Snow Ruyi 70

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 280m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 31% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Long race. Control your HR and effort. Early mistakes cost the most.
• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 44.7km, then run your race pace.
• Start · 0.0km–2.0km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 2.0km–16.4km · Descent of 280m averaging 6%, climb of 525m, high point 2134m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Work · 16.4km–40.9km · Descent of 298m averaging 10%. Plus 1 more climb. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them. Running pays off here: run wherever you can. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Fade · 40.9km–66.2km · Descent of 424m averaging 11%. Plus 2 more climbs and 2 descents. Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them. Hike the steepest pitches. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 66.2km–72.7km · Climb of 298m. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.

Course

The course climbs 3193m+. With 44m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 35% of the distance is uphill, 46% downhill and 19% flat. The longest climb runs 9.6km at an average 4.9% grade (471m of vertical). The longest descent runs 10.5km at an average 8.1% grade (855m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 31.3% over 1.0km. The steepest descent drops at 43.1% over 0.2km. Surface: 30% smooth, 25% road, and 11% trail. Flat-equivalent effort: 93.6 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 10.2km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 42 of 100), with 38% of the load in the first half: 3 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Ease into the early runnable section, save your quads on the descents until 44.7km, then run your race pace.
• #1 · 6.1–10.5 km · 280 m D−, -6.3% · 62.2 km ahead → control
• #2 · 16.4–19.5 km · 298 m D−, -9.5% · 53.2 km ahead → control
• #3 · 40.9–44.7 km · 424 m D−, -11.2% · 28.1 km ahead → control
• 49.9–53.9 km · 402 m D−, -10.0% · 18.9 km ahead → your pace
• 55.7–66.2 km · 855 m D−, -8.1% · 6.6 km ahead → your pace

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 17°C to 25°C, with around 20°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 49%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 9% of days around this date.