How to Crew for the Leadville Trail 100 MTB

Being a crew member at the Leadville Trail 100 MTB is one of the most rewarding and most stressful things you can do at a bike race. Your athlete has spent months preparing for 100+ miles at altitude through some of the most demanding terrain in Colorado. On race day, your job is to be the one clear-headed person in their corner, because by the time they reach you at hour five or six, they are not going to be thinking clearly.

That is not an exaggeration. Athletes at this point in the race are managing oxygen debt, altitude fatigue, physical pain, and mental pressure simultaneously. They will forget to eat. They will forget to drink. They will have opinions about skipping sunscreen that are completely wrong. They will tell you they are fine when they are not. Your job is to know what they need and execute it efficiently, whether they think they need it or not.

Here is everything you need to know to do that job well.

A note on the 2026 course

The 2026 Leadville Trail 100 MTB is running on a modified course due to the Willow Fire, which ignited in late June west of Leadville and burned over 7,200 acres including key sections of the traditional route. The US Forest Service closed the affected area through September 30.

Life Time secured permits to reroute and confirmed the race will proceed on August 15. The 2026 course is 102.1 miles with 9,916 feet of elevation gain. The following sections have been removed from the traditional course: Hagerman Pass Road, Sugarloaf Mountain, and the Powerline climb and descent.

The new route departs west from Harrison Avenue, climbs St. Kevin's as usual, then routes east around Turquoise Lake to bypass the fire-affected area. Riders rejoin the course at the bottom of what was the Powerline descent before entering Outward Bound at mile 22.7. From there the route follows the traditional course through Pipeline, Twin Lakes Dam, and Columbine, which remains fully intact as the centerpiece of the race.

If you crewed at Leadville in a previous year, do not assume the setup is the same. Aid station locations, mileages, and access rules have changed for 2026. Read the official crew guide from Life Time before race week.

The 2026 aid stations and crew access points

These are the confirmed crew-accessible locations for age-group riders on the 2026 rerouted course. All mileages are approximate and subject to final confirmation from Life Time. Check the official race guide for final numbers.

Outward Bound — mile 22.7 outbound / mile 77.5 inbound

Crew access, no limits on crew or parking. Setup begins 5:00 AM. This is your first and one of your most important stops. Riders arrive here before the big climb and again on the return with significant fatigue accumulated.

Pipeline — mile 16.2 outbound / mile 74.2 inbound

Crew access. Also a designated Elite Feed Zone. Age-group crews can access their athletes here. This stop is earlier in the race outbound, so athletes may feel strong and want to skip it. Do not let them skip it.

Twin Lakes Dam — mile 38.5 outbound / mile 58.7 inbound

Crew access. This is the last stop before Columbine and the site of the first major cutoff at 10:45 AM. Riders who miss this cutoff are pulled from the course. On the inbound, athletes arrive having just descended from 12,500 feet after the hardest section of the race. This is the most critical crew stop on the course.

Lost Canyon — mile 42.5 outbound / mile 58.7 inbound

Reserved crewing space system using pre-assigned 10-by-10-foot spaces allocated by random drawing, tied to athlete bibs, non-transferable. Setup begins 6:00 AM. Signup windows were during registration and July 17 for late entries.

Columbine Mine — mile 50.4

The turnaround. Not a crew access point. You will not see your athlete here.

Note: The official Leadville Race Series page states aid station mileages are subject to change and may differ slightly from published maps. Verify final mileages in the official crew and athlete guides before race day.

What the race looks like from the crew's perspective

Understanding the course helps you anticipate your athlete's state when they reach you.

Miles 0 to 22.7 (start to Outward Bound outbound): The race starts on Harrison Avenue and climbs St. Kevin's before routing east around Turquoise Lake. The early miles include meaningful climbing at altitude but nothing as severe as the traditional Sugarloaf or Hagerman sections that have been removed. Athletes may arrive at Outward Bound feeling relatively fresh. That is fine, but use this stop to establish good habits early. Refill everything, check the bike, apply sunscreen, and get them back on course efficiently.

Miles 22.7 to 38.5 (Outward Bound to Twin Lakes Dam outbound): This stretch includes Pipeline at mile 16.2 before hitting Twin Lakes Dam at mile 38.5. By Twin Lakes Dam, athletes have been climbing at altitude for several hours and are approaching the cutoff window. The cutoff at Twin Lakes Dam is 10:15 AM. Athletes near the bubble need to keep moving at this stop. Keep it fast.

Miles 38.5 to 50.4 (Twin Lakes Dam to Columbine summit): You will not see your athlete during this stretch. Columbine is 8 miles long with the summit near 12,500 feet. The upper section on the Goat Trail is steep, loose shale, and forces most riders to hike. This is where the race sorts itself out. Move between aid stations during this window and be ready at Twin Lakes Dam for the inbound leg.

Miles 50.4 to 102.1 (return to Leadville): Athletes descend Columbine and retrace the course back to Leadville. They pass Twin Lakes Dam again at mile 58.7 and Outward Bound at mile 77.5. In a traditional year the return included Powerline at approximately mile 88, one of the hardest moments of the race. That climb is gone in 2026. The return is still demanding, still over 50 miles at altitude with significant climbing, but athletes who have done Leadville before will find the back half less brutal than they are expecting. That change cuts both ways. It removes a known suffer point but also means any pacing assumptions from previous years do not apply. Your crew work on the return needs to be fast, complete, and focused regardless.

What to have at every stop

The list of what you bring matters less than the habit of going through it systematically every time your athlete rolls in. When someone is five or six hours into a high-altitude mountain bike race, they are not going to remember what they need. You are.

Go through this at every stop:

Nutrition: check what they have consumed since the last stop, refill all food on the bike and in pockets, hand off fresh nutrition, confirm they have enough for the next segment.

Hydration: refill all bottles, check that they drank what they should have since the last checkpoint, hand off electrolytes if needed.

Sunscreen: reapply to face, neck, and arms at every stop. At altitude, UV exposure is significantly higher than at sea level and athletes are too focused on the race to notice they are burning.

Chamois cream: offer it at Twin Lakes Dam inbound and Outward Bound inbound at minimum. The return leg is where saddle sores become a real problem and a quick reapplication takes thirty seconds and can save the back half of the race.

Baby Wipes: to give the chain a quick wipe prior to relubing or anything else that needs to be quickly cleaned.

Chain lube: carry a small bottle of wet lube and apply a few drops to the chain at every stop. The dust and conditions at Leadville are hard on drivetrains and a noisy, dry chain costs watts the athlete does not have to spare.

Mechanical quick check: look at the tires for visible damage or low pressure, look at the drivetrain for obvious issues, ask if anything feels wrong with the bike.

Spare supplies: check what tubes, CO2, and tire plugs your athlete has remaining and restock as needed. Know what they started with and track what they have used. Do not wait for them to ask.

Medical: look at your athlete. Are they sweating normally? Are their eyes tracking? Are they making sense? Altitude changes how impairment presents and heat exhaustion can develop faster than athletes realize. If something seems off, say something.

Warm layer: at Leadville, afternoon temperatures can drop quickly, particularly if clouds move in. Have a light jacket or arm warmers accessible for the return leg.

Lights: if your athlete is on pace to be out after dark, have lights ready to hand off at Outward Bound or Pipeline on the return.

The crew mindset

Your athlete is going to have opinions at every aid station. Some of those opinions are going to be wrong, and your job is to know the difference between an athlete making a sensible judgment call and an athlete whose judgment is compromised by fatigue, altitude, and competitive pressure.

If your athlete says they are not hungry, they probably need to eat. If they say they do not need sunscreen, they probably need sunscreen. If they say they feel fine, check their eyes and their color anyway. The higher the altitude and the longer they have been on the bike, the less reliable their self-assessment becomes.

Keep aid station stops efficient. The goal is not to give your athlete time to sit and talk about how the race is going. It is to execute the checklist as quickly and completely as possible and get them back on the bike. Every minute at an aid station is a minute not racing. Know your choreography before they arrive. Know who does bottles, who does food, who does sunscreen, who checks the bike. Practice it if you can.

Stay calm regardless of what you are seeing. Your athlete is reading your emotional state and if you look worried, they will feel it. Be encouraging, be direct, be efficient, and keep moving.

Race day crew checklist

Use this at every aid station. Print it and keep it in your crew bag.

EVERY STOP

Hydration

Fill all bottles to capacity

Confirm they drank since the last stop

Hand off electrolyte tablets or mix if needed

Nutrition

Count what they consumed since last stop

Refill all on-bike food storage

Hand off fresh gels, bars, or real food

Confirm they have enough for the next segment

Skin care

Reapply sunscreen to face, neck, and arms

Offer chamois cream (Twin Lakes Dam inbound and Outward Bound inbound at minimum)

Drivetrain

Wipe chain clean

Apply chain lube

Check for obvious mechanical issues

Bike check

Inspect tires for visible damage or pressure loss

Check that brakes are functioning

Ask if anything feels wrong

Spare supplies

Restock tubes, CO2, and tire plugs as needed

Track what they have used since the last stop

Medical

Look them in the eyes, assess alertness

Check skin color and sweat pattern

Ask how they are feeling and listen critically

SITUATIONAL ITEMS (have ready, deploy as needed)

Arm warmers or light jacket for afternoon cold

Lights and batteries if finish time may extend past sunset

Dry socks if conditions are wet

Anti-nausea medication if they are struggling to eat

Caffeine (gels or cola) for the return leg from Twin Lakes Dam onward

WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE RACE DAY

Know the 2026 rerouted course and do not assume previous Leadville experience applies

Know your aid station locations and parking assignment for the new course layout

Know the cutoff time at Twin Lakes Dam outbound (10:15 AM)

Know your athlete's target split times so you know if they are on pace

Read the official crew guide and know the access rules for each location

Have a communication plan if cell service is limited in some areas

Know your athlete's medical history and any allergies to nutrition products

Note that drop bars are banned from the 2026 MTB race per Life Time's updated equipment rules

One more thing

When your athlete crosses the finish line, whatever their time, whatever happened out on the course, they did something hard. Be there for that moment and let them feel it. The logistics are done. The job is done. That part is theirs.

See you in Leadville!