Flat-bars or drop-bars at Leadville Trail 100 MTB? This high-altitude endurance race doesn't have a handlebar problem, it has an identity crisis

Lauren De Crescenzo uses flat bars as equipment choice for 2025 Leadville Trail 100 MTB.

Every few years, riders expose how efficiently Leadville Trail 100 MTB can be raced. The high-altitude, endurance mountain bike race in Colorado has gained more attention since becoming a high-stakes round in the Life Time Grand Prix.

So when riders expose efficiency, like recent winners Keegan Swenson and Kate Courtney setting course records, Swenson doing so in 2024 for the elite men and Courtney last year for the elite women, the conversation shifts from celebrating performance to protecting identity.