by 
I’ve heard a similar complaint from a few people this past week – Armstrong packed the race with worker bees while others went the lottery route and didn’t get in.
This is from the Velonews Mailbag:
Disappointed
Dear Editor,Wow. I just read that the organizers of the Leadville 100 allowed three late entries so Lance can break Dave Wiens’ record. I entered the lottery and lost out this year. Dave Wiens entered the lottery and lost out his first year. What happened to the rules? Very dissappointed in Ken Chouber.
I think I will save my money for promoters who are FAIR.
Alan Keeffe,
Colorado Springs, Colorado
I know a lot of people that have missed out on the Leadville Lottery. And I can understand why people would be upset after something like this.
by 
Uh oh, Who’s drinking the Haterade now?
Not making the lottery selection is just saving people a lot of pain, misery and wasted money.
There’s no way I’d not let Lance Pharmstrong into a race if I was promoting it. No fucking way. It’s akin to that Black Amex homeboy packs in his wallet. That’s fucking reality. Some of us are meant to suck, and be rejected. Others aren’t.
boo hoo.
Gnome is of course correct, it would be sheer madness to deny L.A. a bib in any MTB race anywhere.
Am I the only one who looks at Lance winning at Leadville as a total letdown? He won the Tour de France 7 times. Say what you want about him, but that means he can pedal a bike faster than most of us. (for what ever reasons)
But then he races Leadville, and beats guys like Weins, who is a fast guy in his own right, but not a Tour de France winner by a long shot. It’s like Barry Bonds went to my kids little league game and crushed the ball every time at bat…..it’s stupid.
It’s good to be the king.
Brett Farve can skip training camp.
Madonna can buy all the kids she wants.
Mike Vick can get a job.
Being special makes you special.
I think you guys have misread the article. The three last minute entries were: Travis Brown, Matt Shriver and Len Zanni.
Armstrong was not one of the ‘late entries’ people are complaining about. It was his collection of hired guns that people have objected to.
update: Also, to be clear, I’m not sure I necessarily agree with the criticism. Bringing in pro-level talent is arguably beneficial for the race. It was in every major news outlet only because Lance Armstrong was in attendance. That is a good thing, I think, for the race. But, it still hurts to be a nobody whose entry is turned down.
No, I got it. But at whose request were the rabbits added?
Poor Allen Keefe. Life isn’t fair! What is this guy, six years old?
The last three entries were to ensure that Lance crushed the event, thus allowing as much publicity as possible to be generated for the race. This also motivates Lance to return again next year to attempt to break his own course record. He brings back Levi with him, the event becomes even more popular.
Armstrong wins = more money spent in the town of Leadville = more money for the promoters = a bike race for whiners like Allan Keefe to better plan ahead for… Allan Keefe should have his testicles taken away him, if it hasn’t been done already.
All’s fair in love and war. Maybe now Leadville will step onto the grand stage as a legitimate U.S. Classic, full of teams and tactics, bike swaps, wheel changes and dirt.
Leadville is dead. Long live Leadville.
It’s not as if the three friends of Lance got added and three lottery winners subsequently got told they had to stay home.
If there are 100 lottery slots for weak, pathetic slobs like me and some secret number of additional slots for pros and friends of Lance Armstrong, then what the hell, that’s life, you gotta let some folks race just because they are towering figures in the sport and have the lung capacities of giant sea mammals.
I mean come on, you going to make Lance Armstrong and his posse take their chances in the lottery?
Of course, it doesn’t help things that Lance Armstrong is a dick and Weins is the picture of class. But still.
“Poor Allen Keefe. Life isn’t fair! What is this guy, six years old?”
So any time some rich asshole walks all over anyone, if they complain, they are a child ?? Nice.
Did Weins ever have a crew to help him ? Can LA match his record without a crew of pussies clearing the way ?
Guaranteed we’ll never know.
Maybe next year we could get Lance to ride a Recumbent Mtn bike, that should even the playing field!
Lance isn’t a dick. He’s Texan. Two totally different things.
Hate, hate, hate,
Mabey you should change the name of this site to Drunk and angry cyclist.com
Of course he’s going to hammer right off the tour! Does bringing some other really fast cyclists along really help? Couldn’t Weins have sat in and gone with Lance when he rode away from everyone? Even if you bring someone to set a really fast early pace, you still have to keep up right? For fuck’s sake people, I don’t hear Weins crying about Lance winning and he got beat by nearly 30 fucking minutes! Do any of you know long 30 minutes is?!? Well I do and it’s like really really long.
I’m glad that there are some that are pissed and going to boycott this joke of a race. Good for you! That will just improve my (a nobody) chances of getting a spot next year. I’m pretty sure this whole race (series) started in an effort to generate income for the folks in Leadville after a mine closeure pretty much desimated their job market…I say,”good for them!” What a serendipidous turn of events. It might even get some folks stoked to get out on Mtn. bikes. Love him or hate him…L.A. gets newbies on bikes…and that’s a good thing. So shut up or go complain about how your favorite garage band “sold out” when they started making money. You, I mean that generally in this rant, are too cool for me.
Colonel Sanders, please bring me another order of fries.
Gnome had it partially right. Being a dick doesn’t mean you are a Texan. Being a Texan with power pretty much assures us that you are an asshole. At least Crawford got its idiot back.
To Gnome, and also to the legions of dicks everywhere that I inadvertently insulted earlier today, I extend my apologies. I don’t know what I was thinking. Gnome is totally right.
Two things I need to know:
1) If L.A. had a pro-level posse around him, where the hell was his wheel change when the rear tar went down??
2) Did Dave W. get to sit in with these guys? His time was also awesome, and why wouldn’t he take a little time off the wind to sit in with L.A? Are there split times, can we see at what point in the race Dave W. lost L.A.’s wheel?
seriously?…it’s Lance F’in Armstong. Waiting list/no waiting list/friends/what ever it takes….Any race promoter in the world would kill to have him in the race. Putting on a race isn’t about working your ass off for 364 days in a row to have it lose money, it’s about putting on a the greatest show on earth, and until we get a test proving otherwise……LA is it
…several points should be addressed here…
…(1)- may i ask, who the fuck is weins ???…DAVID WIENS, spelled IE not EI, is the man i believe everyone is referring too…after all, it’s only polite to spell the man’s name properly & if i’m anything, it’s fucking polite & proper…
…(2)- as for the texan’s “hired guns”, i believe matt shriver & len zanni both fall into the category referred to as “hired guns” in that they were both really pushing the pace before the major climb near the halfway point…
…shriver finishes 3rd, 11 minutes off wien’s time n’ zanni finishes 5th 13 minutes off wien’s time…
…domestiques typically ride themselves into the ground for the “team leader” & then struggle to get back before the cut…
…kinda sounds like they mighta been looking out for themselves…
…(3)- jason, dammit…even i know colonel harlan fucking sanders doesn’t serve fries…mashed potatoes n’ gravy, spud wedges, hell, cole slaw n’ buttered ears o’ corn but no damn fries…this from a man who doesn’t even eat that stuff…
leadville, I couldn’t touch it. in my dreams, maybe. still, the hype and fury prevails. As an avid reader of obtuse bike racing news, I remember when Wiens won the first time. Lance in the mix simply adds to the mystique. Maybe he’ll do creampuff next. Gnome get’s props for the Texan hat tip. at this point isn’t any of the rest just sour grapes? it’s hard t’run a race in this economy and last year set the stage for the rematch so why the fuck not. still, the argument between the lines comes down to – is it just bad sportsmanship to stack the field? using the tdf as warm up for a 100 mile mtb race you don’t really need pacemakers – but were they pacemakers in the race, or just in the hype around it? tex’s very presence ensures a rabbit start to a long event. jumping the lotto line and getting some friends in might be just how a flush Texan rolls. even with merely a rumor of him putting workers in the field, wouldn’t the gun be a gutted jump regardless? the man showed up at a few local cyclocrosses in these parts a few years back – wanna bet folks didn’t pick it up a notch from the drop of the flag? with or without fixers, the leadville group was gonna be jittery at the hat. those that ran the course can weigh the line. the rest of us got another dose of good racing story. I believe Dave Wiens – I know he’s gonna bring it next year.
When Lance brought his allstar pacing team to the NY marathon in flagrant violation of USATF rules, everyone looked the other way. Mostly because he was promoting his foundation and wasn’t going to factor into the actual race. But to let a guy who’s already finished second (and is now racing in his bike shop’s kit) bring a team when everyone else is racing on their own is just bullshit.
It’s just Lance being a typical American Bully. His ego has got to recover from “losing” the TDF somehow.
I wouldn’t feel right standing on that podium, knowing i paid to get there !
fucken get a DC/PBR pro team together and take em to school
What I find funny for all of the Weins fanboys is this—you complain about D.W. not having his own group of pacers to ramp up the pace on the flat sections. That is a total load of crap. If Dave is so good, etc. Why the hell didn’t he just plant his ass on LA’s wheel, and use the pacers to his advantage? Well because he is slow compared to LA. Even if LA wouldn’t have brought those guys, which I still question(maybe brown and shriver wanted a shot at taking LA down) LA would have kicked Weins all over those fireroads. I am not a LA fan but come on, is everyone gonna whine because Weins got schooled? No one said shit when our own DC boys were getting jobbed by Weins. So Weins got eaten by a bigger fish, that is how racing works.
Bottom line: Leadville is a race, LA wanted to race, he entered and won.
I was at the front . The rules were bent for LA . Plain and simple . He was a no show at the manditory pre race meeting , Wiens was there offering incouragement to all . Were talking two different animals here . Who is the real sportsman here ?
It took me three years to get in . What a slap in the face for us normyl folks . Shriver pulled him , got the gap and then LA road him off . Tactically stupid because he didnt need to ride from the field at that point . If Johan was there he would of told Lance to chill . Lance rode away from his own hired gun ! I can change a rear flat in 1 min 30 ………… Pedal hard folks…
And they let Rebecca Rusch in last minute, she was allowed to jump in the front of the pack for the start, nothing against her and She had a great race and won, but Amanda Riley Carey and KC Holley, multiple time racers and top placers had to start way back in the field and line up almost 2 hours prior to get that way back spot.
That’s fair too.
Lance should try the Park City Point To Point, only 75 miles, but 90% one track, a real MTB race.
(and I am not saying leadville is easy, just not really a technical mtb race)
Lance is a tool
I always thought of Leadville as a ‘mountain bike race’. That means solo no support. I haven’t paid attention so I really don’t know but it sounds like lance is gonna turn it into a road race which would suck. (it basically is anyway right? all road, no singletrack)
Which it would have to be cause Lances technical skills suck. He came to Steamboat for the Tour de Rockies (Outdoor life network mb stage race) and got served on the technical stuff, in fact I believe he ddin’t even do days 2 and 3. Sure, he’s fast on flat road surfaces, but a mountain biker?
Flame on ;)
Some of you need to re-read that. They didn’t let Lance in after the deadline, they let in his minions. That does suck for those on the wait list. The hype would have still been there for Lance without the minions.
What a bunch of goddamn babies. I got in this year, got hurt and blew my training, and still got on the plane to show up and run tech support for my friends. I certainly don’t have $250 to spare on race entries, but that’s the way it is sometimes.
So I went to Leadville and all I got to do was hang with my friends, see a really sweet race, and get a really messed up sunburn. Sounds about right to me.
Leadville is a dead/dying town. I literally walked the entire downtown area, end-to-end in under 10 minutes. I can’t say I was stunned to learn they had fewer than 60 high-school graduates this year, with only half of those going on to secondary education. Funds from the LT100 go to scholarships and other much-needed programs.
So consider the big picture here, people. Whatever they have to do to get people in those coffee shops at 4:30AM is fine by me. The place did more business last weekend than it does in 3 months.
Another salient point I haven’t seen discussed is that the field was expanded by 500 people this year. So to anyone who’s complaining that they didn’t get in but spots suddenly “opened up” for wringers at the 11th hour – are you freakin’ serious?
Who cares if they manufactured new spots? I admit that Lance’s no-show at the meeting was a dick move. I agree that Wiens is far more approachable. But in the end, who cares? Just shut up and ride.
Badcog, you’re right except there is indeed about 100 yards of singletrack leading onto the dam right prior to climbing Columbine.
Otherwise, this shit is completely radtarded.
Any “minion” of L.A.’s was available and did work for everyone else who had a cliver of a chance at the front. The bummer of course, was that nobody else was good enough to meet the match. Oh wait, let me correct myself, everyone in contention road those “minion” wheels to the dam; which every fucking year, is hard as shit nevermind L.A. or anyone else; of course, at the dam, it was Lance Longdick Armstrong who road solo for the remaining 60 miles; up Columbine & back. That in fact, was where he won. it had nothing to do with the “minions” who got in free.
Not even Weins, who has had 6 years of prime time winning, could give two shits now that his reign is over. So be it.
It seems that the only way people can reconcile Lance’s dominance is by hating it up.
This year was not the first year that somebody got in late. It was not the first year that someone worked for someone else. It was not the first year that Leadville had “tactics” involved.
Racing is racing. stfu.
I read on twitter that it was bad, so it must be bad, wah.
Lance is the greatest.
I hope he runs for Governor of Texas.
…dammit gnomer, spell it right…W-I-E-N-S…
…& speaking of right…“It seems that the only way people can reconcile Lance’s dominance is by hating it up.”, that comment & the ones about the race itself are absolutely fucking right…
…& to all the haters out there, i don’t care how big anyone’s ego is, ya don’t do this shit just for your ego’s sake unless ya love doing it in the first place…riding a bike is fun but bike racing is seriously hard fucking work, remember, even for plebs like us…(especially lazy fucks like me but that’s a different story)…
…we all love riding the bike, so what’s w/ all the hate…
racing is kinda dumb.
One day I past Wiens in mid air. He thought my hair was on fire or some shit. We’ve been on a first name basis ever since. Even now, ten years later. Maybe the fact that we share the same first name makes it easy, but whatever.
So ok BGW, I’ll get the i before the e from now on. He deserves that, at the very least.
And Gordon, you’re right. Racing is dumb.
Holy shit, it really is just a race. Nobody died as a result of anything related to Lance and co., don’t think any major shift in the future of humanity will result.
Lance won it because he out rode eveyone there, not like he got a free lift.
He is super pro, all about winning, generally comes off to many as a dick; Wiens is cool and will hang out after the race. Different personalities. Nothing new here. What do ya expect?
As far as special privileges and favors, who really cares? Does it affect you negatively, really? Thats the way shit goes when you a big fish.
Thats the one thing about racing that really is stupid. For the bulk of us it is a hobby. We don’t win enough cash to justify shit for it. Our careers don’t depend on it. So big deal. Sounding like a bunch of whining roadies bitching about finishing 18th, not 19th…
of course I am right.
I agrre with an earlier post. Lances’ power means he wins races and that is all that counts in racing. Winning. Long live the Lance! :-)
Wow…
Texas…Colorado…Montana…there is a some what natural progression within the generations
It also goes east to west.
I have never riden Leadville….but if I did I would be banging it out on a crossbike.
That is the way to achieve minus six.
…supernova2000…i’m sure that would be interesting…so submit yer app early & if that dudn’t work, hey, you know, talk to lance…ha…
…& thank you, gnomer…someday we’ll end up in some sleazy little burg at some sleazy little event, i’ll find out yer you, offer to buy ya a brew &/or a round & then i’m gonna ask why, exactly you were passing mr wiens in mid-air…
…but i can wait…& he thought yer hair was on fire, too huh ???…ok, even better…
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Wow, what a bunch of whiners. We get on our bikes and ride them. End of story. Reading this kind of whining reminds me of my road racing days.