Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Angus Young has claimed an impressive third-place finish at the 2026 Tour Divide, completing the 2,700-mile route in just 13 days, 18 hours, and 3 minutes. While the spotlight has understandably been on race leaders, Young’s ride stands among the fastest ever recorded on the route, capping off a remarkable performance. Meanwhile, photographer Eddie Clark catches up with riders still battling their way through New Mexico and the first monsoonal storms of the season…
Photos by Eddie Clark
Congratulations to 30-year-old Angus Young from Blandford Forum, England, who nabbed third-place in the 2026 Tour Divide. Angus rolled into Antelope Wells at about 1 a.m. Friday morning to finish the roughly 2,700-mile ride in an unfathomable 13 days, 18 hours, and 3 minutes (13d:18h:03m). Despite being third, it shouldn’t be understated what an incredibly impressive time this is. To put it in perspective, that’s nearly 5 hours under Mike Hall’s legendary record that stood for 8 years. Kudos Angus!
The Tour Divide route didn’t let the 30-year-old from Blandford Forum, England, coast to his podium finish, though. About 35 miles north of the border, the route veers onto a nine-mile section of rugged singletrack on the Continental Divide Trail. There, Young slashed one of his tires. For nearly two hours, as darkness descended on the desert, Young worked to repair the puncture.
He put in four plugs and “added some super glue for good luck.” He also had to change the valve. The repair held for six more miles of singletrack, and he reached the final 25 miles of pavement just as it stopped raining.
Young rolled up to the bright lights of an otherwise abandoned border station well after everyone had gone home for the night.
“We’ve made it. Not a soul to be seen,” he reported in a video he filmed of himself. He seemed thrilled about the solitude to contemplate what he’d done.
“I’m lost for words. That’s quite rare for me,” he said. “What a ride. It’s a really special route. And then finishing here at a strange place. A border crossing, and no one here. Which is just really special in itself. I’ve got this moment to my own. Yeah, there will be more from a bit, but I’m going to head down for a few hours’ kip, because I think I need it.”
Hopefully, Young has found his way back to civilization and a well-deserved bed, shower, and fresh clothing (his jersey is stained with blood from the many nosebleeds he suffered in the dry desert air.) Congratulations on a race well run!
Elsewhere in the Race
After photographer Eddie Clark left Antelope Wells to catch Bosoni’s finish, he made a run towards Cuba and only got as far as Socorro before hitting his driving limit. From there he went to Grants and waited for Felix Laberge and Meaghan Hackinen. Afterwards, he made it to Cuba and caught up with Brian Elander at the Circle K. He was in good spirits and being tactical with his moves, which meant getting a room to rest instead of riding into some stiff headwinds with no place to sleep for the night. The section from Cuba to Grants is all rough exposed highway, and more of a logistical obstacle than anything to enjoy.
Eddie later caught up with Colin Heart and the next American Patrick Ogden in Abiqui, and then photographed them just down route on the big climb from Abiqui. Of note, BE, CH and PO are the leading Americans in the race. Also some significant thunderstorms are spinning up in Colorado right now, ushering in the afternoon monsoon season.
Check out the 2026 Tour Divide Tracker page to follow along on the live tracking map, and stay tuned in for more event coverage. Find it here.
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