We've got so much to cover in this episode, starting with the second half of the Powerline Climb, which has a lot less climbing than the first half (but doesn't feel like it). From there, we talk about your tapering strategy with Coach Cody Waite -- and he's got a great free offer for a tapering plan for you.  Finally -- we've got a group ride planned for the Thursday before the race. Get the details in the show, and be sure to go to leadville.fm/groupride to sign up for your own custom bottle from The Feed (sign up fast; this is only for the first 100 people).

Fatty has said, many times, that the two best weeks of cycling vacation he's ever had were riding with Andy Hampsten in France...and racing the Breck Epic the week after the Leadville 100. So what makes for a fantastic MTB stage race, and should you consider racing it (spoiler: yes). We get together with Breck Epic founder Mike McCormack to talk about what to do with all that fitness you've earned...whether it be the Breck Epic, or Mike's newest race...The Vail 100.

Between last year's course changes and this year's start and finish changes, Life Time has been making some bold moves in the Leadville 100. We bring Life Time's Ryan Cross onto the show to detail what the changes are and how they'll affect you.

The Powerline Climb is undeniably the toughest part of the Leadville 100. You're exhausted, you're hot and exposed (or it's raining and you're exposed), and the false summits just keep coming. Well, in this episode we  tell you how to get through this extraordinary segment of the LT100. We also welcome Coach Cody Waite back to the program for more training advice as we get to the final month before the big day.  

You've crossed the Pipeline inbound timing mat -- just 30 miles to go! But this is, without question, where the race REALLY begins. And the 5 flat miles we talk about in THE COURSE today are surprisingly tough. We talk you through every mile of it. But the real focus of this episode is an increeasingly-popular piece of equipment in mountain biking: DROPPER POSTS. Are they reliable enough? Are they too heavy? Will they make you safer and faster? Which ones are the best? We dig into all these questions and more.

Our profesor of GI, Denis Faye, joins the show again to explain how we can increase our capacity to take on race fuel. A bigger gas tank is what we want...but like a lot of things Leadville, it doesn’t come easy. We also take on one of the new sections of the course, with race strategies on how to approact the inbound singletrack bypass and get to the Pipeline Aid Station with enough left in your tank for the final -- and hardest -- quarter of the race.

We've avoided this topic for 4.5 seasons, because it's (almost) as personal as your saddle choice...but we're waiting no longer. This episode is all about tire choice. Plus we get into the 9 miles between the base of Columbine and the singletrack turnoff. While you won't gain or lose a lot of altitude in this segment of the course, you're going to work for every mile -- and we'll help you know what you can do to power right through it!

Coach Cody is back to help us fine-tune our training plan for the Leadville 100...now less than two months away! Pay close attention now so you'll be faster on race day. We also deep-dive on the course, this time putting the miles between the turnaround and the Twin Lakes Dam Alternate feed zone. It's a good opportunity to catch your breath, catch up on fueling and hydration, and make a well-informed prediction on your finishing time for the race.

Eventually, we all have some bad luck, and that  often means injury, regardless of the plans you have made. When that happens, what do you do? We pose that question to cycling legend and Unbound winner Yuri Hauswald, who is working through that exact situation right now. Yuri brings extraordinary insight and authenticity to the problem athletes have when recovering from injury. Do not miss this episode.

This episode is all about pain. Sorry, it's just a fact. For our segment on THE COURSE, we talk about that brutal two miles to the turnaround: mistakes to avoid, places you'll likely hike instead of ride, and why it's absolutely essential you hug the right side of the trail.  We then bring on Dr Sprouse to talk about something thousands (we're guessing, but a pretty good guess) of LT100 racers have experienced: cramps. And how (maybe, hopefully) you can avoid them.