Haley Smith fifth at Leadville 100 MTB marathon

Another year of high-altitude racing at the iconic Leadville 100 mountain bike marathon is all wrapped up and it was an especially exciting year. Keegan Swenson smashed the course record, besting local champs and several celebrity times, as well as his own best effort. Canadians had a solid day out, with Haley Smith leading the women’s effort and Rob Britton the fastest Canuck man.

Haley Smith finished fifth, just 2:23 off of a podium finishing time after over seven hours of racing. It’s a close result to her 2022 finish, where she was third.

Sofia Gomez Billafane continued her dominance of the 2023 Life Time Grand Prix Series, winning the women’s Leadville 100. Ruth Winder placed second with Alexis Skarda just edging out Hannah Otto for third.

Keegan Swenson took a staggering 15 minutes off of his own course record, pushing the new standard for the 170km cx marathon to 5:43:31. Alexy Vermeulen just edged out John Gaston by four seconds, taking second in 6:08:01 to Gaston’s 6:08:05.

Rob Britton was the fastest Canadian in the men’s race. The Victoria-based racer finished 20th in 6:30:25. Cory Wallace was 23rd in 6:39:14. Andrew L’Esperance followed close behind in 25th at 6:40:34.