2024 Tour Divide Preview: Conditions, Route Updates, Who to Watch

By Neil

PUBLISHED Jun 13, 2024

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To me, the beginning of summer is always a reminder that the Tour Divide grand depart is near. I’ve long obsessed over this race in various capacities, whether as a dot watcher, racer, or covering the event. It’s a special route. For those who aren’t familiar, the Tour Divide is held on the second Friday in June each year. The inaugural edition was in 2008, and the Tour Divide is in its 14th edition, with 2020 being canceled and 2021 using a shorter version in the US called the Great Divide route. The full Tour Divide route loosely follows the continental divide from Banff, Alberta, through British Columbia, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, finishing after roughly 2,700 miles (4,345 kilometers) in Antelope Wells, New Mexico. For the most part, the route comprises dirt roads, some pavement, and some doubletrack and singletrack trails. I consider this the longest gravel bike race in North America.

According to the unofficial sign-up form, 243 racers said they’ll be racing this year, and 194 racers signed up on Trackleaders, which I assume is the more accurate number. For reference, Lael Wilcox holds the women’s record at a time of 15 days 10 hours and 59 minutes, and the late Mike Hall holds the men’s record with a time of 13 days 22 hours and 51 minutes. To follow along, head to our Tracker page, which features a live-tracking map so you can follow along, plus we’ll be posting updates regularly. You can also find that linked from our home page at any time over the next few weeks, too. Alright, you can watch the full preview below, and continue on for the written version.

Weather

While some areas, particularly New Mexico and southern Colorado, have seen below-average precipitation this season, much of the western United States experienced a rather cold and wet spring. Because of this, many passes and stretches on the route still have snow or are a bit messy as I record this on June 11th. For reference, the second Friday in June was chosen for the Grand Depart each year to avoid most of the monsoonal moisture and wildfire season common during summers in the Western US.

Some years are dry, others are wet, but more recently, temperatures have warmed up, and widespread moisture has increased. This should help melt some passes that hold snow into June. According to reports from folks who’ve pedaled the route recently, things are melting quickly, including Indiana Pass in southern Colorado, Galton Pass in Canada, and all the way up to Koko Claims, an already notoriously challenging section that often requires lots of hike-a-bike. While racers are certainly going to endure some snow, it might not be as bad as it would have been without this warm spell. That said, this warm-up has had significant impacts on some areas, including the Tetons and portions of Colorado, where they’re seeing record run-off and well-above-normal temperatures. These conditions are creating dangerous situations, as rivers have been closed due to bridge clearance issues, and, in the case of Teton Pass, completely debilitating the road for the long term.

Living off the route in Central Colorado, I can tell you the heat really turned on last week. At least in the lower elevations of the route in Colorado, things are going to be dry and dusty, with mid-80s (~27°C+) temperatures at 7,000 to 8,000 feet (2,130-2,440 meters). Fortunately, small afternoon storms have at least provided some sun relief, but racers shouldn’t plan on monsoon moisture.

Here’s a quote from The Durango Weather Guy, who I follow to get forecasts for monsoons each year: “The upper-level jet has not moved far enough north, and India has been anomalously dry. The lack of moisture has shunted the African Wave train, which brings the US its Tropical Storm season. Long-term modeling shows the jet moving north and moisture headed to India in the next 3 to 4 weeks. This should ‘juice’ things up around the Tropical Development Region. Will our Monsoon Season start by mid-July? Again, it is too early to forecast.” More on his post from June 9th will be linked below.

So, we will likely see wildfires before we see monsoon moisture. In fact, the Indios Fire in New Mexico is already burning. It’s not currently affecting the route, and the smoke forecast looks pretty good for Tour Divide riders. Obviously, this can change very quickly, especially as winds and temperatures heat up dead and downed foliage.

In fact, I just got the news that a new fire broke out recently, the Antone Fire, in southwestern New Mexico. It’s currently zero percent contained at 7,000 acres as of 1 p.m. Mountain Time on Wednesday, June 12th. This fire is right off Mangas Road on the Tour Divide, which has since been closed by order of the Forest Service. Our only hope is that it will be extinguished quickly and the Forest Service order will be withdrawn. In the event of reroutes, riders will be given an alternative when the time comes.

Route Changes

There are some pretty significant changes this year. Three, in fact, all of which are in New Mexico. The route changes add more singletrack or doubletrack to avoid highways, something I appreciate and think is important for the safety of riders in today’s world of distracted drivers and ever-larger vehicles.

The first change, which I believe Scott Morris scouted last year, follows the CDT from Lagunitas Campground to Hopewell Lake. The second change is outside of Silver City to avoid Highway 90; it looks to be a collection of dirt tracks and roads. The third is out of Hachita, again following the CDT route instead of Highway 81.

Other News

Unfortunately, it sounds like Brush Mountain Lodge will not be open this year. Here is the post on social media from just the other day. It’s heartbreaking to see, and I hope it gets resolved, if not in a week, for future years to come.

And finally, I think it’s worth mentioning that, yes, the Tour Divide is a race first. It’s meant to challenge you and push your to your limits, but each experience is a little different. This is what Justin McKinley had to say in his Rider & Rig feature posted earlier this week:

“If you want to achieve something, there will never be a perfect time or a magic set of circumstances that make it easy. I’m somewhat qualified to speak on this topic, as I recently lost my job and have had to make some tough decisions and plenty of sacrifices to keep my dreams of finishing the Tour Divide alive. With those sacrifices came a singular focus, which allowed me to be more prepared and determined than ever to toe the line. My ultimate hope with doing difficult things like the Tour Divide is to come out the other side a better person with a better understanding of myself and the world around me.”

Who to Watch

The Women’s Race

by Alexandera Houchin and Hannah Simon

Alexandera: The women’s race includes 20 women, with half of them aiming for at least a competitive 100-mile-per-day average. About 30 percent of the women racing are from New Zealand, and there are a good handful of repeat offenders coming back to likely best their fastest efforts. Among them are three veterans who have completed the whole route and four who are coming back for unfinished business. The rest are rookies. We’ve got one lady singlespeeder signed up this year, woohoo! It looks like she’s on a Surly 1×1, which was my first singlespeed mountain bike.

Ana Jager

Alexandera: After winning the women’s 2022 Tour Divide race, Ana went on to have a kick-ass performance on the Colorado Trail Race, duking it out with me all the way to the finish. Later that year, after an impromptu suggestion from Andrew Strempke, Ana committed to racing the Triple Crown Challenge, completing the Arizona Trail Race in 2022 to become the second woman ever to achieve that title. She’s been putting in some solid efforts since, finishing third in the highly competitive race of the Colorado Trail in 2023, passing me just two miles from the finish line. Whew, that hurt! Earlier this winter, Ana completed a solo fast effort of the Iditarod Trail Invitational route in 19 days. I’m excited to see what she leaves out there; it’s always so much faster your second time around.

Marie-Soleil Blais

Hannah: Marie has put her time in on the Tour Divide route, and I met her in 2023 on the first day of the race. She had told me she had toured the route in 2022 and had become enamored with bikepacking. She’s had a pretty successful career as a professional road cyclist, competing on the Canadian National Team from 2019 to 2021. She’s racked up several firsts all over the world, including the Athens Twilight Crit and the Green Mountain stage race. After completing her first Tour Divide race in 19 days, and 9 hours, I’m excited to see what she does on her second attempt. From what I’ve seen online, it looks like she’s retooled her approach to training, and I know she’s got that competitive spirit. There are really only four women with goals under 20 days, so there aren’t a ton of racers at the front end of the pack. The ones who are definitely have the skill to achieve those goals, however.

Meaghan Hackinen

Hannah: I met Meaghan back in March with a brief hello before we both set out to race Ozark Gravel DOOM, 400 miles of rough Arkansas gravel through the Ozark Mountains. She took off and was holding second overall for most of the race. I only saw her once when the route doubled back on itself, and she was pedaling along, cheery as ever. After the race, I got to congratulate her (first woman, by several hours before me, third overall), and she shared that she’d be racing the Divide this year. With a few cross-country/continent treks already under her belt (TransAm/Transcontinental), I expect that she will be a strong contender in the race overall. In addition to being a well-accomplished bikepack racer, she is also a wonderful writer! Two books and countless articles; I don’t know how she has time for it all!

Virginie Caspard

The only other woman with a sub-20-day goal. Road racer and snowshoe marathon podium. Someone to look out for!

Singlespeed Race

by Alexandera Houchin

There are 10 men and one woman in the singlespeed class. Race favorites include Johnny Price (duh), Jacob Loos, and Alex Kowalski. Alex, Johnny, and Zachary Del Greco all have pretty stout goals of 16 days, so I am going to be stoked to watch them duke it out for the win. I read that Alex was contemplating the Triple Crown Challenge, and I’m eager to see if that evolves. I know Johnny is pretty intent on the three races. All but one of the racers anticipate finishing in three weeks or less, which is super fast, especially on the most impractical bike for racing the Tour Divide.

The Men’s Race

by Neil Beltchenko and Josh Ibbett

Ulrich Bartholmoes

Neil: Despite winning the 2023 edition of the Tour Divide with a time of 14 days, 3 hours, and 23 minutes, Ulrich is back for another challenge. Last year, Ulrich, along with Justinas and Jens, got caught in a storm in the Great Basin, where the roads turned into peanut butter mud. They had to hunker down in a porta-potty and were stopped for over half a day. That delay likely cost them the record, so it’s understandable why Ulrich is coming back for another go. Not only that but he is also set to take on the Triple Crown Challenge, which includes tackling the Tour Divide and the singletrack-heavy Colorado Trail and Arizona Trail races.

Alex Schultz

Neil: Speaking of the Triple Crown, Alex Schultz is also set to tackle all three races. Just last year, Alex set a new record on the Arizona Trail Race 800 before it was beaten this year by Austin Killips. Alex has been busy racing, participating in three NUE marathon races, and performing quite well in them. Needless to say, he’s in top form going into the Divide. The question is, can his mountain bike skills translate to this big, long gravel ride?

Liam Glen

Josh: Liam Glen, a relatively unknown figure unless you closely follow the Highland Trail race, is a remarkable cyclist from the UK. He has won the race twice, setting a new course record in 2021 on a rigid singlespeed bike during an exceptionally wet year. I first met Liam after university during a 12-hour mountain bike race in Bristol, where he dominated the competition. His talent took him to road racing in France and Belgium, where he also secured victories. Despite his achievements, Liam remains modest. Recently, he spent a year touring South America with his partner, tackling remote and high-altitude routes in Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. This year, he is participating in the Triple Crown, and I’m eager to see his performance.

Justinas Leveika

Josh: My second rider to watch in the men’s field is Justinas Leveika. Last year, he was part of the Porta Potty Posse with Ulrich and Jens and faced numerous mechanical issues, including SRAM AXS battery and rim problems. Despite these setbacks, he managed to chase down Ulrich multiple times and even beat him at the Atlas Mountain Race in February, showcasing his impressive skills. Justinas believes he could have won last year and is returning with a strong desire to do so. He’s still using SRAM AXS, despite my advice to switch to Shimano Mechanical. Justinas is not only a talented rider but also a humorous and engaging personality on Instagram, making him a favorite among fans.

Laurens Ten Dam

Neil: The Dutch Ex-World Tour pro Laurens is no stranger to long rides or even multi-day dirt-centric rides. While his ninth-place finish at the Tour de France in 2014 might be a highlight, just this February, he set the fastest time on the Trans Cordilleras. In past years, Laurens has focused on the gravel race scene, riding five of the six Lifetime Grand Prix races in 2022 and taking 12th overall. I have no doubt Laurens is up for the challenge, but we’ll see how fast he can manage it.

Thomas Dekker

Neil: Speaking of the world tour, I think it’s worth mentioning that Thomas Dekker is also joining in on the Tour Divide fun. Dekker is another ex-World Tour pro who just raced Unbound alongside Laurens.

Check out the 2024 Tour Divide Tracker page to follow along on the live tracking map, find our Rigs of the Tour Divide roundups, and stay tuned in for more event coverage. Find it here.

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