TD Race Updates

So, another scintillating edition of the Tour Divide has come to an end. James Hodges becomes the first ever red caboose and has brought the curtain down on the most successful Tour Divide yet – in terms of numbers finishing, at least. Fifty riders from the southbound Grand Depart, six northbounders and four ITTers for a total of 60 successful rides. That’s almost triple last year’s figures.

A perhaps surprising corollary of this surge in popularity is the fall in attrition rates. Overall, out of 82 starters there was an unprecedented success rate of 68% for those participating in the Grand Depart (I haven’t managed to work out figures for ITTers as I’m not sure I’ve kept on top of who started and who didn’t). The success rate for the southbound Grand Depart was even higher at a staggering 75%.

Given this remarkable ratio in an event with historical attrition rates of 50% or more, it would be easy to conclude that increased awareness of the Tour Divide means people have arrived better prepared than in the past. However, the changes of the route due to snow conditions have probably also had an impact, reducing the intensity of the start if not the overall challenge. Read more »

An excellent idea from the race discussion forum: re-name the lanterne rouge (too Tour de France) as the red caboose (much more Wild West). It works for me. It’s certainly a healthy battle that’s developing for this coveted prize between Justin Simoni and James Hodges, and possibly Nicholas Kennedy, whose Spot hasn’t updated for a while. Will the fire re-routes have any impact? Will Justin adhere to the original route anyway?

In the engine of the women’s race, Caroline Soong has now finished and gets the Maize jersey, which will presumably sit nicely alongside that won by partner Kurt. Tori Fahey looks on course for second, with Jackie Bonn not far behind in third after roughing it through Brazos Ridge. The two Sheilas and Marian are now also on the final leg having made it to Cuba.

To continue the forum-inspired race-train analogy, the coal wagons of Markus Meier, John Richardson, Lukas Aufschlager, Dylan Taylor, Lance Griffin, David Goldberg, Derek Bentley and Danny Hill have all now made it to the finish (should that be the station, or terminus?). That’s a total of 22 southbound grand depart finishers, plus ITTer Dave Bruno, in less than 23 days.

Northbound, Denis Chazelle really motored over the weekend to finish second in Banff. Craig Dolwin is still a short way out of town, maybe only 30 miles or less, and will hopefully be able to nail the last bit later today. The leaderboard has Ross Delaplane still moving in the early morning, so he should be in Banff today as well, while Roland Sturm has ventured off into the Flathead. He also sent a message from the flanks of Galton Pass remarking at how steep it was and asking for comparisons with the southbound route – how did he do that? And then the northbound caboose, Stephen Moore, is within about a day of the border and another two or three days of the finish. Read more »

So, it was indeed Kurt, Jefe and then Paul, and now Ethan, Robert and Parker have made it to the finish too (well, we must assume Parker has, as he apparently left Silver City with Robert even though his SPOT still has him between Cuba and Grants). I don’t know if there’s that much I can say about such amazing rides. It made for a fabulous spectacle, which was absolutely the last thing that was needed by someone still trying to wean himself off the Tour Divide.

All three front runners have called in now or posted updates. I liked the fact Paul Attalla was reported as asking for an omelette made from 10 eggs. That’s TEN. It sound a bit like that probably apocryphal story from the French revolution, when a nobleman on the run – disguised as a starving peasant – was doing fine until his hunger caught up with him and he ordered an omelette with 12 eggs at a local inn. Old habits die hard, I guess. At least Paul fell asleep during his, rather than having a rendez-vous with Madame Guillotine.

I think the state Paul must have been in to order such a dish – and then doze off while eating it – says it all about how far these guys have pushed themselves. Maybe fans of the TD have experienced something along these lines at some point in their lives (or at least know someone who has). But few of us will ever do so in quite such an extreme setting as the TD. Pro athletes do it regularly, but mostly in the velodrome, or on the track. Or, in the Tour de France, with a whole moving circus of backup to help them recover. Read more »

Kurt? Jefe? Paul? Jefe? Kurt?...

Less than a couple of hours to go and I guess it looks like Kurt, Jefe, Paul (Molly, my eight year old, agrees, unless they fall off and hurt themselves or their bikes break - I had a puncture with ten miles to go, so she's a wise head on young shoulders). A fantasitc effort and fantastically close race - bang goes doing anything constructive away from the computer for the rest of the day.

While you're all glued to the blue dots, have a think about this message from Eric Bruntjen, posted on the race forum: Read more »