Tour Divide

The Tour Divide is an annual mountain biking ride traversing the length of the Rocky Mountains, from Canada to the Mexican border. Following the 2,745-mile (4,418 km) Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, it is an ultra-distance cycling ride that is an extreme test of endurance, self-reliance and mental toughness. The ride format is strictly self-supported, and it is not a stage race - the clock runs continuously from the start until riders cross the finish line, usually more than two weeks later.

The ride has a very low profile, and is entirely amateur. There are no entry fees, no sponsorship, and no prizes. Although "letters of intent" from likely starters are encouraged, any rider may turn up on the day to participate. Challenges along the route include mountains, great distances between resupply towns, risk of mechanical failure or injury, bears, poor weather, snowfall, and significant unrideable sections that require pushing the bike. Riders usually adopt a "bikepacking" style, carrying minimal equipment sufficient for camping or bivouacking, and only enough food and water to last until the next town. In this way, riders ride huge distances each day, the current ride record averaging over 174 miles (280 km) per day.

The Tour Divide has been ridden and completed on both single speed bicycles and tandem bicycles. It usually starts on the second Friday in June - at an event called Grand Départ.[1] The ride can also be completed at any time as an individual time trial (ITT).

Due to the extreme distances, inaccessibility of the route, lack of television coverage and small number of participants, spectating is impractical. However, many riders carry SPOT Satellite Messenger tracking devices, allowing their progress to be continuously monitored on websites.

Records

Ride records are maintained in several categories, and do not distinguish between times set during the official annual ride, or in individual time trials set at any time. Categories include male, female and tandem. As the route changes fairly frequently, the overall length and difficulty can vary, meaning records from one year cannot be exactly compared.

  • Male: 13 days, 22 hours, 51 minutes by Mike Hall in 2016 "Mike Hall completes Tour Divide in record time – and this time keeps the record".
  • Female: 15 days, 10 hours, 59 minutes by Lael Wilcox in August 2015[2][3]

Winners
YearMale winnerMale winner's timeFemale winnerFemale winner's time
2008[4][5]Matthew Lee19 days 12 hours 0 minsMary Collier29 days 17 hours 37 mins
2009Matthew Lee17 days 23 hours 45 minsJill Homer24 days 07 hours 24 mins
2010Matthew Lee17 days 16 hours 10 minsCricket Butler26 days 9 hours 36 mins
2011Kurt Refsnider15 days 20 hours 51 minsCaroline Soong22 days 9 hours 59 mins
2012Ollie Whalley16 days 2 hours 54 minsEszter Horanyi19 days 3 hours 35 mins
2013Mike Hall14 days 11 hours 55 minsSara Dalman22 days 19 hours 05 mins
2014[6]Jefe Branham16 days 2 hours 39 minsAlice Drobna22 days 6 hours 36 mins
2015[7]Josh Kato14 days 11 hours 37 minsLael Wilcox[8]19 days 2 hours 37 mins
2016Mike Hall13 days 22 hours 51 minsJackie Bernardi19 days 21 hours 41 mins
2017Brian Lucido14 days 22 hours 50 minsMarketa Peggy Marvanova22 days 18 hours 04 minutes
2018Lewis Ciddor15 days 2 hours 8 minutesAlexandera Houchin23 days 3 hours 51 minutes
2019Christopher Seistrup15 days 11 hours 24 minsAlexandera Houchin18 days 20 hours 26 minutes


Media coverage

The event remains a niche phenomenon, receiving little coverage in mainstream media. A documentary film, Ride the Divide was produced during the 2008 running.[9] It followed several riders, including eventual winner Matthew Lee. The documentary won the "Best Adventure Film" Award at the 2010 Vail Film Festival.[10]

Similar ride

The Trans Am Bike Race (TABR) is similar to the Tour Divide in that riders have to be completely self-supported and a fixed route is used, the main difference is that the TABR is on paved roads. The TABR uses the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, which runs from the Pacific coast in Oregon, United States, to the Atlantic Coast in Virginia, and like the route of the Tour Divide, was developed by the Adventure Cycling Association.

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See also

References
  1. "About Tour Divide". New Eon Media. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  2. Morris, Scott. "Tour Divide 2015 live tracker by trackleaders.com". trackleaders.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  3. https://gypsybytrade.wordpress.com/2015/08/24/lael-wilcox-completes-tour-divide-itt-in-151059/
  4. http://bikepackersmagazine.com/tour-divide-past-winners-records/
  5. http://tourdivide.org/results
  6. http://bikepackersmagazine.com/2014-tour-divide-results/
  7. http://www.outsideonline.com/1997471/how-lael-wilcox-crushed-tour-divide
  8. Morris, Scott. "Tour Divide 2015 live tracker by trackleaders.com". trackleaders.com. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  9. http://getgoingnc.com/2010/06/%E2%80%9Cride-the-divide%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%94-a-2700-mile-off-road-odyssey/
  10. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1530991/awards

Further reading
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