LTGP RACERS PREPARE FOR LEADVILLE TRAIL 100 MTB with LEADVILLE STAGE RACE
The Leadville Stage Race featured LTGP riders scouting the upcoming Leadville Trail 100 MTB course along with 350 new friends. The stage race divides the 100 course into 3 sections, fully supported for fun point-to-point days and wrapping with catered meals and awards each night.
The women’s race was a nail-biter leading into the final stage. Ellen Campbell took stage 1 in a tight finish, just 8 seconds ahead of a charging Sofia Waite. Melisa Rollins and Deanna Mayles followed a just over a minute later.
Stage 2 turned that order upside down as Mayles held off a resurgent Rollins after cresting Columbine with a hard-fought gap. The DH QOM fell under the combined pressure. Just 19 secs separated those two at the finish with Campbell crossing just 30 secs later.
Stage 3 would blow up the status quo and reward Rollins with a lifetime of Leadville race course practice as she dominated the stage, climbing clear early into the Powerline climb and building on her lead all the way thru to the finish, taking the overall win by more than 7 minutes ahead of Sofia Waite, with Campbell and Mayles following close behind.
For the men, McElveen came out swinging with a win on stage 1, 2mins ahead of young Jack Odron. These two would separate themselves from the field each day, eventually taking 1-2 in the overall, well-ahead of 3rd placed Kevin Druis-Merenda. On Stage 2 and featuring the infamous Columbine Mine climb as its focus, Odron attacked McElveen, cresting the summit with 30seconds in hand. The hardtail might have been an advantage on the way up, but on the long descent and return to the finish, the full-suspension rig of McElveen was able to gobble up time all the way home.
Stage 3 was a clear victory for McElveen with an early attack on Powerline that held across the flats and the return to Leadville.
