Rider Passes Away During Leadville 100 Race
A rider has passed away during the Leadville 100 Trail race this weekend.
The rider has not been identified but it seems they lost their life on a descent either from a crash or a medical condition. The death was announced at the awards ceremony on Sunday and athletes shared a moment of silence to commemorate the rider's passing.
Life Time, the organizers behind the event, released the following statement. "The entire Leadville family is deeply saddened by the passing of an athlete. This athlete embodied the spirit of Leadville and our thoughts and sympathies are with their loved ones at this difficult time.”
The Colorado Sun reports that Lake County Sheriff’s Office has so far declined to comment out of respect for the rider's family but said that more details could be released later today.
This is the second death at the event in its 38-year history. The only previous death happened in 2015 when 55-year-old Scott Ellis suffered an apparent heart attack while climbing the Powerline section 80 miles into the race.
We have reached out to Life Time for more information about the incident.
Our thoughts are with the rider's family and friends and anyone affected by this tragic incident.
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There was also a rider-car head on collision for someone coming down Columbine but I saw on Twitter that the person's sister-in-law said they were broken but alive.
The truth is no one actually dies while doing what they love, because regardless of the sport they are participating in they don't want to die. Yet we see people say this all the time in situations like this. Like if someone dies while skydiving they didn't die doing what they love. Yes they died while skydiving, but the reality is that likely spent their last moments on earth panicked and scared.
Same goes for this person, however it actually happened. They died in the middle of a mountain bike race but in reality they suffered an injury or medical event that likely lead to a somewhat painful or agonizing death. Its not like they just drifted off the trail straight into heaven.
Dying sucks no matter who you are and no matter how it goes down.
It might be appropriate to talk about a person's life in fond terms; assuming you actually know them, such as saying they had a good life doing "X, Y, Z"
Because of COVID I had to provide hospice care at home for my mother while she died of cancer. Western cultures hide dying in hospitals. You don’t have to take the personal responsibility of what amounts to starving someone to death before the cancer causes a more painful death from organ failure. This is an awful way to die, slow and agonizing
As I climbed into my local trails a couple weeks ago there was a rider who had died on the climb in, blanket over him and what turned out to be the coroner’s van coming up behind me. My first thought? That is a good death. Maybe some moments of panic and pain, and a horrible tragedy for the family, but there are far worse ways to go.
I’ll take death on a mountain bike every time, doing what I love, and my family knows it.
My thoughts and condolences to the family and loved ones of the Leadville rider. The MTB community mourns your loss, and celebrates your life.
"Maybe some moments of panic and pain, and a horrible tragedy for the family, but there are far worse ways to go".
You've glossed over the fact that this person likely died a terrible death, and his family is devastated, so that you can feel less bad about the situation. And sure, if all things were equal most of us would rather die out on a mountain than suffering of cancer, but these are not choices that happen in a vacuum.
Your profile says you are 40 years old. So my question would be would you rather die tomorrow while out on a mountain bike ride or 25 years from now from cancer some other disease? You'd rather give up another 25 years of life with your family (watching your kids grow up if you have them), to die on a mountain now, than possibly suffer later?
That's the shit people don't think about when they say something like "that's a good death". You have no idea what that person's situation was that you saw dead out there. Good death? What if they had small children who will now grow up without a parent? What if they were the caretaker for a family member? Still a good death?
It is obviously a consolation for the living to say, "he died doing what he loved". I believe this is true (for Graham) as he had competed in the event for multiple years and was active in his local running group.
For me, I really struggled with sadness and depression in coping with the fact that someone died in an event that is optional and arguably frivolous. I'm sure that Graham didn't wake up that morning knowing it was going to be this last day but it does help me to put into context that if I died doing something that brought me great joy; my family (I hope) would feel comforted in this fact and my kids would know that they can pursue their passions as well.
However, I will NEVER be climbing Everest. That's dumb.
Didn't look too bad from the Rapha video of the roadies racing it
I think racing downhill on gravel roads is some of the most dangerous riding there is because you have poor traction while at really high speeds, often for significant periods.
Riding 60 kph on a gravel road almost always goes well, but if something unforeseen were to happen, such as a sudden turn or an oncoming vehicle, you have very limited margins of safety and if something goes wrong you travel at speeds where it easily goes very wrong.
The danger is also quite specific to racing on these roads. In normal riding conditions, the speeds are usually kept sensible.
It's not difficult, but it is dangerous.
Knowing what happened, that's something we can all potentially learn from. Who it happened to, none of our business.