I was one of the cycling geeks that headed out Thursday night to catch the premier of Race to the Sky: the Leadville 100. Besides being blown away from seeing mountain bikes on the big screen, it was great to see that even the best MTB’ers are human too.
When 6-time Leadville champion Dave Weins started walking up Powerline Hill, I knew there was hope for all of us. Then Chris Charmical from CTS came hiking up.
I am coached by CTS expert coach Josh Drake. Josh said that the guy right behind Chris “is an incredible climber, just a mountain goat.” And even he was walking.
And even despite the positively inhuman pace Lance Armstrong was laying down there were some tells that made even him look like the rest of us: shaking a numb hand, stretching out a crink in his back, and riding home on a squirrely flat. And who would have thought, Lance Armstrong, in the granny gear?
But my goodness can that boy go or what? He looked like a dragster out there.
Some other observations:
It looked cold but it must have felt even colder. I’ve started races below freezing on several occassions and you warm up quick…even wearing arm warmers can be too much after five minutes of race pace riding. But those riders never stripped down. Just think: 14,000 feet of climbing all above 10,000 feet with hail and rain…it must’ve been miserable. In other words, a cyclists dream.
Tinker Jaurez up at the front. Tink used to race down here in Florida in the winter. I’ve been passed by him and on one occassion his Cannondale broke down and I got to pass him. A former world champion and recent national champion being passed by America’s Slowest Rider. Who would have thought?
Lastly, the theater crowd gasping as the computer-generated race map started climbing Columbine Hill.
Anyway, if you get an opportunity to screen Race to the Sky, check it out, it’s fun.