Update: Aug. 14 — “Leipheimer wins 'torturous' Leadville 100”
Defending champion Lance Armstrong will not return to race at the Leadville 100 on Saturday, but his RadioShack teammate Levi Leipheimer will be making his debut.
Also on hand for the mountain bike race will be David Wiens, the 46-year-old winner of six Leadville 100s from 2003 to 2008.
The Leadville is one of the most storied mountain bike races. The course is 100 miles long and all takes place above the 9,000-foot level on mostly dirt and gravel back-country roads in the vicinity of Leadville, Colorado. It was the subject of last year's documentary, Race Across the Sky (left).
While many enter the event (some 1,500 registered this year), the contest between Wiens and Armstrong looked to be growing into a real rivalry. Wiens beat Armstrong the first year they both competed in 2008 by setting a course record. Armstrong beat Wiens the last year and set another course record of 6:28.
VeloNews reports that Armstrong's manager said the cyclist is still recovering from a hip injury suffered in the Tour de France. This will be Leipheimer's first race at Leadville.
The blogger at UltraRob.com was training for the Leadville race this past weekend and ran into Armstrong and some other riders. Armstrong agreed to a picture.
Meanwhile, James Raia at Cycling Examiner reports that On-Sight Media.com and SingleTrack.com are partnering to provide live text and same-day pictures and video from the race at the SingleTrack website.
Recent Comments