🚴 Three’s Company: It was a battle the cycling world had waited for – Tadej Pogačar vs. Mathieu van der Poel vs. Tom Pidcock. They were to duke it out in Belgium at the Liège-Bastogne-Liège, a one day race that’s been around since 1892. But for all the hype, we did not get a photo finish. With 100km remaining, a crash narrowed the field with Van Der Poel and Pidcock getting caught out of position so Pogačar took advantage and used his superior climbing talent to grab his 70th career win by more than 1 minute and 30 seconds. Read more…

🚴 Going Full Fuego in California: As the first of seven Life Time Grand Prix races in 2024, the Sea Otter Classic Fuego XL was as advertised but as some things change, others remain the same. US cycling power couple Keegan Swenson and Sofia Gomez Villafane took the men’s and women’s Pro Race. With Swenson winning for the 3rd time in an row and SGV taking 1st for the second year. Read more…

🏃 50K Strong in London: The final World Marathon Major of the spring is in the books with two Kenyans snagging victory. Peres Jepchirchir smashed the women’s-only marathon world record by 45 seconds in 2:16:16 and 25-year-old Alexander Mutiso Munyao captured his first World Marathon Major victory in 2:04:01. Read more…

Meanwhile

🚴 Finishing 3rd at Seat Otter: It’s not often you hear directly from a professional athlete and get a true sense of what they were going through in a race. It’s always sound bites and sterile but Hannah Otto’s long form recap is worth the read as she gets deep into her feelings pre-race, strategy, nutrition mistakes, and more. Read more…

🏃 25 Wines in 26 Miles: As if a marathon wasn’t tough enough, wine connoisseur, Tom Gilbey, 52, swapped carbs and gels for Malbec and Merlot as he completed the race, blind tasting a different wine at every mile. Raising more than £14,000 for charity, Gilbey successfully named 21 wines, getting four wrong. Unconfirmed if he remembers the finish line. Read more…

🏃 Cheating in China: Organizers of Beijing’s half-marathon stripped the winner of his gold medal after video evidence appeared to show African runners slow to allow China’s He Jie to overtake and win. He crossed the line in a time of 1:03:44 to take the gold medal and the $5,500 prize money. LOL, the video evidence is hilariously blatant. Read more…

🚴 Summer = Bikepacking: Season’s change and that’s a good thing. Soon enough, the days are longer and that means you can get some great bikepacking in across the country. From Arizona, to Idaho, and beyond, here are 6 epic routes covering a variety of climates and distances and are sure to make for a memorable adventure. Read more…

🚴 Tubeless or GTFO: That’s right, I said it. Tubeless are superior and have saved me on more than a few occasions. But, if you don’t know how to take care of them, you’re in luck. Here from a mechanic on how to keep them and yourself safe. A few pointers include re-taping, valves, and compatibility. Read more…

Final thoughts on the 2024 Sea Otter Classic

1. It’s only one race but unless bad luck hits Keegan and SGV, it’s hard to believe they won’t win the Lifetime Grand Prix again this year. They’re so unbelievably disciplined and continually show their motors are just that much better than the rest of the pack. BUT let’s forget about these two. My favorite thing about the Life Time Grand Prix is that the field is wide open. The competition is so fierce and the results vary from race to race. It’s IMO the best thing we have in the US that tests multi-cycling disciplines over a season. As a natural progression, I’m already thinking ahead to 2025 and instead of 7 races, add two more that are endurance road races to have mountain, gravel, and road racing.

2. For as awesome as the race was, I don’t know what is up with coverage of cycling in the US but it is always so bad in real-time. I get it. You’re only as good as your wireless signal but the live coverage was barely watchable. Always cutting out, always buffering. Even when the race finished, I headed to Twitter/X and live results were not being posted right away. The official Sea Otter channel hads’t updated in years. It was race 1 of 7 but the Life Time marketing/Comms team has some kinks to work out. Happy to help, give me a buzz!

3. I went back and rewatched the 2021 Sea Otter Classic and was disappointed by how little Life Time acknowledged Mo Wilson’s terrible passing, especially after she won the race to kickstart that season. She got mentioned at the end of the episode but that didn’t feel like enough. So I was pleasantly surprised to see in the 2024 recap episode (in Rewatchables below), she got the respect she deserves. Halfway through the recap, the commentators highlighted the Moriah Wilson Foundation and what was her desire to build community through cycling. If you’re in Vermont, the 2nd Annual Ride for Mo is May 11, 2024. Can’t make it but interested in donating, you can do that here.

Deals & Steals

💸💸 40% off ($254.99 Original price:$424.99) – Specialized S-Works Ares Road Shoe: Designed to be the most powerful performance shoe on the market, the Ares gives us race-worthy performance in situations where every watt counts, yet provides a level of comfort that’s on par with our favorite casual slippers.

💸💸 24% off ($194.99 Original Price $259.99) Fizik Argo Vento R3 Adaptive Saddle: 3D printer saddles are here to stay and it’s not surprise why, they offer the most comfortable ride regardless of the journey.

💸💸 50% off ($119.99 Original Price $239.99) ALTRA Men’s Vanish Carbon Road Running Shoe. Because carbon is king.

Catch Up with IRONMAN Texas

This weekend (4/27) is the IRONMAN North American Championship, also known as IRONMAN Texas. Catch it live on YouTube or Outside.tv, beginning at 6:25 a.m. CT / 7:25 a.m. ET.

What’s on the line?

Alot. 6 world championship slots and a whole lot of money, $170,000. The first place male and female finishers will each grab $28,000 while the 10th place finishers still net out with $2,000 each. And let’s not forget, this race is the first full distance IRONMAN as part of the 2024 IRONMAN Pro Series. Winners will also receive 5,000 points towards their year long standings and shoot to the top of the leaderboard. At the end of the season, Pro Series winners will win an additional $200,000 each.

Cool. But who is racing?

65 pro males and 40 pro females, that’s who. Some top dogs are missing like Sam Long, Sam Laidlow, Taylor Knibb, and Lucy Charles-Barclay but we still get a deep start list of Patrick Lange, Joe Skipper, Clement Mignon; and Jocelyn McCauley, and Kat Matthews, to Alice Alberts, and Jessica Cullen. No doubt, it will be exciting and it’s anyone’s race especially when the temperatures are going to be warm, and the humidity is going to be 100%. Nutrition will play a huge role in who wins this early season tilt.

Rewatchables

Content for long training days inside or just everyday life.

🚴 2024 Sea Otter Classic Fuego XL Extended Highlights: A bit different from the previous two seasons, Life Time is posting full extended highlights of each of their 7 races in 2024 within 48 hours of the finish.

🏃Trail Runner’s Dream Job: Trail runner and alpine enthusiast Mike Stone owns ‘Track Hopper’ a car relocation business on the Routeburn track in NZ. Mike drives the client’s car to the end of the hiking single track trail, (350kms) parks it, and then runs the 32km mountain track home. A journey that takes hikers 3 days to complete. This is his story.

🚴 The Balkans Mirage: A Journey on Wheels: A fun and goofy adventure as four friends set out bikepacking journey through the Balkans. A land of culture and breathtaking vistas that beckoned to be explored on two wheels.

Say what?