2019 Tour Divide Race Prep With Lael Wilcox

To properly kick off our Tour Divide week coverage, here’s the latest video by Rugile Kaladyte chatting with Lael about balancing time in the off-season and preparation for her forthcoming attempt at the Tour Divide. Lael returned to Alaska for mental preparation and to connect with friends, family, and Anchorage GRIT, the girls cycling mentorship program she and Cait Rodriguez founded. Additionally, part of Lael’s training was to ride 700 miles from Boulder, CO to Emporia, KS where she raced in the Dirty Kanza XL.

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Lael would be attempting to set a new course record, but that’s unlikely with late snowfall still on course this year. Even so, she remains positive that it will be a great race and an overall win is still up for grabs. Lael currently holds the women’s record on the Tour Divide with an Individual Time Trial (ITT) set in 2015: 15 days, 10 hours, and 59 minutes (15:10:59). The late Mike Hall holds the course record of 13:22:51, set in 2016. Learn more about times and dates under the Trail Notes tab in the GDMBR route guide.

Photos and film by Rugile Kaladyte