CTR 2014 - Race Discussion

[mtnbound]

It looks like Neil is only about 4 hrs behind Jefe's 2012 unbelievable run, which is just mind boggling, particularly considering the addition of Tarryall with around 50 extra miles and thousands of feet of climbing. 

Of course, it is way too soon to make any predictions.  Around 12 riders have already dropped and the CTR monster sneaks up on many  unsuspecting riders! Rain, hail, cold weather, injuries, lack of sleep, etc. - they all take their toll!

[jakomait]

Looking at the time splits on the LCW Tarryall detour it looks like it added about 5 hours to the race time for the front of the pack.  Neil made it to BV at 4:35pm which would have been something like a half hour before noon from 2 years ago!  If he can keep up this appetite for miles he could make it to hwy 50 at the end of today's push around 1am and keep well on track for 4 days.

It's pretty fun to armchair race this thing!  Not quite as much as on the trail though but a lot better hygiene.

[Pivvay]

Yep, i'm out, sitting at home instead of headed to BV. Achilles got worse and worse and I had to call it with almost 400 miles to go still. It was a ton of fun racing again! I suspect that while my form is good, my tendons weren't quite up to multi day single speeding after only a year back on the bike. Hopefully not too much damage done. We'll see what the future holds...

In the meantime Neil is cruising and Tim and Christian are close together. Should be an interesting night. Both of them have slept.

[Walkurtalk]

Out. No tears, no regrets. Body won't hold up to finish by Sunday. Finally started listening to it and bagged it at the Stage Stop. I knew I was not recovered, not physically strong, but I had to give it a go to see for sure. A huge year, thousands and thousands of miles, hundreds of people and places that touched my soul. Time to tour the best parts of the Colorado Trail for the rest of the week

The man of the hour is Neil Beltchenko who is absolutely KILLING it! The man who is going to do what I couldn't is Mark Caminiti, Be sure to watch my buddy Brian Hollister who is a total newbie and strong as an ox.....Nothing but good energy and positive thoughts to them and everyone still out there.

[bartspedden]

Not sure what's up with Bart Spedden. He crashed yesterday but seemed fine when I talked to him at the 126 crossing.

I scratched.

Somewhere around 20 or so miles into the CT I clipped a pedal, got ejected from my bike, tumbled down a rock embankment and luckily got stopped by a pine tree. I had some scrapes on my leg and face but got back on my bike and kept riding. I didn't have much strength in my right leg, so the going was slow, but I could still ride so I figured it would all be fine. I woke up at 4 this morning and wanted to start to get going. But I had a really hard time with my balance, as in I couldn't stand up and pee. I felt like I was drunk. So, after checking in with the rest of my body I notice that neck was really sore and my head hurt, and my knee was swollen. Having a history of concussions it was an easy decision to pull the plug and ride out to Jefferson.

Good luck to everyone else out there on the trail! Sending lots of good energy your way!

[mtbcast]

I'm in Salida. Off route for my coverage but wanted to get down here and check it out. Caught up with Neil a couple of times today. He's doing good and was feeling good when he left Boneshaker.

Sorry to hear you're out Chris, Bart, and Walkurtalk (sorry, don't know you by handle ?). I'd hoped that crash was just a flesh wound, Bart! Heal quick!

Devin at Boneshaker wants any racer that needs emergency mechanic help to feel free to call him:
hey if you have a way to communicate to racers rolling through bv that if they have an emergency need they can call me at 970-403-6563.  i live only a couple of blocks from the shop.

[Yagi]

Sorry to hear you're out Chris, Bart, and Walkurtalk (sorry, don't know you by handle ?). I'd hoped that crash was just a flesh wound, Bart! Heal quick!

Pretty sure Walkurtalk is Jill H.  Bummer - a lot of us were pulling for her, and all the other badasses that had to bail.

Nice job guys!

[mtbcast]

CTR14: Barry Ritchey called in from on top of Ten Mile! He got me! And Dave Meissner called in from Copper. He still can’t get his Spot working. He’ll be calling in to keep us posted on his location.

http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/ctr14/

[Woodland]

Devin at Boneshaker wants any racer that needs emergency mechanic help to feel free to call him:
hey if you have a way to communicate to racers rolling through bv that if they have an emergency need they can call me at 970-403-6563.  i live only a couple of blocks from the shop.

Nice to hear that. Devin helped me out in a big way last year...so he means it when he says he'll help in a pinch.

[nanath]

If Neil keeps on with the sleep deprivation, he should have some good tales to tell about the Irish Amish woman haunting Sergents.  Maybe he'll meet her family!  Go, Neil!

[mtbcast]

Aug 11 Episode and #CTR14 True Up! Neil Belchenko is blazing out in front, Barry Ritchey and Aaron Boatman called in, Dave Meissner is Spot-less but will continue to call in, and Happy Birthday to Dominic Lauzier!

http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/podcasts/

[B_Bock]

Anyone know what happened to Aaron Denberg? I believe he was working on the triple crown as well. Maybe he'll try another restart as an ITT.
It's great to see Neil out front! Killin it!

[Woodland]

Lovin' the roving coverage Joe! Excellent stuff.

[dream4est]

At copper eating
Triple crown still alive
I feel good but my left heel is hikeabike sore

It's great to be out here
See y'all in Leadville

[forest_on_bike]

At copper eating
Triple crown still alive
I feel good but my left heel is hikeabike sore

It's great to be out here
See y'all in Leadville

Great job Mark! Enjoy the last several hundred miles of your BIG summer. Looking forward to welcoming you to the Crown Crown Crown club.

[mtbcast]

CTR14: ITT Karlos Bernart called in from Lake City! He runs down his ride from BV! And Dave Meissner called in from Leadville! He got some sleep and had some brake issues but is enjoying the good weather!

http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/ctr14/

[mtnbound]

Neil appears to only be about 3 1/2 hours or so behind Jefe's 2012 run!  Wow!!! It looks like Jefe hit the Silver Creek area around 7:11am while Neil hit it at 10:41 am this morning (even after it looks like Neil slept around 3 1/2 hours last night).  He is smoking!

We may have a race for 2nd place as Christian and Tim are just a few hours apart.

[aarond]

.  I dropped cause I wasn't tough enough.   Decided I had had enough of being cold, wet and miserable for this year.  While I will deeply regret my dnf for the next year, I am really enjoying not being out there right now, especially since there is a 60% chance of heavy rain over the second half of the course for the next few days!
Anyone know what happened to Aaron Denberg? I believe he was working on the triple crown as well. Maybe he'll try another restart as an ITT.
It's great to see Neil out front! Killin it!

[Johnny_mtb]

More features are working on trackleaders now - elevation, race flow etc. Thanks guys!
Anyone hear from Beth? Hoping she's just having SPOT issues.

[ScottM]

More features are working on trackleaders now - elevation, race flow etc. Thanks guys!
Anyone hear from Beth? Hoping she's just having SPOT issues.

Well spotted.  We made it to Lima, MT, via a long stretch of singletrack, where my laptop was waiting at the post office.  Sorry about not having the route 'smarts' correctly programmed in from the get go.  I noticed once the race took off, but only had my phone and no way to correct it.

Neil's crushing.  Caminiti too.  Rough year for triple crowners!  I think CTR has got to be the worst of the three to have dead legs for.

Not too surprised to see Karlos in Lake City.  In one of his call ins it sounded like he would make it from the Crest up and over Coney's in one day ("a big peak to go over tomorrow...") which is seriously underestimating Sargents, and probably the detour and 22/23 as well.  Hope to see him climb back up the big paved hill and get back on for the 22/23 high country extravaganza!