Leadville, The 100 Mile Mountain Bike Race Podcast p/b Shimano

If you're ever at a Leadville Party and the energy starts to lag, you know with 100% certainty you can jumpstart the conversation by asking, "So what tires are the best for Leadville?" In reality, though, that question doesn't really make much sense until you understand the anatomy of tires: their composition and performance characteristics. That’s what we aim to do in this show. To help us, we have recruited someone who has no brand loyalty or connection: Velo and Pinkbike Sr Tech Editor Troy Templin. Get ready for some Tire Talk! In our LFAQ section, we focus on another hotly-debated topic: weight. There's a temptation to get as thin as possible for the LT100, and it makes intuitive sense: there's a lot of climbing in this race, and the less you have to drag up to 12,500 feet, the better. But Hottie and Fatty have both tried the "get as skinny as possible" approach and have some different opinions.  This is a practical episode you can definitely use for a better day on the course; don't miss it!  

We're excited to have Dylan Johnson back on the show to talk about how to approach the big X-Factor in the LT100: altitude. Dylan puts thought into every race and every situation and in the case of Leadville, he worked very hard at getting his arrival to high altitude right.  He’s here to share his approach and how the citizen racer can figure out how to lessen the blow of Leadville’s biggest challenge: it’s lack of air. And for our LFAQ, a question sure to spark controversy: is it possible to have your chainring be TOO small?

When you roll up the long red carpet at the end of the LT 100, chances are you're going to hurt. How much you hurt and where you hurt are -- to a degreee -- up to you, but a lot of people certainly experience hand soreness and numbness. In this episode we take a good hard look at this important contact point and get some great expert advice on your grips. 

Dr Allen Lim knows more about sports nutrition than most of us know about...well, anything. And he knows the Leadville course, too. We have a feeling this is going to be one of those episodes that people refer back to, over and over. We also get into the question of how much time we've shaved (or in Fatty's case, increased) between our first and second years of racing the LT100, along with how much time course knowledge buys you. Don't miss this episode!

There was a time when the choice between hardtail and full-suspension bikes at the Leadville 100 was obvious: hardtail if you wanted to be fast and efficient, full-suspension if you wanted to be slow and comfortable. Times have changed, and full-suspension bikes can now be a no-compromise solution for the Race Across the Sky. In today's episode, we get expert advice on setting up your suspension for the Leadville 100, and take a first look at the new Specialized Epic World Cup, arguably a strong contender in the "perfect LT100 machine" contest.

The white corral is not an easy place to kick off the Leadville 100 MTB. There are thousands of riders ahead of you, there’s anxiety, there’s uncertainty, and there’s a HUGE question hanging over your head, probably playing back in a never-ending loop: “Can I get back to 6th and Harrison and get a buckle?” In this episode we will take a look at what the numbers say about that question. Don't miss this conversation with Jeff Dieffenbach and Mark Wolfgang, two supernerd Leadville racers with the math chops to do a deep analysis of historical finisher data.

Dylan Johnson put pacing to the test in one of the biggest off-road events in the world. It wasn't easy to do, but it was incredibly successful, and the lessons he has to teach may well be the difference between a bad day and a good day for you at the Leadville 100. This is a must-listen episode!

Many endurance athletes have turned to wearables to monitor their sleep and recovery. In this episode we take a look at this growing trend with Dr Kevin Sprouse to find whether — and how — regular racers can use these devices to recover smarter and faster. We also take on a great listener question in our LFAQ segment: "What 5 things do you wish you had known the first time you raced the LT100MTB?" We think first-time (and second-time, and third-time, and tenth-time) racers will find a lot of good hard-earned wisdom in our answers.

We're excited to welcome back Chad Timmerman: head coach and co-founder of TrainerRoad to talk about heat: how to leverage it during and after training (and how much it helps), as well as how to beat the heat on race day, and why it's important to do so.  You can't change the weather conditions outside, but you can be smart about how you react. This episode is full of great advice from a real cycling thought leader; you will not want to miss it!

Dr Dan Smilkstein was the oldest person to finish the Leadville 100 MTB race last year. This recently-retired doctor — and father, and grandfather — is way more than just a badass cyclist. He's a runner, a skiier (both cross-country and Alpine), a rock and ice climber, a mountaineerer, a backpacker, a hockey player, and more. He's an offroad unicyclist, for crying out loud. Our point is, Dr Dan has a lot of great stories to tell, both about the LT100 and his other adventures (including the fact that he's delivered 600+ babies). We guarantee you're going to enjoy this episode.