Bob Derick Leadville MTB100 Race Pacing Plan
QT2 Systems • 2026 Leadville MTB100

Bob Derick

Your best race will come from staying controlled early, using the climbing rhythm you have already established in Colorado, riding within your technical skill set, and preserving enough durability to keep moving well from Columbine through Carter Summit and into the finish.

Columbus Critical Power
228 W
Threshold HR
156 bpm
Expected Race Duration
10:00–10:45

Race Strategy at a Glance

You have been in Colorado since July 29 and have already done meaningful course recon from Frisco. That matters. Instead of relying only on a generic altitude correction, your plan is anchored to how your body has actually behaved at altitude.

Start calmer than the race feels. Climb by rhythm, not ego. Walk before you over-spend. Descend within your skill set. Keep fueling all day.

Your Colorado Climbing Anchor

In your recon rides, most of your climbing has been around 130–145 W at 130–135 bpm. On Columbine, you climbed at approximately 145 W and 138 bpm. That is the most useful pacing information we have.

All-Day Climbing130–145 W
Comfortable HR130–135 bpm
Recon Columbine145 W / 138 bpm
Threshold HR156 bpm

Important: Race-day adrenaline can make these numbers feel too easy early. That is exactly why you should trust them.

Your Heart-Rate Guardrails

Your race should live well below 156 bpm for the vast majority of the day. You do not need to ride close to threshold to have a strong Leadville.

130–138 bpm: working zone.   139–145: controlled climbing.   146–150: use selectively.   156: do not live there.

For you, the race is much more about preserving durable forward progress than proving what you can produce on any one climb.

Section-by-Section Pacing Plan

1. Start → Carter Summit / St. Kevin’s
Approx. 0–10.6 mi
Climbing Power
130–145 W
Heart Rate
128–138 bpm
Soft Ceiling
~142 bpm

Your job: Protect the first 90 minutes.

  • The start will make controlled riding feel artificially slow. Ignore that.
  • Do not follow riders who are climbing faster than your sustainable rhythm.
  • If the terrain forces a short spike, settle immediately afterward.
  • If walking a very steep pitch is smoother than forcing the bike, walk it.
Fuel cue: Eat. Drink. Keep the schedule.
2. Carter Summit → Outward Bound
Approx. 10.6–22.3 mi
Power
Easy / terrain dictated
Heart Rate
120s–low 130s
Priority
Recover + descend cleanly
  • Do not try to make time on descents beyond your comfort level.
  • Stay relaxed on the bike and let faster technical riders go.
  • Use easier terrain to eat and drink.
Fuel cue: Do not let technical focus interrupt your nutrition schedule.
3. Outward Bound → Twin Lakes
Approx. 22.3–38.2 mi
Steady Power
120–140 W
Short Rises
140–150 W
Heart Rate
125–138 bpm
  • Use groups when they are available and comfortable.
  • Do not spend extra power simply to hold a wheel that is too aggressive.
  • This should still feel like controlled endurance riding.
Fuel cue: Eat. Drink. Keep the schedule.
4. Twin Lakes → Base of Columbine
Approx. 38.2–44 mi
Power
130–145 W
Heart Rate
130–138 bpm
Priority
Arrive ready to climb
  • Do not “pre-race” Columbine before Columbine starts.
  • Settle into the same climbing rhythm you have already practiced in Colorado.
  • Fuel before the climb becomes more demanding.
Fuel cue: Take calories before the climb, not after you start needing them.
5. Columbine
Major race centerpiece

Your recon ride gives us the answer here: you already know what sustainable Columbine climbing feels like.

Lower Columbine

Power
140–150 W
Heart Rate
132–140 bpm
Execution
Smooth and controlled

Start close to the rhythm you used in recon. Do not let race-day energy turn 145 W into 165 W.

Middle Columbine

Power
135–150 W
Heart Rate
135–142 bpm
Execution
Rhythm over wattage

If your HR begins rising while power stays the same, reduce power and protect the day.

Upper Columbine / Goat Path

Power
Whatever is efficient
Heart Rate
138–145 bpm
Strategy
Walk early if needed

Walking is part of your pacing plan.

  • Do not fight the bike simply to stay mounted.
  • Get off before you are forced off by traction, traffic, or exhaustion.
  • Keep the effort aerobic while walking.
  • Do not chase riders through technical sections beyond your comfort level.
Fuel cue: Keep taking in calories and fluid whenever terrain allows.
6. Columbine → Twin Lakes Inbound
Approx. 50–61.2 mi
Power
Terrain dictated
Heart Rate
Allow it to fall
Priority
Safe descent + reset
  • Descend conservatively. Your race is not won by taking risks here.
  • Stay loose through your upper body and give yourself room.
  • Once the terrain becomes easier, resume steady fueling immediately.
Fuel cue: The descent is not a nutrition break. Resume eating as soon as it is safe.
7. Twin Lakes Inbound → Outward Bound
Approx. 61.2–77.1 mi
Steady Power
125–145 W
Heart Rate
128–138 bpm
Priority
Restore forward rhythm
  • This is not the time to prove you still have legs.
  • Re-establish steady movement after Columbine.
  • If you feel good, preserve that feeling for the later climbing toward Carter.
Fuel cue: Eat. Drink. Keep the schedule. This is where missed calories begin to matter.
8. Outward Bound → Carter Summit
Approx. 77.1–88.8 mi
Climbing Power
135–150 W
Heart Rate
135–145 bpm
Upper Allowance
~148 bpm if strong

This is your key durability section.

  • Keep moving steadily. Avoid stops unless they are necessary.
  • Walk steep pitches if riding them requires grinding, poor traction, or a major HR spike.
  • If you are still producing 140–150 W with controlled HR here, you are having a very good race.
  • Do not allow impatience to turn this into a threshold climb.
Fuel cue: Keep calories coming. Your ability to climb here depends on what you ate two hours ago.
9. Carter Summit → Finish
Final section
Power
130–150 W, then build
Heart Rate
135–145+, as available
Priority
Keep moving forward
  • Do not empty the tank immediately after Carter.
  • Keep the effort smooth and let the remaining distance dictate how aggressively you finish.
  • When the race is truly short, use what you have left.
Fuel cue: Keep eating and drinking until the finish is genuinely close.

Late-Race Decision Tree

Use this from Twin Lakes inbound through Carter Summit.

You feel greatKeep the same rhythm through Twin Lakes inbound. Begin increasing effort only as you approach the later climbing toward Carter.
You feel normalStay inside 130–145 W on sustained climbing, keep HR controlled, and keep fueling. A normal feeling at mile 70 is a good race.
You are strugglingReduce power, walk steep terrain sooner, restore fueling and hydration, and focus on uninterrupted forward movement.

Your Technical-Terrain Rule

You do not need to make time on technical terrain. You need to avoid losing the race to technical terrain.

Ride within your skill set. Give faster descenders room. Walk when riding becomes inefficient. The goal is to arrive at the final third of the race physically intact, mentally composed, and still able to produce steady aerobic work.

Quick-Reference Race Card

Screenshot this section for race morning.

Section Power HR Execution Cue
Start → Carter 130–145 W 128–138 Protect the first 90 min.
Carter → Outward Bound Easy / terrain dictated 120s–low 130s Descend safely. Recover.
Outward Bound → Twin Lakes 120–140 W; rises 140–150 125–138 Steady and economical.
Twin Lakes → Columbine 130–145 W 130–138 Fuel before the climb.
Lower Columbine 140–150 W 132–140 Recon rhythm.
Middle Columbine 135–150 W 135–142 Rhythm over watts.
Upper Columbine Whatever is efficient 138–145 Walk early if needed.
Columbine → Twin Lakes Terrain dictated Let HR fall Safe descent + reset.
Twin Lakes → Outward Bound 125–145 W 128–138 Restore rhythm.
Outward Bound → Carter 135–150 W 135–145 Key durability section.
Carter → Finish 130–150 W, then build 135–145+ Keep moving. Finish progressively.

All-day reminder: Eat. Drink. Keep the schedule. Walk before you over-spend. Stay inside your skill set.

This plan is intentionally based more heavily on your observed Colorado riding response than on a generic altitude correction. Power targets are ranges because terrain, altitude, fatigue, technical demands, temperature, traffic, and day-to-day physiology will change the exact wattage associated with a given internal load.