Yunding 30

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 310m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 25% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 5.8km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 19.3km.
• 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–7.1km · Descent of 310m averaging 10%. Plus 2 more climbs. 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.
• Work · 7.1km–19.3km · Descent of 796m averaging 7%, high point 1999m. 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. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Home · 19.3km–26.4km · Descent of 390m averaging 6%. Build to the finish: leave whatever you have left out on the course. Long descent: keep it even and let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 1283m+. With 46m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 32% of the distance is uphill, 51% downhill and 16% flat. The longest climb runs 2.8km at an average 8.9% grade (249m of vertical). The longest descent runs 10.9km at an average 7.3% grade (796m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 34.0% over 0.4km. The steepest descent drops at 32.9% over 0.4km. Surface: 52% trail and 25% road. Flat-equivalent effort: 39.1 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 2.0km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 21 of 100), with 51% of the load in the first half: 2 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the way down from it until 5.8km, then run your race pace, and go all out on the final descent from 19.3km.
• #1 · 2.8–5.8 km · 310 m D−, -10.4% · 20.6 km ahead → control
• #2 · 7.1–18.0 km · 796 m D−, -7.3% · 8.4 km ahead → your pace
• 19.3–26.4 km · 390 m D−, -5.5% · 0.0 km ahead → even, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 16°C to 24°C, with around 21°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 48%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 9% of days around this date.