2021 Tour Divide

With regional COVID-19 restrictions changing every day and the border closure between the US and Canada extended, there was official announcement on what this year’s Tour Divide will look like. In short, the 2021 Tour Divide will start from Eureka, Montana at the Canada border and run for nearly 2,500 miles to the traditional southern terminus at Antelope Wells on the Mexican border. Read more here. Also, you can follow this years ~100 grand depart participants on the Trackleaders map below.

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.

For more on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, check out our guide, here. Also, find the Rigs of the 2019 Tour Divide here, and check out #tour-divide for many more articles and resources.

Registration: Send a letter of intent after winter solstice to tourdivide@gmail.com.

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