Guidespud takes on the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race

LEADVILLE, Colorado — Fans lined the intersection of 6th St. and Harrison Ave. in downtown Leadville before the sun even fully rose, all awaiting what was billed to be an epic battle between David Wiens and Lance Armstrong. The two cycling legends didn’t disappoint, as they went wheel-to-wheel for nearly the entire race, causing everyone, including Wiens, to wonder whether the five-time defending champion could hang with the seven-time Tour champion. “I never even considered that I would win,” Wiens said just after finishing. “When you’re riding with Lance and you can’t shake him, and he can’t shake you, you’re not going to win that race. At least, I didn’t think so.”  But with just less than 10 miles from the finish line, Armstrong pulled up and all but conceded the race to Wiens.“We climbed up till Turquoise Lake and as soon as we hit the dirt, he said, ‘I’m done, go,” Wiens said, still stunned nearly an hour later.  “At the end, I realized that I was totally cooked,” Armstrong said. “ … He said, ‘Come on,’ and I just said, ‘No, I can’t.’”