A massive congratulations goes out to Meaghan Hackinen, who finished the 2700-mile 2024 Tour Divide in just under 16 days and became the first rider to cross the finish line in the women’s category! Find photos and more about Meaghan’s experience on the route here…
Photos by Eddie Clark and Alexandera Houchin (@alexanderahouchin) from the finish
After 15 days, 23 hours (15d:23h:00m), Meaghan Hackinen is the first woman to reach Antelope Wells, winning the 2024 Tour Divide women’s category and becoming the first woman to complete the Tour Divide grand depart event in under 16 days. The Canadian from Kelowna, British Columbia, set the second fastest-ever women’s time on the 2,700-mile route on her first attempt at it, bested only by Lael Wilcox’s record-setting 2015 ride during an Individual Time Trial (ITT). Meaghan finished 7th overall in the race.
A past winner of the 24-hour World Time Trial Championships and many bikepacking races, including the Ozark Gravel Doom, Dark Divide 300, Log Driver’s Waltz, and The Big Lonely, Hackinen had the off-road bikepacking experience to handle the backcountry rigors of Tour Divide, and with completions of TransAm and the Transcontinental Race in 2017 and 2022 respectively, she was no stranger to the day after day grind of long events.
If you exclude the first night Hackinen stopped in Fernie to sleep inside while Ana Jager pushed on for a few more hours, Hackinen never gave up the race lead. While the two incredibly strong women were never far from each other, spending nights in the same location in Whitefish and Lincoln early on in the race, it seemed that Hackinen was able to slowly and steadily inch away from Jager as the miles wore on.
Jager caught up twice more, once at Brush Mountain Lodge and once in Silverthorne, but ultimately Hackinen was able to stay away for the win. Even a puncture on Boreas Pass that took four bacon strips to fix and eventually led to a new tire in Del Norte couldn’t stop the charging Canadian, who stayed well ahead of women’s record pace for much of the race until ultimately falling behind it in northern New Mexico.
It was her unrelenting focus and positivity that permeated each of the daily Instagram posts that she made along the route, giving fans a peak into her daily experiences. Even when things sounded positively dire, she found a way to practice gratitude for her ability and opportunity to be out there.
Near the end of the route, getting ready to leave Pie Town for the last push to the border, she admitted that she was starting to lose focus, turning from a scientist of the sport with a plan to be executed with precision to a poet who just wanted to be out there to enjoy the experience. Her love of being out on route and appreciation of the experience is clear in her voice. That said, on the final stretch, she faed pretty bad storms and had to hunker down in an abandoned building right where the route out goes parallel to the freeway.
Congratulations, Meaghan, on a spectacular ride, and thank you for taking us along with you!
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