Animal said:
I don't know if another large breaking of the record is possible.
They smashed the record by a large margin last year because they rode the powerline ascent which had never been done before (never during the race AFAIK). That's the only "unrideable" section of the course...
Well it's still unrideable for 99.9% of humans! If you've never done the course and plan to... do not expect to ride this section.
As a finisher I bow to your superior knowledge....and fitness.
I think more riders will ride powerline. Over the last few years the weight of full suspension bikes has come down a bunch, most of the top guys rode hard tails in the past as it is a fireroad race. I expect to see many more full's this year, which will help a ton on the descents as well as powerline. Armstrong used a full last year and actually dropped Weins on the descents, Lance had to wait for him.
Leadville has 14,000 feet of climbing. Armstrong's VAM is at least 15% better then last year, This should mean for just the climbing portion he could gain 30-40 minutes. The downside is he will be alone on the return. Having Weins to work with helped a bunch last year.
Leadville has been on my list for years. If sucks that it just got so much harder to get into with the increased exposure. On the good side it may encourage more races like it.