KS16 Kickstarter

Race strategy

Run the climb at race pace, build your speed on the downhill, and go all out at the finish.

• Final 721m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Steep 36% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, and start the final descent from 6.9km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–2.1km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 2.1km–6.9km · Climb of 527m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace.
• Home · 6.9km–15.8km · Descent of 721m averaging 8%, high point 756m. Build to the finish: leave whatever you have left out on the course. Very long descent: first half under control, then even, let go only near the end. Hike the steepest pitches.

Course

The course climbs 665m+. With 42m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 41% of the distance is uphill, 33% downhill and 26% flat. The longest climb runs 6.9km at an average 7.6% grade (527m of vertical). The longest descent runs 8.8km at an average 8.1% grade (721m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 14.8% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 40.9% over 0.8km. Surface: 46% road, 42% trail, and 6% smooth.

Poles

The course is runnable enough that trekking poles are not needed.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is low (index 9 of 100): a few descents worth noting, none of them decisive.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, and start the final descent from 6.9km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• 6.9–15.8 km · 721 m D−, -8.1% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end