It’s time to race across the sky. The Stages Cycling Leadville Trail 100 MTB will take place on Saturday, marking the midway point of the 2023 Life Time Grand Prix while also serving as a top stand-alone endurance bike race for cyclists from all over the country.
The grueling 100-mile course includes about 12,000 feet of elevation gain. It begins at 10,152 feet above sea level and reaches a peak elevation of 12,600 feet.
Durango will feature about 20 riders, while a few from Bayfield will also compete. Several of the riders will head to Leadville as part of the Life Time Grand Prix.
Durangoan Sarah Sturm is currently second in the series’ overall standings after three top-five results to start the season. She trails another former Fort Lewis College rider, Sofia Gomez Villafane.
Ellen Campbell, Sturm’s teammate, is fifth in the overall standings.
At the beginning of the season, Sturm said the Leadville 100 is one race she’d especially like to win.
“I would like to find the top spot on the podium in at least one race,” she said.
Michaela Thompson of Durango is a relative newcomer to the endurance gravel circuit. Thompson has primarily raced cross-country on her mountain bike, but found success in the endurance gravel scene at Bighorn Gravel where she scored a first-place finish. After Leadville, Thompson will continue to race on gravel in Steamboat Gravel and The Rad Dirt Fest.
Villafane, meanwhile, has won the first three races on this year’s Grand Prix, including the Sea Otter Classic, UNBOUND Gravel and the Crusher in the Tushar.
After struggling in the Leadville 100 last year, however, Villafane participated in the Stages Cycling Leadville Stage Race on July 28-30 to preview the course over three stages, winning that competition handily.
Beckett Ledger of Durango also battled in the stage race and put the field on notice with a third-place finish, winning one of three stages and finishing just over a minute after the winner, Sami Inkinen of Aspen. Ledger rides for Diamond Factory Racing and qualified for the Leadville 100 last week in the stage race.
Three other Durangoans are part of the men’s Grand Prix.
Cole Paton leads the local contingent in fifth overall after two top-five finishes. He trails the leader and defending champ, Keegan Swenson, by 24 points after Swenson won the first three races.
Howard Grotts is currently ninth overall, highlighted by a seventh-place finish at the Sea Otter Classic.
Payson McElveen also looks to get on podium in the Leadville 100 for a third time. McElveen missed the first two races in the series while recovering from injuries, including a concussion he suffered in May, but he returned for the Crusher in the Tushar and finished 10th.
“I’m feeling pretty good, actually. I’m starting to find my groove again,” McElveen said. “Leadville is one of my favorite races. One of these years I’d love to win it, but it’s so competitive these days. Keegan Swenson is so dominate that it’s his race to lose. Beyond him, there’s 10 others who could make the podium. A top-five finish is really solid these days.”
Todd Wells, a three-time Leadville 100 winner and 12-time national champion in various disciplines, will also race in Leadville.
Meanwhile, Eddie Rose will be part of a three-person contingent from Bayfield alongside Matthew Garrison and Mike Garrison. Rose is registered to compete on his singlespeed bike.
“I am a Colorado State Trooper that found the Leadville 100 MTB while serving the counties of Summit, Lake and Eagles while I was stationed out of Frisco beginning in 2011,” Rose said. “I served the area and assisted with traffic control before 2016.”
Other Durango riders on the start list include Justin Bogan, Francisco Peynado, Chris Albanese, Cody Cupp, Mike Hurst, An-Mei Ellisor, Charlie Milliet, Trish Thomas, Craig Konz, Art Steimer, John Grotenhuis and Sam Hart.
