not an easy one but ride to enjoy it-
a lot of its out of your control, a mechanical or someone crashing into you/in front of you can set you back and its quite frustrating (all have happened to me before)
but just try and pass as many as possible before you hit the singletrack as its a pig to overtake. make sure you pre-ride the snow and those first bits of the quali/mega route as thats where a line mistake can cost you
its all rideable but if there is bottleneck at drop offs etc it can be quicker to get off and carry the bike
oh and get up extra early for you start the lift queues are looong i lost my spot on the quali grid by being late
have fun!