2024 Leadville Trail 100 MTB winner Melisa Rollins (Liv Racing Collective) relocated in early August to the two-mile-high Colorado town to acclimate and train for Saturday's race. The trip had been in doubt with wildfires still burning in the region and organisers scrambling to solidify permits for a modified route in time for the August 15 start.
"They could probably get creative [with a harder new route], but I just think it would be too challenging. I mean, this race is too big," Rollins told Cyclingnews about losing key sections at Powerline as well as Sugarloaf Mountain and Hagerman Pass Road.
"I mean, the iconic Powerline not being part of the race is devastating, but it's even more devastating that the mountain is on fire. One of my friends lives at the base of Powerline and their family was evacuated, away for the last month and a half.
Latest Videos FromCyclingnews
"I could probably make a course that would be sick and usually close to 14,000 feet and 100 miles, but it just isn't realistic. I think we all were worried if Leadville would be able to happen. They have to do what they can to make it possible. So I'm happy that they were able to put out a course in general."
Last year Rollins broke the 7-hour mark in the 104-mile race, however, that still left her over 10 minutes behind winner Kate Courtney (She Sends Racing), who set a new women's record in 6 hours, 48 minutes, 54 seconds. Rollins' time of 6:59:15 also broke Annika Langvad's 10-year marker. Her runner-up spot overall had an asterisk, as she was the top rider in the Life Time Grand Prix field.
The top step at Leadville is open as last year's winner opted to pursue a pro road career, Courtney signing a pro contract with FDJ United-SUEZ and jumping into the European fray in mid-July, already winning two of five races.
For Rollins, a return to the top step at Leadville would be epic, as she has only completed two races since March. And the points she earns at Leadville would also mount her return in the Grand Prix.
Poor air quality comes and goes each day as winds blow wildfire smoke across the western US, but Rollins adjusts her rides accordingly. What the smoke can't conceal is her eagerness to recapture a Leadville title and show off her first-ever US national championship jersey, and a decked-out Liv Pique ride.
"The smoke has a cycle of blowing in and out every day. I have a pretty good wind prediction app that gives pretty good windows to ride. So it hasn't actually affected me at all," she told Cyclingnews about recent training.
"The only disruption to my training was having a broken limb. There were a few breaks in the elbow, one main break now with a plate, and then a partially torn triceps a few weeks later. That has kind of been the lingering problem for me. And my left arm is two pounds lighter than my right arm, so I'm still weak on the left side."
In March, Rollins injured her left elbow and right wrist just days before starting with Courtney in a two-rider team at Absa Cape Epic in South Africa. The US rider travelled home to Utah for surgery. A month later, she partially tore a triceps muscle on one of her first rides back outside, and another month later was delayed when she was sideswiped by a car on another attempt to ride outside.
She was able to make the trip to Emporia, Kansas at the end of May, but only pedalled for a few hundred metres before pulling out. The start at Unbound Gravel 200 allowed her to stay in the exclusive invitation-only field of the Grand Prix, with the last four races required.
She completed SBT GRVL in June in a return to racing after 156 days away, though "it wasn't the comeback I wanted" with the 2025 champion finishing in 20th place. She did not find the podium, but confidence in group riding again and good health.
From a string of injuries, Rollins now hopes to go on a string of success. In July, she went to Roanoke, Virginia for the USA Cycling Endurance Mountain Bike Nationals and came away with the stars-and-stripes jersey as the elite women's cross-country marathon winner.
"I'm actually really, really proud of winning it because it was one of my big goals for this year," Rollins said. "Everybody sets goals every year, and whether or not they go the way you want them, it doesn't always happen. So I'm really proud of this one, and getting to wear the jersey and ride the bike at Leadville."
Leadville is the third race in the Life Time Grand Prix, and the first of three consecutive mountain bike events in the series. Rollins used her win in Leadville two years ago to finish second overall in the series, and last year she was third overall to three-time series champion Sofia Gomez Villafañe (Specialized Off-road). This year is a lot different.
After two rounds this season, Villafañe has a solid lead over Cecily Decker (PAS Racing) and Rosa Klöser (Canyon-SRAM), and Rollins has to climb out of last place among the field of 25 riders. The top four of six races count in the LTGP standings, so Leadville is the start of her series, and the climb for Rollins is to get back on the Leadville podium.
Experience the 2026 cycling season with a Cyclingnews subscription that offers you unlimited access to our unrivalled coverage. Our global team will be on the ground at all the major races to bring you breaking news, in-depth features, exclusive interviews and member-exclusive content. Find out more.
