With both south bound and north bound riders racing selfsupported across approx. Race the length of great divide mountain bike route, from banff to new mexico, 2,745 miles of ultraendurance bikepacking. The was a loud crack but i was so pumped up on adrenaline that i only. A few solo riders are already on route heading south from banff. Missing the grand depart, all youre missing is the great vibe of the community in and around the start.
Running from banff in canada to antelope wells on the mexican border, the tour divide is for many the halo event of bikepack ultraracing. Cyclingnews highly anticipated debut film the holy week will be released on vimeo on monday april 16 at 14. Lael wilcox runs through her gear and bike setup for this years tour divide race. Timetrial season on the gdmbr begins annually with grand depart, occurring on the second friday in june from both termini of the route. Prospective challengers are encouraged to declare, but may also simply show up in banff on june 10th. Tour divide accepts letters of intent loi annually, from winter solstice 1221 until grand depart 2nd friday in june. There are no short cuts when it comes to making your resupplyitinerary.
Words by spencer harding, photos by spencer harding and rugile kaladyte last year, rue propositioned me about helping her document the tour divide race in which lael wilcox intended to best her previous record, i jumped at the opportunity. You can read a transcript of our conversation below. Grand teton national park and the great divide basin in. Tour divide guide bikepacking one of seven project. The tour divide is over 2600 miles, starting in banff, ab and finishes in antelopes wells, new mexico on the usmexico border. Later, jay ritchey would be added to the team to help rue with the film they intended to produce about the race. Thanks to a passionate group of participants, weve compiled a list of 85 rigs, each accompanied with the name, age, and hometown of the rider, as well as a brief kit list. I headed to banff for the grand depart and made it 1,200 miles before a knee injury sidelined me. This year will see 71 riders start southbound and 15 riders start northbound, plus a handful of riders taking on the itt individual time trial challenge at various points throughout the summer. Not to be confused with the great divide mountain bike route gdmbr, the basis for.
Lael and i reached out to matthew lee, the race organizer of the tour divide, in january of this year to ask for permission to document the 2019 tour divide. Welcome to my tale about my 2015 tour divide race from banff canada to. Race the length of great divide mountain bike route, from banff to. The tour divide roughly follows the great divide mountain bike route gdmbr is the most recognized and important offpavement cycling route in the united states, if not the world. Had a wonderful time with you all here at the start. The first cyclocross bike to race the tour divide portfolium. Its not the longest route anymore that goes to the transam trail. Grand teton national park and the great divide basin in wyoming, boreas and indiana pass the routes highest point at 11,9. Word is that for the foreseeable future grand depart will be banff due to jasper being too small to handle 200 rowdy bikers. Ill be riding a 2017 salsa cutthroat with stans arch wheels and maxxis icons as the tires. Endurance athlete lael wilcox has set out to ride the tour divide in 2019. The tour divide see hundreds of riders each year, with the goal of these solstice common starts is for athletes to challenge the route in situ, under similar weather conditions and maximum daylight.
The td has some hidden gems if you do your homework and know where to look. I returned to banff for a solo, individual time trial in 2015. Set off from the banff starting point of the tour divides grand depart, neil sheppard. In addition, jay petervary finished an itt of the td starting a couple days after the grade depart with an unofficial time of 16. Mushed your huskies up the river, dared the unknown, led the way, and clutched the prize. The current record is held by mike hall, set in 2016 days, 22 hours, and 51 minutes. The tour divide is the mother of all bikepacking races. Crazylarry live tour divide td 2019 coverage ywca grand depart. I had bronchitislike symptoms and extreme difficulty breathing on the first day of the race.
The tour divide, its her kind of race and shes done it twice before. The film was the sequel to the 2010 ride the divide, featuring a group of riders taking on the infamous great divide route. The tour divide is the benchmark for all offroad bike packing routes. The first itt of the route was in 2005, while the first grand depart was in 2008. The annual grand depart is held the second friday of june, every year. That said, the weather in early june, more often than not is terrible. The 2011 tour divide kicks off today with the grand depart. A tollfree phone number with voice mail is provided to all riders for field reporting. Riderseye images of the gdmbr by stateprovince, ordered as seen riding northtosouth. The wild west route is the countrys newest bikepacking epic rei. Crazylarry live on location tour divide 2018 grand depart. The 2016 tour divide grand depart is fast approaching and some early itters are off this week, so i thought it would be a good time to get this thread going for 2016. Tour divide 2016 grand depart crazylarry trail head.
Whether doing an independent time trial or tackling the grand depart, td. Tour divide 2017 crazylarrys grand depart group picture cheer. Lael wilcox loves the great divide mountain bike route. Im so busy, with little things micro managing that i. The 2015 tour divide race grand depart in banff the radavist banff. Following the 2,745mile 4,418 km great divide mountain bike route, it is an ultradistance cycling ride that is an extreme test of endurance.
I took a week off and then started with the grand depart. The great divide mountain bike route gdmbr is a 3,083. Belgian racing thing a crack last year, before a broken femur put an end to my season. On the 11th, a day before the grand depart, colin and i went for a. The 2019 tour divide takes place on friday, june 14th at 8am. Mike hall sets new tour divide record elevation outdoors. The first itt of the route was in 2005, while the first grand depart was in 2008 usually held on the second friday in june. I first came across the tour divide a few years back, as many probably did, through the ride the divide documentary. Two hundred racers and riders leave banff on the second friday in june. Between june of 2011 and july of 2018 a lot has happened marriage, homeownership, job changes but tour divide has been a constant. Either the grand depart as per mr hall et al or as. The tour divide is an annual mountain biking ride traversing the length of the rocky mountains. The tour divide 2016 was a pumped up bunch this year.
Tour divide requires no entry fee or formal registration. Ask them to save all the shipping materials from the bike that came in the box, and that should be more than enough to get your bike safely packed for a flight. Mike hall sets tour divide mtb record, riding the tour divide over 12 hours. Part of the package would be a preparation video, a gear video, a longer film of this years tour divide, live updates and race coverage on the radavist. Trying to generate interest for a june 12th midnight plus one minute grand depart from antelope wells as opposed to the traditional 8am one. The tour divide grand depart gd is really something special. Coinciding with the grand depart of the 2015 tour divide race, neil remembers the theatre packed with a closeknit community of enthusiastic, lycraclad riders, about to take on their own journey to antelope wells.
Bienvenidos a mexico, lewis ciddor, age 28 from melbourne, australia, first hard man from the tour divide 2018 grand depart to reach antelope wells in 15 days 2 hours. The tour divide is a ultraendurance bikepacking challenge to pedal solo and selfsupported the length of great divide mountain bike route as fast as possible. Lael wilcox prepares for 2019 tour divide with 350mile. Every year i take it upon my self to try and figure a way to promote the camaraderie that i wish to exist in the cycling industry. The route crisscrosses the continental divide from north to south starting in banff, alberta, canada and finishing. Banff, ab ca antelope wells, nm usa 2709mi4360k 16 starters 8 finishers 7 scratched finish gap 10. After some solid postdkxl recovery and an epic weekend in tulsa for red bull last stand, its time to pack up the bikepacking rig and head out to banff for the grand depart of the 2019 tour divide. If one cannot make a grand depart, there is a seasonlong ittdivide. The grand depart kicks off tomorrow, the second friday in june, like every year. The grand tour of mtb banff, ab ca antelope wells, nm usa expedition bike racing at its finest great divide mountain bike route one stage.
Ill be back out there to give it another crack, says neil, with a wide grin. The 2019 edition had perhaps the deepest starting field ever, with. Whereas only 16 people lined up for the premiere grand depart of the tour. I was able to catch up with wilcox late last week before she headed up to banff for the tour divide grand depart. The average age of racers in the tour divide this year is 45 years old. I raced in 2015 but would like to tour this year shooting for 4 weeks or more, leaving with the racers in banff. Tour divide is an ultracycling challenge to pedal solo and selfsupported the length of great divide mountain bike routeas fast as possible. There is still a lot of planning you should consider doing before you get out on the route. Both times that i raced the tour divide in 2015, i rode from my home in anchorage, alaska. Crazylarry live tour divide td 2019 coverage ywca grand depart duration.
This was just a couple hours behind last years also rookie fastest time. It usually starts on the second friday in june at an event called grand depart. For riders like david markman, building up a custom mountain bike is. Ill be riding in the 2019 tour divide scheduled for the grand depart going south on june 14. Hi, hope you can help me, i intend to ride the 2017 tour divide, ive done plenty of on and off road touring in europe, but always used paper maps cut up and laminated and a compass sorry im old, reading blogs about the divide tells me i need to upgrade to a gps garmin, im not great with tec so would need the basic thing, no need for heart rate, cadence, etc, just need to know where i. Preparation for the tour divide singletrack magazine forum. The tour divide starts on june 14th, and with all the snow the mountains have been getting, the trails are likely to be in lessthanoptimal condition. Tour divide 2017 crazylarrys grand depart group picture. The tour divide gdmbr has to be one the easiest racestours to resupply on. A fast tour just before road call to do the group loud cheer and address all the riders with some info. I love cycling, i like adventures and i like to test myself physically and mentally.
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