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Tomac from Cortez COLORADO. 6200
Everybody else anywhere USA. 50 feet bsl.
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From what I’m reading you can acclimate to a basic level in 1 to 3 days, but couple weeks better. But really SLC isn’t that high. Once the riders adapt they’ll be fine, I would definitely go out early.
Which brings up another point...bikes, parts, rebuilds, etc. For the factory guys, not a huge deal. They have everything they need in the truck. But for the lower tier guys, you've got to make 1 bike last 7 rounds without a rebuild? Or by scrounging whatever help you can get locally I guess.
I had one team manager last week tell me that SLC equates to about a 20% reduction in horsepower.
From experience, I know that when I'm riding my mountain bike at altitude and put in an effort climbing through a section, that about 30 seconds later it'll hit me. If you're already tapped and not ready for it, it really saps you. If you know to expect it, and pace yourself accordingly, it's not bad.
For those that don’t know, training at altitude is literally legalized doping. It raises the body’s hematocrit level. This is what Tomac always has the huge pushes 2/3 through an outdoor race while everyone else is getting gassed.
In the US Colorado is where all the best endurance athletes live and train. I’m surprised more MX guys haven’t decided to make this a base. Supercross is only a 20 min race, so it’s not as much of an advantage, but outdoors where there are two 37 min moto’s it would be. Especially mid to late second moto.
Training at high altitude the muscle get less oxygen so it’s harder for them to get stronger
BTW there is a new track coming soon about an hour south of SLC.
I've raced mountain bikes at extremely high elevations. Guys from Colorado will come down to Texas and crush a ride for the first few hours. Since their muscles are not able to be pushed pushed as hard as they can while near sea level, their legs will crap out quickly. On the other hand I've done some 12,500 feet elevation gain races in Colorado. I didn't have near the red blood cell capacity as someone living there, but since I trained low my legs were practically fine the next day. The lack of oxygen restricted my legs like a governor.
Train low / sleep high = you maximize both your oxygen carrying red blood cells and your muscular strength.
On a side note: these guys have heard about the race being in Utah for quite a while now. There are high elevation tents runners and cyclists use to train low and sleep high, so hopefully some of these riders have invested in them.
Pit Row
I feel that with this break, Kenny will come out swinging just long enough to garner a points lead like he has done pretty much every season hes been healthy bec it's very much akin to starting a new season again. By the time he starts to fall off or plateau, there will be 4 of the 7 rounds run and if Eli starts off like he normally does, my thought is that Kenny will have a points lead big enough to not worry over the last 3 rounds long as he cards a top 5 finish. Just a thought from how these two typically approach the season. We all know Eli doesnt really do his best under pressure and condensing 7 races into a few weeks is a pressure cooker. Besides, Kenny has spent plenty of time in SLC thanks to his in-laws so the Utah area isnt foreign to him.
Then again, Roczen is always great in the beginning of a series and Tomac usually starts a bit slower. And this is basically a new 7 round series?
Either way, this will be awesome. And don't forget about Webb.
I think that's awesome. Giving himself a couple weeks prep and rest at a higher elevation than SLC.
If he stays up in NM till this SX thing starts, he will be just fine.
Post a reply to: So, the Altitude at SLC.........Advantage Tomac?