seem to get and/or view the LT100 mt bike race clips. Do you have any recommendations?
Thank you,
Anthony P. Lopez
August 27, 2008 at 8:07 pm
allez915
As you can see the videos are all YouTube. WordPress embeds them using flash. Have you tried to install or maybe update flash. If that doesn’t work let me know and I will comment with the URL’s.
Flash Player Link=> http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash
August 28, 2008 at 11:41 am
anthony p lopez
I have the updated version…The LT100 page it self doesn’t show the clips only the sub titles are shown.
August 28, 2008 at 8:19 pm
allez915
Tony,
I’ve hotlinked the header for each video. If you can’t run the embedded clip, you can now click the header and the vid will play in a new window direct from YouTube. The post will stay up so you can click the next header and on down the list. Don’t forget to play the vid referenced in the comments by Jim. It is probably the best of the bunch. Thanks for stopping by.
Allez915