mt evans hill climb

today was the third time i've raced the mt. evan's hill climb. this is one of the gems on the colorado cycling scene and the best climbers in the state are always on the starting line. the pro field even gets some pro tour riders gunning for the record ascent time (currently held by tom danielson from the garmin slipstream team).

the fun begins in idaho springs - a 45 minute drive from boulder - and follows one of the highest elevated paved roads in north america to the mt. evans summit at 14,190 feet. this works out to a 27.4-mile climb (there are a few short lived down turns in the road).

the boys from feedback sports were very motivated to work for former pro triathlete-turned-cyclist nate llerandi. they set the pace for the low gradient false flats over the first seven miles and by the time the first real spikes in road came, all had completed their work except for ben buxton, who took over and set a strong pace for the next seven miles.

at the halfway point at echo lake, the road turns right past the ranger station and the next two miles are steep roads. i moved to the front and pushed at the highest tempo i could without going into the red zone. after two miles on the front, i'd had enough and peeled off to see the group had whittled down from fifteen down to seven riders.

i was consistent the rest of the ride and always welcomed the short downhill portions to recover just a tad. the final five miles after summit lake were difficult but the roads featured short straightaways and lots of switchbacks. over these final few miles the summit always appears so close, but the riding goes and goes and goes.

stuck in no mans land up the switchbacks, i kept a strong tempo going and crossed the line in 8th place, happy with the effort after taking a break from the bike after the dead dog classic race. it was also an improvement of five minutes over my previous race times, but times are highly variable depending on the pace in the early seven miles of the race as well as the weather conditions. today the pace was brisk at the beginning and the temps were cooler with very little wind, so we really had an ideal day for quick times.

congratulations to nate and his feedback sports teammates as i know he's been focusing his season around winning this race. i don't know finishing times, yet, but i'll bet he threw down a fast one today.

next up is to continue getting some base mileage in both the running and cycling in preparation for ironman wisconsin on september 13th. for full results from the hill climb, go to www.bicyclerace.com

cheers,
lf