Who is going to win the Death march this year?

[Fett]

So, who is going to win this year? None of the favorites have signed up yet that I can see. Don Galligher is the king until someone dethrones him.  I am not sure who he is racing with this year, maybe Mike Hemelgarn, as a guess?  The Polish Powerhouses (that should be their team name) of Tomas Golasz and Pawel Rutklowski have the horsepower to win it.  Possibly Matt Battin and Jake Virostko of the Bicycle Station?
Is this the year that a roadie can win it? Who are the fast roadie teams?
In the Co-ed Division, the only team that I can see knocking off  the Bond/Renschler team are the Blumericks as I watched them come around me at the end of the Gravel Grovel and finish strong.
The 10 day forcast looks frigid, so will it be frozen on race day?  I know that will make some of the trail options fast for a good mountain biker. Is it an advantage or disadvantage?
I had this as a response to Tania's thread, but decided it was hijacking it, so created my own thread.

[Doe]

Who is going to have the most fun??   

[Fett]

Not me.  I foolishly convinced Andy Messer to be my partner.  You are going to see me looking like Death about 2/3 of the way through the race as he heckles me to go faster.

[Doe]

Oh, you love to suffer, Fett!!

[eric05]

Well my cousin and I have the reigning title of "The Most Lost". Not looking to keep that one this year.
 
Should be interesting day with the weather most likely being frigid. We can look forward to hot showers afterwards. Oh wait.... 

[chuckdlou]

betcha i'm in the top 5 most fun

[Doe]

I don't doubt that, cdlou!  That is my plan as well! 

[ELduder]

I think my team is in the running for most fun and most beer consumed during the race.

[chuckdlou]

i don't doubt that at all duder...i'll be drinking for 2 since ian is underage...i think i can handle that...

[Fett]

GnawBoneLefty and I had a great 3 hr ride last Night in HNF, stick mostly to trails.  Hit Callahan after sunset and bombed down McPike long after dark.  All this preriding and planning could be all for naught as this weekend's weather could wreak havoc on the trails. Confirmed that one trail totally sucks as badly as it did the last time I rode it 2 years ago, completely horsed out.

[holzhaus]

Anyone need a teammate?
I'd like to do this with someone of similar ability as me if there's someone interested. (good endurance, Cat2 ish speed). I can navigate or just tag along.

[Doe]

https://www.facebook.com/events/247172255451692/?ref=2&ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming


You can check there for a teammate. If you find one, I'd be interested in carpooling.   

[Fett]

Anyone need a teammate?
I'd like to do this with someone of similar ability as me if there's someone interested. (good endurance, Cat2 ish speed). I can navigate or just tag along.

Sent you a PM

[Fett]

So, how was everyone's Death March?  I had a great time and rode about as well as I could have with no major mishaps.  It was defintely the year of the cyclocross bike.  Most years it is pretty evenly distributed betweeen mountain and cross bike. This year, it looks like only 2 of the top ten teams were on mountain bikes (me being one of the foolish souls)
Top 5 were very close. It was interesting that every one of the top teams took a different route, so there was no clear cut best way.  I took trail 90 and 4 at the beginning and ended up popping out onto McPike with the second pack  of riders, who I probably would have been with, had I taken the road, so road and trail were about the same, at least early.
It seems, this year, many of the teams tried to stay on the road as much as possible, bypassing trail. We hit Combs late and it was a mess. On the way back, it was the one place that I was really bonking.
All in all a great time

[edf]

 It was a fun race. Wanted top 20 and got 18th so that was a good feeling. We went clockwise, and hit Mitchell and Hillenbrand first. Combs was bad, at least worse than the past three years of Gravel Grovel experience. We skipped Callahan in favor of dropping south onto SR 58. In looking at the results, it appears Callahan was the key for many of the top teams. I’d like to know how its conditions compared to Combs and Nebo. We ended by cutting off of McPike onto Trail 80 which was in bad shape. Lots of mud and limbs. Overall, we were happy with our route and the results. Looking forward to next year, although I will stick with my mtb + carbon fork.
Out of curiosity, what type of trail surface is Trail 90 and what were the conditions on the trail?