The 2018 Tour Divide takes place on Friday, June 8th at 8AM. Race the length of Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, from Banff to New Mexico, 2,745 miles of ultra-endurance bikepacking.

When

Date: June 8, 2018

Time: 8:00 am

Details

Cost: Free

Event Website

Where

Tour Divide Grand Depart

Banff, Alberta Canada

The Tour Divide roughly follows the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) is the most recognized and important off-pavement cycling route in the United States, if not the world. The route crisscrosses the Continental Divide from north to south starting in Banff, Alberta, Canada and finishing at the US/Mexico border in Antelope Wells, New Mexico.

Time-trial season on the GDMBR begins annually with Grand Départ, occurring on the second Friday in June from both termini of the Route; the main Depart takes place in Bannf, Alberta. 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. If one cannot make a grand départ, there is a season-long ITT-Divide format to contend. Tour Divide requires no entry fee or formal registration. There are no prizes for finishing. Riders who carry SPOT GPS Messengers are tracked via the Live tracker.

Follow the event live here. And for those following along, post race updates in the comments below.

For more on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, check out our guide, here. Also, find the Rigs of the 2018 Tour Divide here, and check out a few other articles and resources tagged ‘Tour Divide’.

Timing and Records

It’s a small and select group of athletes.  Here are your Grand Depart winners since the inception of the race in 2008.

2008

Men: Matthew Lee – 19:12:00
Women: Mary Collier – 29:17:37

2009

Men: Matthew Lee – 17:23:45
Women: Jill Homer – 24:07:24

2010

Men: Matthew Lee – 17:16:10
Women: Cricket Butler – 26:09:36

2011*

Men: Kurt Refsnider – 15:20:51
Women: Caroline Soong – 22:09:59

2012

Men: Ollie Whalley (R) – 16:02:54
Women: Eszter Horanyi – 19:03:35

2013*

Men: Mike Hall – 14:11:55
Women: Sara Dallman – 22:19:05

2014

Men: Jefe Branham – 16:02:39
Women: Alice Drobna (SS) – 22:06:36

2015

Men: Josh Kato – 14:11:37
Women: Bethany Dunne – 19:02:37

2016

Men: Mike Hall – 13:22:51
Woman: Jackie Bernardi – 19:21:41

2017*

Men: Brian Lucido – 14:22:50
Women: Marketa Peggy Marvanova – 22:18:04

Notable ITT’s

Jay Petervary – 2011 – 17:09:01
Jay Petervary – 2012 – 15:16:04
Billy Rice – 2013 – Yo-Yo (NoBo & SoBo) 44:42:00
Lael Wilcox – 2015  – 15:10:59

Current Records

Men: Mike Hall – 2016 – 13:22:51
Women: Lael Wilcox – 2015 – 15:10:59

(*) Year with a re-route, race records could not be made; (R) Rookie; (SS) Single Speed.

Event image by Matt & Brett, A View From Two Wheels. 

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