[notmytarga]

In the past I was glued to the TDF, especially in the latter Lance years. This year a colleague taught me about a whole new tour.

The Tour Divide is race run self/unsupported for 2745 miles around the clock from Banff to the Mexican border (or northbound) crossing the continental divide about 30 times. 270,000 feet of climbing, no drafting. You can follow the action next year. The route can be challenged at anytime for touring or as an individual time trial. A "Grand Depart" occurs the second Friday of June and had 105 riders start. The fastest time this year was 16 1/2 days - 2 days faster than the prior record. 180 miles per day average attained by 5 hours overnights in a tent bivie wherever it was needed. Some "racers" are still on the course and can be followed using the GPS Spot system and reported collectively at http://trackleaders.com/tourdivide. The information for the race can be reviewed. International field. Winner was a humble, cheerful New Zealander. Great audio and video stories of racers taking full advantage of gut fill contests and buffets to stoke up on cheap calories. Ollie Whalley on pancakes at the Tour Divide finish. on Vimeo
The route is primarily dirt/gravel fire type road, some singletrack, some pavement etc.
Racers this year use rigid or hardtails, with only a few full susp bike, mostly 29ers, a few singlespeeds, a fixie. Unicycles have and are currently doing the route over about 60 days.