Neil is going to be close to 4 days but I think the toll of the first tough rainy day was too much.  I'm putting him about 4d 2hrs based off of where he is relative to my 2015 splits.  But it will be a massive win with a beautiful dawn finish.  Huge props to all the other folks out there crossing the entire state under their own power!  Ever one is doing something amazing.

With the reported wet mess out their Neil, er Ned, is blazing.  He's right about 2 hours off the record pace at Cochetopa Park and he could pull all that back and then some if he gets some better luck with the skies.  My buddy Nate is giving a good run leading the big chase group down the long detour to Dome Lakes.  Lots of strong motivation folks out there this year!

Dumb question,

With today's technology do some of the leaders know what kind of lead they have or is everyone just riding blind?

A lot of riders are hauling ass out there.  Good to see.

 

But there's some folks like me that never carried a phone and had no idea what others were doing.  Personal choice.

Uncharacteristically long break for Kurt this morning. He took a 3hr break last night on the Leadville detour. Hope all is ok. I'd love to see him rolling again!

If you look at the time it took him to go from Camp Hale to Copper, that might have been his Spot Tracker timing out for most of that 3hr flat line.  It takes 4-5 hours to get up and over Searle and that's about what he did so he actually might not have stopped at all last night!

Absolutely ridiculous!  I love it!

Very tough year indeed!  Anyone have an update on Jonathan Basham?   His Spot still has his last point at Copper days ago...

He knows. He hurt his wrist and is done

It does look official, 51.4 mph on the last Spot tracker point.

I was looking at Seth's pace and it seems similar to mine in 2015 during this section.  I think if he doesn't sleep he'll finish around 8 am tomorrow, but I think he didn't sleep last night, so who knows.  Not everyone is as fast as you Jesse .

Everyone of these racers on the trail are doing superhuman things, I like to keep the door wide open for anything and everything to be possible!     But yeah, mid morning would still be blistering fast based on what he's gone through and what looks like he's about to encounter.  Weather is building once again!

Also looking like a good race building for what looks like to be 3rd!  Greg just detoured to Breck, hopefully just for a resupply, and a big mob lead by Dana is making their way over Searle.

Would have to be a burger emergency, since the Stagestop Saloon is only a few hours past Kenosha Pass

Sometimes when you have a snack attack there is no way to resist!  Bummer it looks like the trail took another victim  
Speaking of that, anyone have an update on Jonathan?  It's so hard to pull in all the info now with the Instatwitter and FaceSpace diluting the forums!  

Seth now has an open shot at first place!  If things go really well its possible for him to get in as early as 2am but sometime after dawn would be more realistic.  Keep it going, 110 miles to go!

Oh man, I was getting so gripped trying to guess where Jonathan was after his Spot wasn't refreshing for so long!   Ahhh, that makes perfect sense that he stopped in Copper but a big bummer for him to sit in the penalty box for so long to wait for food.  He should be rested and nourished but I doubt he can ever catch back up to Chris and Seth.  I would have expected him to be moving by now but I'm sure he could have forgot to start the Spot again.  I was guilty of that several times!

The front two are hopefully having a glorious morning soaking up the sun on Georgia pass but I'm sure their bodies are completely decimated!  We will see if Seth's gears will have him pull away in the Lost Creek detour.  Super exciting to watch!  It's hard to not want to be out there myself!

He had ice cream...haha!  I guess that qualifies as a meal these days. He said he has had zero calories since sometime last night. Surely the ice cream will help a tiny bit!

  Damn!  Zero cals since last night!  I guess he kept the theme going on how much food to carry as with the rest of his gear.
 I'm amazed he didn't fully shut down running on fumes for that long!  Hopefully he can revive himself and have a good 2nd half. 

Although checking the radar it looks like the Chris and the rest of the top dozen or so are getting nailed by another big storm.  Its going to be another epic evening for everyone with sloshy shoes and desperate bivys!  There is going to be some great stories after this year!

I'm curious to see the gear list. Where does the food go? Warm clothes? Sleeping Bag? Bivy? It seems like there is room for just one of those things on that bike.

I guess you can't stop if you'll freeze! That is pretty crazy. pockets on shirt/jersey could carry food and rain jacket... Even the food some carry wouldn't fit in that. And that bike is fun but for the whole trail my back is starting to hurt.

I got the impression from him that he has no sleeping bag or even bivy sack!  Text book disaster style committed to doing everything he could to make his sub 4 plan!  I'll bet his HAB times are off the charts but I have no idea how he can survive the descents day after day without suspension.  I've never raced it with less than a 150mm travel fork and my hands were always one of my limiters.  Chris is cut from a special cloth to ride it in that style!

He's coming up on Fooses and in a few more hours will hit the Shavano TH split.  Typically this is the half way point time-wise but if conditions get better its possible for someone like him to get to the end in exactly 2 days from there.  Between there and Leadville I could see Jonathan close the gap and maybe takeover the lead in the faster rolling trails but the advantage might swing back to Chris in the steep mountains from Camp Hale to Hwy 9.  I'm excited to keep watching this unfold!

Leanest setup around! Beast.

And what really blows my mind is he is riding packless!  Leanest setup is an understatement with Plesko!

Wow, looks like it was a soggy start.  This could shape up to be a very interesting race this year.  I'm pulling for Plesko to pull out the victory to keep the Colorado-resident winner streak alive.  If Basham pulls off the victory, then he'll be the first non-Coloradoan to win.  Of course, it's CTR, so there are so many variables that it could still be somebody else entirely, but it's always fun to speculate.

I'm really curious to watch how Plesko's SS setup influences his splits.  The top two guys are legit and there are still a few folks not far behind their wake but the clock isn't being kind to them.  Based on their current progress and forecast, it's going to be heroic for anyone to beat 5 days to Waterton let alone the sub 4 day target several of the folks were training hard for.  It's not for a lack of effort but Stefan's last two pictures make my heart sink when covering ground is your only objective!

Just got a text from him -- he's out. 

Super bummer but probably the better decision in the long run.  I guess I can stop refreshing my screen every 30 seconds trying to find him!

Hello, Kurt?

Yeah, he is leaving us all in suspense riding in stealth mode!  Hopefully his Spot sorts itself out today.

I'm still retired this year but am excited to watch the dots cross the state from the discomfort of my office chair.  Good luck everyone!

I'm keeping this on my radar if I decide to get back on a bike this summer...

I dont think I can fit much over a 2.5.  I have stans arch rims. 
It is time to get some new tires.  Which ones though?
I am thinking of a desert ride this winter, maybe down the Baja again.  This time I am going on a 26er.

WTB 2.4" Mutano Raptors!  Fast rolling and big footprint.

jesse: do you still have and/or ride the bike from the CT last year?  how many miles have you put on that thing?

I do still have my CTR bike but I haven't actually used it since the race last year.  It's my trophy but maybe it will be needed again!