The Leadville Trail 100 MTB is the second oldest of the well-known marathon mountain bike races held in the United States, the oldest being the Wilderness 101 in central Pennsylvania. The Leadville Trail 100 MTB was first run in 1994 and has become one of the best marketed, attended and known marathon events in mountain bike racing.

Entry to the event is controlled and restricted. Some entries are awarded by a random lottery, while other entries are awarded by finishing well in a series of qualifying events. Lottery entries are due by the end of December for the race that is run the second Saturday in August. Qualifying events are similar to the Leadville 100 race but shorter, typically around 100 km in length. Courses for qualifying events typically cover similar terrain (roads, dirt roads, gravel roads and mild trails) with similar vertical elevation gains (~100 feet per 1 mile).

History The Leadville Trail 100 MTB race is an outgrowth of the Leadville Trail 100 footrace. Both races were begun by Ken Chlouber as part of an effort to spur the economy of the town of Leadville after the Climax Mine, which employed many residents, closed. The mountain bike race was the idea of Tony Post, then a marketing vice president at the Rockport Company, sponsor of the event who arranged for television coverage for both races. The first mountain bike race drew just 150 entrants, while the 2009 edition allowed 1400 entrants. The race has continued to grow and to allow more entrants. In 2010, the event was purchased by Life Time Fitness. In 2019, there were 1,644 racers. In 2022 it was added to the Life Time Grand Prix.

Course The race is run on an out and back course of about , starting and finishing in downtown Leadville, Colorado, United States, at elevation. The course includes five major climbs: St Kevins, Sugarloaf, Columbine, Powerline, and Turquoise Lake Road. The largest of these is the climb to Columbine Mine, which gains over of elevation. Total elevation gain is approximately when verified by GPS tracks of past competitors. The actual length of the course is approximately , and the greatest elevation is over at the half-way point at the Columbine mine. There are six aid stations on the course, at Pipeline, Twin Lakes Dam, Columbine Mine, Twin Lakes Dam, Pipeline, and Carter Summit.

In 2026 the course was modified for wildfires, reducing the climbing by over 3000 feet.

Cutoff Times Racers must checkout of aid stations prior to cutoff times. These times place limits on the amount of time racers have to finish a course leg. They are found in the Leadville Trail 100 MTB Athlete Guide and also in the event schedule on the website.

Riders must check out of each aid station prior to the cut-off times. Failure to do so will end the racer's competitive time and result in a did not finish (DNF) race result status. In the final leg toward the race finish, racers must finish prior to a 9-hour cutoff time to qualify for the "big buckle" and a 12-hour cutoff time for completion and to qualify for the "small buckle". Belt buckle times were reduced by 45 minuets in 2026 to adjust for the course changes.

Cutoff Times Course LegElapsed Race TimeActual Cutoff Time Twin Lakes Outbound (40.8 miles) Elapsed (gun) time, 4 hours, 20 minutes Actual Time 10:50am MST Twin Lakes Return (60 miles) Elapsed (gun) time, 8 hours, 5 minutes Actual Time 2:35pm MST Pipeline Return (74.7 miles) Elapsed (gun) time, 9 hours, 5 minutes Actual Time 3:35pm MST Carter Summit (92.5 miles) Elapsed (gun) time, 9 hours, 50 minutes Actual Time 4:20pm MST Race Finish (104 miles) Elapsed (chip) time, 12 hours, 00 minutes Actual Time 6:30pm - 6:50pm MST

Notable Racers Between 2003 and 2008, David Wiens, a 2000 inductee to the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame, won the race each year. In 2007, Wiens broke the 7 hour mark for the first time at 6:58:46 while holding off Floyd Landis by just under 2 minutes. In 2008, Wiens won again beating Lance Armstrong by just under 2 minutes and setting a new course record of 6:45:45 . In 2009, Armstrong returned winning and establishing a new course record of 6:28:50.9. Armstrong's involvement with the race brought increased attention to the Leadville Trail 100 MTB, evidenced by the fact that race organizers offered a live webcast for purchase beginning in 2009. In 2010, Armstrong was unable to return due to injury, but his Team RadioShack teammate Levi Leipheimer, riding in his first mountain bike race, won and set a new course record of 6:16:37. In the 2010 women's race, two-time winner Rebecca Rusch also broke the course record, which had stood since 1997. In 2011, a conflict with the Tour of Utah kept Leipheimer away, but U.S. national cross-country bike champion Todd Wells turned in the second-fastest time ever to win, 6:23:38, while Rusch won the women's race again and shaved over 15 minutes off her previous record, with 7:31:46.

Winners Men's winner YearName, State or CountryTime 1994 John Stamstad, , Ohio 7:52:53 1995 Russell Worley, , California 7:27:55 1996 Mike Volk, , Colorado 7:22:02 1997 Mike Volk (2), , Colorado 7:05:45 1998 Richard Feldman, , Idaho 7:40:02 1999 Richard Feldman (2), , Idaho 7:10:33 2000 Kevin Willson, , Colorado 7:31:09 2001 Bryson Perry, , Utah 7:30:01 2002 Bryson Perry (2), , Utah 7:32:27 2003 David Wiens, , Colorado 7:07:44 2004 David Wiens (2), , Colorado 7:05:51 2005 David Wiens (3), , Colorado 7:17:47 2006 David Wiens (4), , Colorado 7:13:14 2007 David Wiens (5), , Colorado 6:58:46 2008 David Wiens (6), , Colorado 6:45:45 2009 Lance Armstrong, , Texas 6:28:51 2010 Levi Leipheimer, , California 6:16:37 2011 Todd Wells, , Colorado 6:23:38 2012 Alban Lakata, , Austria 6:32:23 2013 Alban Lakata (2), , Austria 6:04:01 2014 Todd Wells (2), , Colorado 6:16:27 2015 Alban Lakata (3), , Austria 5:58:35 2016 Todd Wells (3), , Colorado6:19:43 2017 Howard Grotts, , Colorado6:15:00 2018 Howard Grotts (2), , Colorado6:18:08 2019 Howard Grotts (3), , Colorado6:19:18 2020 Not held 2021 Keegan Swenson, , Utah6:11:26 2022 Keegan Swenson (2), , Utah6:00:012023Keegan Swenson (3), , Utah5:43:31*2024Keegan Swenson (4), , Utah5:49:082025Keegan Swenson (5), , Utah5:45:332026Keegan Swenson (6), , Utah5:20:26**

Women's winner YearName, StateTime 1994 Laurie Brandt, , Colorado 9:03:50 1995 Laurie Brandt (2), , Colorado 8:52:58 1996 Tonia Ralston, , Wyoming 9:56:15 1997 Laurie Brandt (3), , Colorado 7:58:52 1998 Laurie Brandt (4), , Colorado 8:31:24 1999 Cristina Begy, , Colorado 8:55:12 2000 Cristina Begy (2), , Colorado 9:13:51 2001 Joan Miller, , Colorado 9:11:30 2002 Kim Raymond, , Colorado 9:00:57 2003 Carol Quinn, , Colorado 9:19:49 2004 Jilene Mecham, , Utah 9:37:18 2005 Joan Miller (2), , Colorado 8:51:26 2006 Lisel Robert, , Utah 8:47:39 2007 Gretchen Reeves, , Colorado 8:05:29 2008 Susan Williams, , Colorado 8:40:55 2009 Rebecca Rusch, , Idaho 8:14:53 2010 Rebecca Rusch (2), , Idaho 7:47:35 2011 Rebecca Rusch (3), , Idaho 7:31:46 2012 Rebecca Rusch (4), , Idaho 7:28:06 2013 Sally Bigham, , Great Britain 7:17:01 2014 Sally Bigham (2), , Great Britain 7:23:58 2015 Annika Langvad, , Denmark 6:59:242016 Sally Bigham (3), , Great Britain7:05:472017 Larissa Connors, , California7:31:532018 Larissa Connors (2), , California7:40:132019 Rose Grant, , Montana7:36:062020 Not held2021 Rose Grant, , Montana7:23:572022 Hannah Otto, , Utah7:24:122023 Sofía Gómez Villafañe, , Argentina7:09:482024 Melisa Rollins, , Utah7:10:102025 Kate Courtney, , California6:48:54*2026Melisa Rollins, , Utah5:58:43** *Course Record

**Modified Course

See also Leadville Trail 100 is an ultramarathon running race.

References

External links LeadvilleRaceSeries.com - Official website of the Leadville Trail 100 Mile MTB Leadville MTB 100 2011 - 2011 Leadville Trail 100 MTB Strava Segment