← All eventsColorado Trail Race
A ~850km self-supported high-altitude MOUNTAIN bikepacking race on the Colorado Trail, Durango to Denver — brutal technical singletrack and hike-a-bike above treeline. Expert-only. Date and elevation are approximate.
One of the hardest bikepacking races in the world for its distance. High-altitude technical mountain-bike singletrack on the Colorado Trail, Durango to Denver, much of it above treeline.
The route crosses the San Juans, the Collegiate Peaks and the Continental Divide again and again, repeatedly climbing over 3,600m above treeline.
Short on paper, savage in reality. Substantial hike-a-bike, afternoon lightning above the trees, no support and no prizes. Front riders finish in three and a half days, most in five to eight.
Who finishes, and how
Patterns like these, drawn straight from 2025 race data, are baked into how Beina coaches you for this event.
Is Colorado Trail Race for you?
- Experienced mountain bikers with real skill on rock and root. This is expert technical singletrack, not gravel, and the trail punishes riders who are out of their depth.
- Riders comfortable at altitude, or willing to arrive early to acclimatise. Much of the route sits above 3,000m, so thin air is a constant, not an occasional hill.
- Strong hikers as well as riders. A big share of the route is unrideable, so pushing and carrying a loaded bike is part of the job, not a rare interruption.
- Self-reliant types happy with no checkpoints, no support and their own storm calls. You resupply in trail towns and you make every decision alone.
Training plan for Colorado Trail Race
A training plan for Colorado Trail Race isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- Extreme altitude, repeatedly over 3,600m, with thin air on every sustained climb
- Technical singletrack of rocks, roots, exposure and steep grades, ridden fully loaded
- Substantial hike-a-bike where the trail is unrideable or crosses Wilderness detours
- Afternoon lightning above treeline, so high crossings have to be timed for the morning
- Long technical trail rides building from four to nine hours, ridden loaded with full kit
- Hike-a-bike work and steep push repeats, carrying and pushing a loaded bike over rough ground
- Altitude or big-climb days plus early-start rides to rehearse storm-avoidance timing
- A three to four day multi-day mountain-bike trip in the specialise block, on tired legs
- Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
- Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
- Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
- One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
