Leadville Trail 100 MTB 2024 - I dug deep!

[@TechAssuranceATL]

Great video, Thanks for sharing. I hope to be participating at Leadville over next 2 years. Also started training with TR as well.

[@XCBen]

Nice! You're going to love TR. Good luck. Hope you get in.

[@leadvillepod]

Congratulations! And also: really great video.

[@XCBen]

Thank you, thank you. I talked to you, chasing The Hammer down Hagermans and Turquoise Lake Road. Thanks again for the podcast. It really made a world of difference.

[@NJDDance]

Hell yeah Ben!! My favorite biker on KZbin! You’re a beast!

[@XCBen]

Why thank you. I didn't know I was up there in the rankings since I don't really post much anymore haha

[@jennw142]

Wow beautiful scenery and very climby! Downhill looks fun....I felt my legs resting watching it 😂...Great job and congrats again! 👏🏼

[@XCBen]

Thank you so much 👍 It's extremely difficult. The elevation is a bish

[@scottsee5766]

Well done dude! “Powerline - FML” awesome!

[@XCBen]

Haha, I am glad someone noticed my humor on this video. Thanks!

[@ytvideos101]

Wow, congratulations Ben on conquering 2024 Leadville 100 and earning the buckle!!! Really enjoyed the video and thanks for sharing! 🔥🙌❤️

[@XCBen]

@@ytvideos101 for sure. I promise not to make myself sound like a beast for some time now since this is probably the hardest thing I'll ever do. Haha

[@sinerdme]

Congratulations Ben! 10 hours sounds super impressive to me.

[@XCBen]

Anyone that completes this with whatever time would be considered impressive. Insanely difficult ride. Go get your buckle. It's an amazing event.

[@CGalvis65]

Great job Benji!! Glad you were able to go “Tinkaly Winkalies”!!

[@XCBen]

😂

[@beavis17UF1]

Congrats Ben!

[@XCBen]

Thanks, Robert. You've done this once, right? Did it work out the way you wanted?

[@TheWavrdr]

Sick work Ben!!!! Congrats on a stellar finish!!! Nice work to Rodster as well! 🤙🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻

[@XCBen]

Thanks bro!

[@Julduk3d5]

Congratulations 🍾🎉🎊 Ben! Great video! Important achievement! Good time! 💪🏆

[@XCBen]

@Julduk3d5 thanks Julian! Have you done this event?

[@Julduk3d5]

@@XCBen no Sr. looks very interesting and challenging.

[@XCBen]

It's an amazing event. You'd love it.

[@Running_with_Faith]

Hot Dog! Well done Ben!!!! That was a very impressive time. They might have sent a search party out after me...and I ride an e-bike!!!! LoL!! Well done & that is one sweet ass medal!!!

[@XCBen]

Thank you so much, Maria! I love the buckle and medal. Hope you're doing well and have a great day!

[@rorywalsh7799]

Great video, thanks

[@XCBen]

Glad you liked it!

[@deathorca]

Congrats Ben!!

[@XCBen]

Thanks! Appreciate ya.

[@rwogmtb-ridingwitholdguy]

Nice ride, looks like a crazy event, quite a commitment to accomplish.

[@XCBen]

Oh yea. Leadville is the hardest, highest ,single day mtb event in the States and one of the most prestigious races in the world. It blows other events out the water.

[@WildWheelsMTB]

Thats huge! Nice work! The scenery made the big day on the bike much more bearable I bet!

[@XCBen]

Oh it sure did. I had a phenomenal time. Thanks!

[@WildWheelsMTB]

@@XCBen Keep it up! Are you a Pisgah local btw? I checked out and subbed your channel!

[@XCBen]

@@WildWheelsMTB I am a Pisgah local. Live right next to The Hub. I saw you posted this video on the WNC Facebook page.

[@WildWheelsMTB]

@@XCBen Right on! If you ever wanna link up and ride and make a video together let me know! Would love to collab with other MTB Creators!

[@XCBen]

Eh, I am all burnt out from the KZbin creator cliche. Did it for 7 years. I just make videos for fun now without all the "Make sure to subscribe, Like, and, share! Don't forget to hit that notification bell so you don't miss the next video." Haha. I'd rather just ride with ya for fun. Hit me up on IG: Benduro_mtb

[@Avgjoedude]

Cool vid bro. Hoping to hit lottery 25 or 26.

[@XCBen]

Thanks! Hope you get in. Epic event.

[@bruceh5933]

0:49 - Rod Rennebu, who took 10:45 to finish, yelling at people has really soured me for wanting to do this race because I don't think I can handle people like that.

[@XCBen]

He was asking people to move for this guy Ty, who is starting in the way back to pass as many people as he can for a fundraiser. I didn't havebany issues with people. Don't over think it

[@nishantnishant6278]

Dude I'm the guy at the finish line in the pink EF jersey! What are the odds 😅 Great vid and congrats 🙌🏽

[@XCBen]

Just after the finish line, standing with two or three others? Cool. Thank you! Your race went like you wanted?

[@CookingwithKory]

Off he goes!

[@XCBen]

I sure did. What an adventure it was. Hi Kory. Hope all is well.

[@theadventurebiker]

NICE!!!! 👍

[@XCBen]

@@theadventurebiker thanks John!

[@JohnJohnson-hp4so]

Loved the video. You gave showed enough of the differences in the terrain to get a better feel than most videos do. Just curious, what corral were you in?

[@XCBen]

Thank you for the comment. I was a lottery draw, so I was in the Brown corral.

[@JohnJohnson-hp4so]

@@XCBen Ah, ok. I'm guaranteed a spot for next year since I joined Life Time's Foundation Athlete program and will end up in brown as well. I'm going to race a qualifying race, not for entry, but for corral placement. Hopefully I can move forward a bit. Looks like a bottleneck for the some of the climbs. Also, did you hook up with a few riders for the flatter sections? I assume it would keep you from burning so much energy. Taking turns should be easier than solo.

[@XCBen]

I did hook up with a few riders on the flatter sections. It's tough cause you think they might be at your level, but then aren't, so I end up just going ahead of them. Same thing if they're too strong. Either way, I felt really good at this event. Wasn't as difficult as I thought. Definitely wasn't the hardest event I've ever done. It's probably cause I ended up getting a bike that's 3 lbs lighter, a month before the event.

[@dweyhrauch09]

woot woot

[@XCBen]

Heck yea!

[@jaselikesbikes]

Well done Ben, great video. Loved the enthusiasm, what camera and mount did you use for the rear camera?

[@XCBen]

Thanks, Jason. I used the gopro hero 9 in the rear and a 10 on the front. The mount is a Zedge saddle rail gopro mount.

[@jaselikesbikes]

@@XCBen cheer. I have used the session 5 before. Might be a good option to make the video's a bit better, thanks.

[@XCBen]

Man, things have drastically changed since the session 5. Actually, after the 7 came out, electronic stabilization had taken off. It's so much nicer to have footage that looks good. Speaking of, if you're uploading onto KZbin, due to compression and bitrate, you want to upload in 2.7k or 4k. That way you don't have artifacts in your videos. Not sure what you use for editing, but if you don't want o record in 2.7 or 4k, you can upscale your 1080 footage to wither 2.7 or 4k. If you upload POV footage in 1080p it always looks way too compressed. Hope that wasn't too confusing. Cheers

[@jaselikesbikes]

@@XCBen yes I like the size of the session 5. I have an 8 a 10 and an 11 mini. I never use the 11 mini and regret buying it. I use final cut and upload mainly in 4k unless it is a review video.

[@rickmazzilli]

BOOM!

[@XCBen]

Shacka lacka!

[@Ecoroof1986]

Great video really enjoyed watching it. A different perspective from what we normally see from the guys right at the front. It looks way harder than their videos for sure. A technical question for you if you don't mind. I have a Cervelo ZFS 120 GX axs which I love. Like you I'd like to make a couple of changes. I noticed that you changed the bars. What did you go with?

[@XCBen]

@Ecoroof1986 Thanks for the compliment. I got Enve M5 Bars. Also got a OneUp V3 dropper, XX1 eagle drive train, Noble carbon wheels laced with Berd spokes and DT Swiss 240 hubs, and a specialized Power Mimic saddle.

[@Ecoroof1986]

​@@XCBenbrilliant thank you. Tried finding you on Instagram but can't. Are you on there?

[@XCBen]

@@Ecoroof1986 yea, as Benduro_mtb

[@John_Don31]

how do you get accommodation for the race?? can you fly directly from denver to leadville?

[@XCBen]

I got with three other people to get an Air B & B in Frisco, CO. We also rented a RAM 1500. I paid $450 for 7 nights at the house and $400 for the truck. I am not sure about the Denver to Leadville flight.

[@John_Don31]

@@XCBen amazing thanks Ben!

[@davidmaco1]

awesome content Ben thanks for sharing !! what did you think of that elevation?

[@XCBen]

It wasn't too bad on me, actually. I spent 8 days up there before the race. Hard efforts are difficult, but since I was riding in zone 2 for most of the race, I was fine.

[@Johnny-Utah-91]

How long did you walk up Columbine? Miles/time? good job BTW

[@XCBen]

Idk, a half a mile, maybe. I didn't walk much on it. Thanks. Who is this again?

[@johnrodriguez8253]

Was that really a fart @7:40 ?LMAO!!!

[@XCBen]

Of course. The elevation pushed it out of me. Lol

[@artemartem7534]

Great video, dude! What program (phases) in the TrainerRoad did you use? What is your FTP and w/kg? Congratulations 🎉

[@XCBen]

Thanks! I don't remember what phase exactly. I think it was cross country marathon. Started with 5 to 7 hours a week with 5 days of riding. Then 7 to 12 hours a few months before the event. My FTP is 3.7w/kg. I weight 140lbs.

[@michaelhotten752]

Sounds like you were surprise to see your crew just before TLD instead of Alt? what happened there?

[@XCBen]

We discussed having her be at TL Alt, not where they were. Reason was that I had planned to grab uswe pack right after Columbine descent. It's OK. We made it work.

[@michaelhotten752]

@@XCBen were they unable to get to Alt or was it too crowded or something? btw, thanks for the Podcast shoutout. I find these POV videos of the race really informative. It's really hard to believe after all the work to get corralls and wave starts that you guys are still having to walk that much. My first go in 2011 we had no waves, I started near the back and was able to clean Kevin's and almost got columbine. I certainly didn't see the traffic you had and I've always had a pretty free run at the singletrack.

[@XCBen]

@michaelhotten752 My friends who knew the race, since they did it last year, were told to go to Twin Alt, but for some reason, he thought this was that spot. SMH, it's miscommunication, I guess. It might have looked like it, but I never walked Kevin's. I rode the whole thing, slowly, but riding nonetheless. The only sections I walked were what you saw on Columbine. It was maybe just a few parts. I also rode most of Powerline inbound, except the tippy top. I had a great time. I knew it would be a cluster fudge coming into Kevin's. Especially since I knew I wasn't going to go hard going into it. I tried my best to stay in Zone 2 the whole time. Worked for me. Thanks again for all you do to prepare us newbies.

[@NoCarNancy]

Does everyone get along 😅

[@XCBen]

For the most part. But just like with everything, there are a few bad apples.

[@carlgoutell2593]

Did Rod get ahead of you or behind after the first sag stop?

[@XCBen]

He dipped on me during powerline cause I was being safe. I caught him on the Columbine climb.

[@carlgoutell2593]

@@XCBen great job in the race and great video as always. That 12k foot fart was the ticket for a strong finish!

[@XCBen]

@@carlgoutell2593 😂

[@214000451]

What is your ftp?

[@XCBen]

@@214000451 3.85w/kg