Megavalanche! Anyone done it/ training tips?
Discussion
Hi all.
Me and a friend of mine are in our early twenties, and have both got back into mountain biking this year, after a several year gap of non riding at all during our late teens.
We have set ourselves theawesome foolish goal, of completing the Magavalanche 2014.
Anyone done it?
Did you qualify for the main 'top race'?
How did you train, esp. over the winter? (We're located in the north west, if anyone can recommend local places to train).
How key is fitness?
Thanks for any input guys!
Me and a friend of mine are in our early twenties, and have both got back into mountain biking this year, after a several year gap of non riding at all during our late teens.
We have set ourselves the
Anyone done it?
Did you qualify for the main 'top race'?
How did you train, esp. over the winter? (We're located in the north west, if anyone can recommend local places to train).
How key is fitness?
Thanks for any input guys!
I think one or two here have done it but there is loads of advice on the single track world forum. I'd love to do it just for the experience but it would be an expensive event as i lack pretty much everything required bar the bike!....
as P-Jay says, your body will take a complete battering for about 25 minutes and its not all downhill! again there will be trainng tips etc on STW.
as P-Jay says, your body will take a complete battering for about 25 minutes and its not all downhill! again there will be trainng tips etc on STW.
Why 2014, why not 2013??
No matter how fit or prepared you are, you won't be fit enough.
Ride your bike, and when you go out, push hard for the entire ride. Don't slouch - you don't get a tea break halfway down in the race! Qualifying is more intense and in previous years, more DH, but this year and last it didn't have the good trail down to Oz en Oisans. Instead there's now a ride round the back of AdH before you drop into the lower half of the village. The singletrack towards the end's awesome though, really good fun and carvy in the turns.
For the final you need to hope that the snow's good and icy otherwise it'll be the most miserable experience of your life as you try to plough through several feet of slush. Not fun. When the piste's bashed and hard it's fast, grippy and damn good fun. Just watch out at the start; a load of us got caught up after Rene went down and set off a chain reaction behind him. Luckily I wasn't in the middle and just got tagged but still, a lot of people got past which was a total PITA. Some people manage to get away with things they shouldn't but generally people will have a crash or two on the snow, especially in their first year. Just don't let go of the bike when you do, at any cost!
Also, I wouldn't worry overly about the bike you take. The first year I took my V10, qualified 9th and finished 100th. This year I took the wee bike (150mm trail bike) and qualified 8th and finished somewhere between 60th & 70th. It was a bit disappointing this year as getting tagged in the crash on the snow absolutely killed any chance of a decent result as there's just nowhere to get past people on the super narrow singletrack after the snow. You need to go all out on the snow to get as far ahead here as possible. Following someone slower just ruins your race as the faster guys are able to pull ahead while your hands slowly die because you're having to brake so much. That and you spend an hour chewing on the dust getting thrown up. It's hard work but definitely an experinece that needs to be lived. The MOH (the week after the Mega in 2013) is better, far more downhill oriented, has a far greater opportunity to go it solo on line choice and well, just a bit more intense.
If you have several bikes, go for the one you know you can ride the best and take risks on, especially if you're fit. If you can ride a trail bike well then take that, but if you're shaky, want to have some fun and are reasonably fit, take a bigger bike. Don't go building up something special though the first year, think of it as a sighting year and take it from there.
Edit:
Qualifying is 25-30 minutes on average. 2800m > 1200m
Final is 55 minutes up to several hours. 3100m > 600m
No matter how fit or prepared you are, you won't be fit enough.
Ride your bike, and when you go out, push hard for the entire ride. Don't slouch - you don't get a tea break halfway down in the race! Qualifying is more intense and in previous years, more DH, but this year and last it didn't have the good trail down to Oz en Oisans. Instead there's now a ride round the back of AdH before you drop into the lower half of the village. The singletrack towards the end's awesome though, really good fun and carvy in the turns.
For the final you need to hope that the snow's good and icy otherwise it'll be the most miserable experience of your life as you try to plough through several feet of slush. Not fun. When the piste's bashed and hard it's fast, grippy and damn good fun. Just watch out at the start; a load of us got caught up after Rene went down and set off a chain reaction behind him. Luckily I wasn't in the middle and just got tagged but still, a lot of people got past which was a total PITA. Some people manage to get away with things they shouldn't but generally people will have a crash or two on the snow, especially in their first year. Just don't let go of the bike when you do, at any cost!
Also, I wouldn't worry overly about the bike you take. The first year I took my V10, qualified 9th and finished 100th. This year I took the wee bike (150mm trail bike) and qualified 8th and finished somewhere between 60th & 70th. It was a bit disappointing this year as getting tagged in the crash on the snow absolutely killed any chance of a decent result as there's just nowhere to get past people on the super narrow singletrack after the snow. You need to go all out on the snow to get as far ahead here as possible. Following someone slower just ruins your race as the faster guys are able to pull ahead while your hands slowly die because you're having to brake so much. That and you spend an hour chewing on the dust getting thrown up. It's hard work but definitely an experinece that needs to be lived. The MOH (the week after the Mega in 2013) is better, far more downhill oriented, has a far greater opportunity to go it solo on line choice and well, just a bit more intense.
If you have several bikes, go for the one you know you can ride the best and take risks on, especially if you're fit. If you can ride a trail bike well then take that, but if you're shaky, want to have some fun and are reasonably fit, take a bigger bike. Don't go building up something special though the first year, think of it as a sighting year and take it from there.
Edit:
Qualifying is 25-30 minutes on average. 2800m > 1200m
Final is 55 minutes up to several hours. 3100m > 600m
Edited by Ennoch on Monday 5th November 09:42
Edited by Ennoch on Monday 5th November 11:18
Sound advice there from Ennoch really.
I've done it twice now. Last year & this. Last year I qualified 18th, this year I qualified 15th. I would have been higher, but I had a massive high speed crash (with someone quite well known, funnily enough) & ended up with a busted up set of ribs. I had a crap start place on the qualifier (5th row back) which didn't help, but I pedalled like mad & went for non existant gaps everywhere. Annoyingly, I was in 4th place after I came off the second little snow patch before the fireroad slog down to where the decent trail starts, but when breathing felt like I was being stabbed with a red hot poker, I go evertaken by 15 people in about 3 minutes
Managed to pick a few back on the rest of the qualifier, but nothing of any note.
Main race I think is fair to say if you arn't in the first 3 rows, bar the odd exception you are going to be in one big traffic jam most of the way, so enjoy the ride. I had a crappy main race (crashed, got tagged on the snow & missed the steep chute, had to go the long way round & then flatted) so finished in about 200th place. Still better than last year when I ended up doing 2/3's of it chainless!
That's the thing about the Mega though, everyone has a story, an incident, a what if, etc etc.
As already mentioned, you will never be fit enough, no matter how hard you train. Just go out & ride lots of everything. Getting some practice on snow also helps. It's a steep learning curve when you are at the top of Pic Blanc peeping over the crest of the hill for the first time, think 'how the f*ck am I meant to ride down that'. The first time on your own is bad enough, no imagine it with 300+ other idiots high on adrenalin & trying to race you. If you can detach yourself from reason, the best approach I found was say a little prayer & death grip. If you crash, it will be spectacular, but hang on to the bike. If you can nail it, you will make up a huge number of places on the snow.
Like most, I imagine when you get to the bottom you will think it was the most horrible thing you have ever put yourself though, but once you wash the dirt and blood off you will already be planning the year after.
It's brilliant fun. We will be going back next year.
I've done it twice now. Last year & this. Last year I qualified 18th, this year I qualified 15th. I would have been higher, but I had a massive high speed crash (with someone quite well known, funnily enough) & ended up with a busted up set of ribs. I had a crap start place on the qualifier (5th row back) which didn't help, but I pedalled like mad & went for non existant gaps everywhere. Annoyingly, I was in 4th place after I came off the second little snow patch before the fireroad slog down to where the decent trail starts, but when breathing felt like I was being stabbed with a red hot poker, I go evertaken by 15 people in about 3 minutes
Managed to pick a few back on the rest of the qualifier, but nothing of any note. Main race I think is fair to say if you arn't in the first 3 rows, bar the odd exception you are going to be in one big traffic jam most of the way, so enjoy the ride. I had a crappy main race (crashed, got tagged on the snow & missed the steep chute, had to go the long way round & then flatted) so finished in about 200th place. Still better than last year when I ended up doing 2/3's of it chainless!
That's the thing about the Mega though, everyone has a story, an incident, a what if, etc etc.
As already mentioned, you will never be fit enough, no matter how hard you train. Just go out & ride lots of everything. Getting some practice on snow also helps. It's a steep learning curve when you are at the top of Pic Blanc peeping over the crest of the hill for the first time, think 'how the f*ck am I meant to ride down that'. The first time on your own is bad enough, no imagine it with 300+ other idiots high on adrenalin & trying to race you. If you can detach yourself from reason, the best approach I found was say a little prayer & death grip. If you crash, it will be spectacular, but hang on to the bike. If you can nail it, you will make up a huge number of places on the snow.
Like most, I imagine when you get to the bottom you will think it was the most horrible thing you have ever put yourself though, but once you wash the dirt and blood off you will already be planning the year after.
It's brilliant fun. We will be going back next year.
Looking at doing in 2013 for my 40th. Planning to lighten up my downhill bike with parts from my cross country bike and swapping it back to the 6 inch rear end.
I think the downhill bike as it is will be too much bike (45lbs ish) as I would have thought being a bit slower on the technical bits will be ofset by time gained on the the pedally bits I've heard about.
Planning on training by dragging the heavy bike around cross country trails with a full rucksack or maybe full body armour on. Will look a bit of a plum though.
I think the downhill bike as it is will be too much bike (45lbs ish) as I would have thought being a bit slower on the technical bits will be ofset by time gained on the the pedally bits I've heard about.
Planning on training by dragging the heavy bike around cross country trails with a full rucksack or maybe full body armour on. Will look a bit of a plum though.
I said in another thread that I've got an article in the pipeline about the Mega and MOH. It won't cover some of the sneakier details but it'll certainly give a lot of info.
Kit wise, this year there were three of us all running a mix of bikes and played about with components.
Gearing: Run a single ring, no question about that, and run a ring that you can ride steep climbs on in the UK. The climbs won't be as steep at the mega but you'll be blowing out your hoop and at altitude so that'll offset any slackness in the gradient. I was initially running a 36T up front and an 11-34T out back without any issue but was killing the clutch on the XTR mech so swapped it all off for a 9spd Saint rear mech from the DH bike that was sat doing nothing, dropping to a 34T up front and an 11-28T out back. My mate did the same. There wasn't anything wrong with the performance of the XTR but the pivots seemed to be gaining some slop and I didn't fancy trashing an XTR mech in the space of two weeks. Run a top and bottom guide, and a taco bash if you're clumsy. Also, the rough chatter really hammers your chain with constant shocks. I snapped mine at the MOH so will fit a new chain at the start of the week next time out.
Suspension: 150mm max is fine. Out of the three of us no bike was over that. I had the KTM with a set of 32's up front, the other two were on a Blur LTC with offset bushes and an angleset alongside a set of 36's to get the angles right, and a Butcher with 36's. Although some might say that the offset bushes take the bike out of its ideal sag point, the effect of the sag point on the VPP SC's is overstated and a non issue, especially given we were running c25% overpressure on the shocks for our given weight. RP23's are fine shocks but the heat they were generating was killing the lubrication in the seals. The dust was drying the forks up something chronic - we ended up servicing the air cans and the fork lowers every few days. As with anything it’s quality over quantity but if you only have a big bike, don’t stress, it’ll mean you can take the bigger and slightly sketchier lines…although that’s not to say we weren’t doing them on the wee bikes. The difference though is that you need to build the gaps on the descents and get into the singletrack in a strong position so you’re able to make the most of the big bike and carry your speed because you’re sure as hell going to suffer on the climbs.
Brakes: On a trail bike you don’t need anything bigger than 180mm rotors. Between us we were using new XT’s on 180mm and new XTR’s with a 160mm rear. The only time the 160mm rotor struggled was at the end of the MOH glacier where the pads started to buckle with the heat. They still worked though. The 180mm rotors were perfect. In the end the 160mm XTR’s were swapped for new Saint 180mm’s but this was for heat dissipation rather than any desire for more power. Go for sintered pads, the glue that holds the organic/resins together can glaze all too easily. Make sure they’re bled, properly aligned and working perfect. If they’re not quite right down your local then I can assure you they won’t work at all out on the big trails. We were chasing Remy and his team mate down to Oz in practice and the smell coming off the brakes by the end of the section was potent to say the least and showed how hard they were being worked, even though we weren’t dragging them which makes the problem ten times worse (and why you’ll have no bother all week only to find them crumble in the final when you’re following some scrubber down who’s acting the rolling roadblock).
Wheels & Tyres: This year I ran the spare wheels off an old DH bike as they fitted but they were too heavy (EX823’s on Pro2’s) instead of the standard DT xc wheels. They were tough, but I’d rather sacrifice a few rims next year than lug the extra half pound per wheel around all week!! One of my mates was running 4 year old DT 4.1 rims, supposed cheese specials, and they lasted until Thursday of the mega week (there was a set of spares waiting in the van anyway). I’m firmly of the opinion that you need to be cutting corners and pushing your luck a bit, so xc wheels it is. If you’re a good rider and can avoid hitting the sharp rocks (no guarantee when you can’t even see the ground for the dust) then go for lighter tubeless tyres but if you’re rough or slightly crashy then just stick some dual ply minions or high rollers on there and be done with it. If you need to run tubes, get some Schwalbe xc tubes and remove the valve cores so you can stick some latex sealant in there. Also smear some latex inside the tyre and tube as this can help seal things up, allowing you to finish.
Those are the main points – there are other little tricks, but the most important stuff’s in there. There’s a huge element of personal choice though in what you run; play to your strengths rather than running what everyone else is. Oh, and get a dropper post, they make the world of difference. The FOX is my current favourite as it’s so simple – up, down and a bit in between. The Reverb in contrast is the 2nd best but a complete pain in the ass to get the height right when you’re blowing out your hoop and struggling to hold on, let alone press a button on the bars and judge the return speed.
Hopefully that’s all of some use to some of you!
Kit wise, this year there were three of us all running a mix of bikes and played about with components.
Gearing: Run a single ring, no question about that, and run a ring that you can ride steep climbs on in the UK. The climbs won't be as steep at the mega but you'll be blowing out your hoop and at altitude so that'll offset any slackness in the gradient. I was initially running a 36T up front and an 11-34T out back without any issue but was killing the clutch on the XTR mech so swapped it all off for a 9spd Saint rear mech from the DH bike that was sat doing nothing, dropping to a 34T up front and an 11-28T out back. My mate did the same. There wasn't anything wrong with the performance of the XTR but the pivots seemed to be gaining some slop and I didn't fancy trashing an XTR mech in the space of two weeks. Run a top and bottom guide, and a taco bash if you're clumsy. Also, the rough chatter really hammers your chain with constant shocks. I snapped mine at the MOH so will fit a new chain at the start of the week next time out.
Suspension: 150mm max is fine. Out of the three of us no bike was over that. I had the KTM with a set of 32's up front, the other two were on a Blur LTC with offset bushes and an angleset alongside a set of 36's to get the angles right, and a Butcher with 36's. Although some might say that the offset bushes take the bike out of its ideal sag point, the effect of the sag point on the VPP SC's is overstated and a non issue, especially given we were running c25% overpressure on the shocks for our given weight. RP23's are fine shocks but the heat they were generating was killing the lubrication in the seals. The dust was drying the forks up something chronic - we ended up servicing the air cans and the fork lowers every few days. As with anything it’s quality over quantity but if you only have a big bike, don’t stress, it’ll mean you can take the bigger and slightly sketchier lines…although that’s not to say we weren’t doing them on the wee bikes. The difference though is that you need to build the gaps on the descents and get into the singletrack in a strong position so you’re able to make the most of the big bike and carry your speed because you’re sure as hell going to suffer on the climbs.
Brakes: On a trail bike you don’t need anything bigger than 180mm rotors. Between us we were using new XT’s on 180mm and new XTR’s with a 160mm rear. The only time the 160mm rotor struggled was at the end of the MOH glacier where the pads started to buckle with the heat. They still worked though. The 180mm rotors were perfect. In the end the 160mm XTR’s were swapped for new Saint 180mm’s but this was for heat dissipation rather than any desire for more power. Go for sintered pads, the glue that holds the organic/resins together can glaze all too easily. Make sure they’re bled, properly aligned and working perfect. If they’re not quite right down your local then I can assure you they won’t work at all out on the big trails. We were chasing Remy and his team mate down to Oz in practice and the smell coming off the brakes by the end of the section was potent to say the least and showed how hard they were being worked, even though we weren’t dragging them which makes the problem ten times worse (and why you’ll have no bother all week only to find them crumble in the final when you’re following some scrubber down who’s acting the rolling roadblock).
Wheels & Tyres: This year I ran the spare wheels off an old DH bike as they fitted but they were too heavy (EX823’s on Pro2’s) instead of the standard DT xc wheels. They were tough, but I’d rather sacrifice a few rims next year than lug the extra half pound per wheel around all week!! One of my mates was running 4 year old DT 4.1 rims, supposed cheese specials, and they lasted until Thursday of the mega week (there was a set of spares waiting in the van anyway). I’m firmly of the opinion that you need to be cutting corners and pushing your luck a bit, so xc wheels it is. If you’re a good rider and can avoid hitting the sharp rocks (no guarantee when you can’t even see the ground for the dust) then go for lighter tubeless tyres but if you’re rough or slightly crashy then just stick some dual ply minions or high rollers on there and be done with it. If you need to run tubes, get some Schwalbe xc tubes and remove the valve cores so you can stick some latex sealant in there. Also smear some latex inside the tyre and tube as this can help seal things up, allowing you to finish.
Those are the main points – there are other little tricks, but the most important stuff’s in there. There’s a huge element of personal choice though in what you run; play to your strengths rather than running what everyone else is. Oh, and get a dropper post, they make the world of difference. The FOX is my current favourite as it’s so simple – up, down and a bit in between. The Reverb in contrast is the 2nd best but a complete pain in the ass to get the height right when you’re blowing out your hoop and struggling to hold on, let alone press a button on the bars and judge the return speed.
Hopefully that’s all of some use to some of you!
Massive thanks to all who have contributed to this thread.
Only just had chance to read it through.
Tbh i know it's going to be done on a show string, not sure how much difference that's going to make.
2014 is the goal btw, as we have very little experience.
Im currently building a xc/trail bike to do marathons etc for fitness, and hopefully pick up a few "skillz".
The mega bike build will then start this time next year-ish (maybe summer, money permitting.
Few extra questions.
Good idea to bring a chain/ chain tool?
Are high rollers really good enough? 2.5 versions i guess...
Do you need new pads for qualifying, and the race, or will they last for both.
(Showing my inexperience there).
Chest & back plate advised for 1st year?
Only just had chance to read it through.
Tbh i know it's going to be done on a show string, not sure how much difference that's going to make.
2014 is the goal btw, as we have very little experience.
Im currently building a xc/trail bike to do marathons etc for fitness, and hopefully pick up a few "skillz".
The mega bike build will then start this time next year-ish (maybe summer, money permitting.
Few extra questions.
Good idea to bring a chain/ chain tool?
Are high rollers really good enough? 2.5 versions i guess...
Do you need new pads for qualifying, and the race, or will they last for both.
(Showing my inexperience there).
Chest & back plate advised for 1st year?
Give Aaron at Aaron's Bikes a call in Jersey. he was out there a lot in the old days of 1998/99 when I was part of the original Brit crew that went out there. I think there were only 9 Brits in total.
Best of Luck ol' chap. Its changed since my day........ An awesome event, try and get out o fewdays early and acclimatise, do a couple of runs down the mountain a day to get used to 20+miles of downhill. But most of all enjoy it, theres nothing like it here.
Best of Luck ol' chap. Its changed since my day........ An awesome event, try and get out o fewdays early and acclimatise, do a couple of runs down the mountain a day to get used to 20+miles of downhill. But most of all enjoy it, theres nothing like it here.
Pads - take spares but just keep an eye on the wear, they should be ok. I ran the same pads at the MOH that I had since April without any bother and only replaced them for the Mega as a precaution.
Armour - I wouldn't stress over chest armour but either go with a back plate or a bag that has one built in. The rocks are sharp and you don't want to be landing on them. By the same token I'd recommend elbow and knees, even though hell would have to freeze over before I willingly wore elbows ever again. Hateful things.
Massive thanks to all who have contributed to this thread.
Only just had chance to read it through.
Tbh i know it's going to be done on a show string, not sure how much difference that's going to make.
Tyres - High Rollers are fine but I'd recommend Minions as they'll last a bit longer. Also, go for a 60a on the back instead of the 42a, save that for the front. If you're inexperienced then I'd go for dual ply too for a bit of safety.
Tools - You can finish it chainless if needs be but I know that next year I'll have a chain tool or a snap link taped to the bike somewhere after my MOH incident this year. Pushing up the 2km climb sucked.
Massive thanks to all who have contributed to this thread.
Only just had chance to read it through.
Tbh i know it's going to be done on a show string, not sure how much difference that's going to make.
I also wouldn't build up a bike specifically for the Mega, it'll be a waste of money. 'Run what you brung' so to speak. That said a pair of 120mm forks will definitely feel out of their depth so use a little common sense on that one! You can certainly do it on a shoestring, I think this year the whole two weeks cost me about £4-500 including tolls, ferry etc although excluding the entry costs for each race. We just slept in the van and cooked pasta each night, with a few meals out here and there, and that's the same for a lot of people.
Armour - I wouldn't stress over chest armour but either go with a back plate or a bag that has one built in. The rocks are sharp and you don't want to be landing on them. By the same token I'd recommend elbow and knees, even though hell would have to freeze over before I willingly wore elbows ever again. Hateful things.
Massive thanks to all who have contributed to this thread.
Only just had chance to read it through.
Tbh i know it's going to be done on a show string, not sure how much difference that's going to make.
Tyres - High Rollers are fine but I'd recommend Minions as they'll last a bit longer. Also, go for a 60a on the back instead of the 42a, save that for the front. If you're inexperienced then I'd go for dual ply too for a bit of safety.
Tools - You can finish it chainless if needs be but I know that next year I'll have a chain tool or a snap link taped to the bike somewhere after my MOH incident this year. Pushing up the 2km climb sucked.
Massive thanks to all who have contributed to this thread.
Only just had chance to read it through.
Tbh i know it's going to be done on a show string, not sure how much difference that's going to make.
I also wouldn't build up a bike specifically for the Mega, it'll be a waste of money. 'Run what you brung' so to speak. That said a pair of 120mm forks will definitely feel out of their depth so use a little common sense on that one! You can certainly do it on a shoestring, I think this year the whole two weeks cost me about £4-500 including tolls, ferry etc although excluding the entry costs for each race. We just slept in the van and cooked pasta each night, with a few meals out here and there, and that's the same for a lot of people.
Whatever you take out there, make sure it's in tip-tip, A1, fan-dabby-dozy and freshly serviced condition. You'll cover more miles, harder and faster in a week or two that you would in an entire season in the UK. Chances of things breaking therefore are many times greater, which a) ruins your holiday and/or b) leaves you at the mercy of the horrendously expensive bike shops out there...
Jimbo. said:
b) leaves you at the mercy of the horrendously expensive bike shops out there...
The prices will make you cry, but that's only if they have what you're after. Not one shop for example had a 10spd chain. 6-8spd were plentiful but 9spd+? Forget it. I luckily had a mate with a few spare XTR's that I got hold of, before I swapped to 9spd, and in doing so got me out of a fairly major hole!Make sure you can service your suspension, tweak wheels and bleed brakes with your eyes blindfolded and your hands behind your back. Preventative maintenance is absolutely key; we'd spend half an hour after riding each day stripping and servicing things to make sure that they'd be working the following day.
Or888t said:
Thanks alot again guys.
Thought becoming proficient with a bleed kit and spoke wrench might be a good idea.
What level of fitness cardio wise is needed then?
How dangerous is being in front of a much faster rider/ group of riders?
Definitely make sure that you can fix anything on your bike; wheels, brakes, suspension (or at least a basic service and seal change, that isn't difficult), setting up gears and chain devices etc. Be as self proficient as possible. Of course other riders out there will help but it's not something you want to rely on!Thought becoming proficient with a bleed kit and spoke wrench might be a good idea.
What level of fitness cardio wise is needed then?
How dangerous is being in front of a much faster rider/ group of riders?
To be honest, you're unlikely to be at the head of the pack unless you get lucky. Riders will definitely try to get past though, no matter what speed you're doing! If you think someone will try to get past you somewhere, either make it easy for them or close the door before they get a chance to act on it, and then hope that they don't come through anyway. I was at the back of a pack on the singletrack this year that seemed to have a half dead granny as leader and got taken out on a section where there was zero chance that the guy behind would actully make the move stick. Luckily I remembered his number so when I caught him up having passed some of the riders on a climb I was able to make sure that my move was as aggressive as possible. I think he hit an electric fence. At the end of the day the red mist comes down and people do things they probably wouldn't on a normal ride. Basically, don't worry about being at the lead of a pack because that's the holy grail and very unlikely to actually happen!!
Cardio wise, to ride it I'd say you need to be fit, to race it you need to be supremely fit. My fitness wasn't what it should have been but as I'd been living at 1500m for several weeks before hand I was at least altitude ready which is a big struggle. I don't know where you're based but I'd say you should be really pushing it hard on each ride; no stops, no backing off, just ride until you feel like you're going to puke and then go a bit harder. My peak HR is about 201-202bpm, my resting is 41bpm and my lactic threshold when I returned was about 181bpm over a sixty minute ride. And I still wasn't fit enough, I was getting passed by whippets towards the end. You need to have a really good cardio base because you're working hard for a long time, but you also need to really work on the lactic side too, and that means intervals. Lots and lots of intervals. I use a combination of the Concept2 in the gym (6x30s/30s) and the HRM on the road bike which keeps you in the right zone. I usually end up swearing profusely at the instrument of pain on the bars and then lie down in the undergrowth at the side of the road for a few minutes afterwards.
The thing that makes the Mega hard is that you’re already blowing by the time you get to any climbing. There are longer, fireroad based ones (although not as long as the MOH) where you just dig deep and grind in the tallest gear you can, and short, steep, rocky ones where your legs feel like they can’t push any harder because of the lactic that’s sitting in them. Take every opportunity to keep your legs spinning to lessen this as it improves bloodflow (rather than sitting with your legs in the same place for minutes at a time). If you want to go out and have fun then just get as much time on the bike as possible but if you’re competitive and want to take it a little more seriously, go hard on your cardio training and don’t let up. It’ll make the Mega a lot easier and more enjoyable if you do!
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