Cecily Decker Just Set the Fastest Time Ever on Columbine
Stage 2 of the Life Time Leadville Stage Race is a small affair — grassroots, even, by Life Time standards — but it's become a legitimate precursor to the big show two weeks later. In recent years it's given us a genuine battle on the Columbine climb, with Kate Courtney and Melissa Rollins trading blows and stacking QOMs across nearly every segment on the mountain.
Well, until now.
"Diesel" Decker just dropped a scintillating time on Stage 2's Columbine out-and-back, and the numbers are hard to ignore.
The effort
Decker climbed the 6.64-mile segment — 2,813 feet of gain at an 8% average grade — in 54:05, averaging 7.4 mph and 176 bpm on the way up. That's now the fastest time ever recorded by a woman on the climb, and it didn't come with a fresh set of legs: Decker rode to and from the stage start for some bonus miles before turning herself inside out on the mountain.
Here's how it stacks up against the rest of the field's best efforts on the same segment:
Fifty-two seconds faster than Courtney — the once UCI XCO world champion and current Leadville course record holder. Over six minutes clear of Annika Langvad, one of the most decorated marathon MTB racers of all time. And several minutes clear of everyone else who's put in a hot lap here in recent memory, including Sofia Gomez Villafañe who has looked close to unbeatable in 2026.
Check out Cecily's ride on Strava below:
Cecily Decker's Stage 2 Ride on Strava
What it means
It's one effort, on one stage, two weeks out. But it's the kind of ride that shifts how you read the field and issues warning shots to the competition.
There's still plenty we don't know heading into the main event. The 2026 Leadville course hasn't been officially released yet in the wake of the Willow Fire's impact on the area, so exactly what riders will be facing come race day is still an open question. That uncertainty only adds to the intrigue.
One thing's for sure: Diesel Decker is a name to watch over the next two weeks, and the rest of the women's field knows it.