Wow! What an exciting race! I wish I were there. Great job all of you. You guys rock!
Well done Steve! I’d love to have a go at one of those races - don’t get hills that size here though (ours can be steep, but not that high) 
Does that road just go up 3000 feet in 5 miles from sea level, or is it the top of a bigger mountain? (the only mountain road experience I’ve got is from the French Alps, where the climbs tend to be pretty gradual most of the way up, then steeper near the top).
Rob
Thanks to all who read the write-up, so verbose as to be more of a marathon than the climb itself!
Yeah, starting at the back of the last wave, there’s nothing to do but pick off one biker after another. It becomes sort of slow-motion, full-time job while on that course.
It starts just over 600 ft above sea level and climbs to 3882 ft. Elevation, as far as thin air, is not an issue on hillclimbs in the Northeast US.
I’ve used 140, 152, 165 and 170 in the race. My fastest time was on 152s. Lately Mike Scalisi has been doing it on 125s (except for the 17% section on top). The record (1:13) was done with 165mm on a custom built carbon-framed 36er with 2000 holes drilled in the airfoil rim to make it lighter. Our times are more like 1:20 to 1:30.
—Nathan