UTC 100M

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 859m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Big early climb with 1680m gain. Hold your pace, save your legs for later.
• Final 1363m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Long race. Control your HR and effort. Early mistakes cost the most.
• Control your HR on the first climb, save your quads on the descents until 90.0km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 93.9km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–1.3km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.3km–8.0km · Climb of 1415m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Work · 8.0km–50.6km · Descent of 330m averaging 21%, descent of 859m averaging 14%, descent of 1064m averaging 18%. Plus 3 more climbs. 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 · 50.6km–93.9km · Descent of 760m averaging 11%, climb of 704m, descent of 1231m averaging 12%. Plus 2 more climbs. 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. Running pays off here: run wherever you can. Hike the steepest pitches. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 93.9km–107km · Descent of 1363m averaging 10%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Very long descent: first half under control, then even, let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 7200m+. With 65m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 37% of the distance is uphill, 43% downhill and 20% flat. The longest climb runs 12.7km at an average 13.3% grade (1679m of vertical). The longest descent runs 13.3km at an average 10.3% grade (1363m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 44.6% over 0.3km. The steepest descent drops at 44.3% over 0.2km. Surface: 69% trail, 19% technical, and 7% road.

Summits

The course also passes close to Punta Finosa (887m).

Poles

Trekking poles are strongly recommended: about 17.0km of the course is steep enough for them to pay off.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is high (index 61 of 100), with 44% of the load in the first half: 5 critical descents, the last of them run on already damaged legs. Downhill-specific preparation and a controlled early pace pay off here.

• Control your HR on the first climb, save your quads on the descents until 90.0km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 93.9km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• #3 · 14.2–15.8 km · 330 m D−, -20.7% · 91.3 km ahead → control
• #1 · 23.8–29.7 km · 859 m D−, -14.4% · 77.4 km ahead → control
• #4 · 42.4–48.3 km · 1064 m D−, -17.9% · 58.8 km ahead → control
• #2 · 50.6–57.5 km · 760 m D−, -11.0% · 49.6 km ahead → control
• #5 · 79.4–90.0 km · 1231 m D−, -11.7% · 17.1 km ahead → control
• 93.9–107.1 km · 1363 m D−, -10.3% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end