'You're not going to fake it up Columbine' - Keegan Swenson returns sights on fifth win at Leadville Trail 100 MTB

Keegan Swenson (Santa Cruz-SRAM) returns to Leadville, Colorado as the favourite to defend his elite men's title at Saturday's "race across the sky", also known as Life Time Leadville Trail 100 MTB presented by Kenetik.

Swenson comes into Leadville firing on all cylinders, eager to chew up the rocky terrain on the Columbine ascent and descent, use drop bars on mountain bike setups and go faster among the stacked fields of contenders. Swenson calls the race "uncomfortable" and the section to and from Columbine Mine "violent".

It's a race where each rider battles elevation and self-pace rather than the competition.

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"I don’t feel a whole lot of pressure going into Leadville. I’ve won the race for the last four years, so I feel like I don’t have anything to prove, but I’m always happy to be on the start line and give it everything," he told a small gathering of media, including Cyclingnews, this week on a virtual press conference for Life Time Grand Prix athletes in Leadville for Saturday's race.

"I live at altitude in Utah, but it's not the same as Leadville altitude. It's nice to get reacquainted with being up here really high, and figure out all the power zones and get comfortable being uncomfortable."

Swenson owns Leadville with not just four consecutive victories, but also the course record from 2023 at 5 hours, 43 minutes, 31 seconds.

So what about a sub-five-and-a-half finish time? Can the four-time winner, current course record holder and drop-bar-on-a-mountain-bike trend setter do something special on his fifth appearance?

Swenson going for new record

The "audacious target" could happen this year, according to a blog post by Swenson's nutrition partner Neversecond. The post noted that if all the equipment, trail and weather conditions cooperate, this could be the year Swenson reaches his goal to go under the 5:30 barrier for the 100-mile mountain bike race.

Two years ago, when he broke the record, it was not by seconds, but 15 minutes and six seconds. Last year, even finishing the last mile with a flat tyre for the win, he put down a time 9:25 faster than the old 2015 record. But Swenson didn't talk about the record at the press conference and remained quietly confident.

"I think it gets faster every year. They get more and more comfortable with altitude, and they kind of figure out what works best for them. Everyone's running different bike setups with drop bars, hard tails and full suspension. So everyone's kind of found what works for them," the 31-year-old said this week.

"I think there's going to be a handful of guys this year going under six hours. The Life Time field is more competitive, and the field here is as competitive as it ever has been."

He did confirm his drop-bar setup again, and what makes the 100 miles of high-elevation dirt and dust - all ranging from 10,500 feet to 12,500 feet above sea level - special for him.

"I like the very top part of Columbine the best. It's pretty nasty up there, but it's pretty cool in the sense that you're above the tree line, and you really have no choice but to just push as hard as you can to make it up the trail, road, whatever it is. It's kind of a special, iconic part of the race," he said.

"I also quite enjoy going down Columbine. It's [seeing] the people coming up, the two-way traffic. It's kind of scary. It's pretty special to be able to see everyone coming up and everyone's cheering, and it's pretty cool."

"You might be able to fake it for a climb, you know, the first at St. Kevin [Carter Summit] or Sugarloaf [Pass], but you're not going to fake it up Columbine, you're not going to fake it up Powerline on the way home. So you're better off just doing what you know you can do."

Life Time Grand Prix

Swenson, who has won the invitation-only Life Time Grand Prix each of the last three years, enters Leadville in his usual position, first overall. He scored a dominant victory at the Sea Otter Classic but was only the fifth-highest placed Grand Prix finisher at Unbound Gravel 200 (seventh overall).

He faces all the top Grand Prix contenders - Brendan Johnston in second place by four points, three riders tied in third place - Unbound Gravel 200 winner Cameron Jones, BWR California winner Matthew Beers, Unbound runner-up Simon Pellaud - as well as Torbjørn Røed and Alexey Vermeulen.

Leadville Trail 100 MTB is the third stop of six races on the 2025 Life Time Grand Prix series calendar.