Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
2026 Tour Divide: Photographer’s Choice
Photographer Eddie Clark wraps up his 2026 Tour Divide coverage with a handpicked selection of his favorite images, reflecting on the landscapes, riders, and fleeting moments that made this year’s race unforgettable. From joyful victories to quiet encounters along the route, his gallery captures the spirit of the Divide, closing with a heartfelt tribute to Alyssa Secreto and a wish for her full recovery after a life-threatening collision near the end of her ride…
PUBLISHED Jul 3, 2026
In the months leading up to the Tour Divide, I kicked around a number of ideas on what I’d do as a photography project for this edition. There wasn’t a clear winning idea or decision, but instead just frustrating indecision. I ended up letting the race dictate what I did, as usual, and kept it a rolling plan in the back of my head as I worked my way down the route. Eventually, I settled on a few ideas, merging them into a collection of my personal favorites, free from the context of “race” reporting and focused on photography and the spirit of the Tour Divide.
This day one photo of Alex McCormack was one I held back because I just loved everything about the dark woods, light, mud, and sharpness delivered by my 50mm f1.2 wide open, and I knew I’d use it later. Alex ultimately scratched out when his body said no to the pace he was trying to maintain, and I figured this would be another one that would just live on the hard drive and in my memory until my new photo project idea came to fruition.
I had been shooting through the field between Elk Pass and Round Prairie, and a torrential downpour rolled through before I took this photo. I wasn’t certain who the racer was, but the water coming off the bike gave it a saturated feel that made this one stand out for me.
Later that first day at the 7-Eleven in Fernie, Xavier Chiriboga rolled right up to me, and I leaned in at 24mm to catch him fresh off the bike. It was very in-the-moment, with a setting and background context providing a glimpse into racing on the Divide.
Above is Karin Pocock, a few miles into the United States on Airport Road outside of Eureka, and shot with my 400mm. She’s got a smile on her face, which is a characteristic of cyclists doing well in a race because they’re having fun, and when you’re having fun, you usually end up going faster. In my 17 years of doing this, it’s become a recognized trait of folks at the pointy end of a race, and Karin was maintaining a solid pace as the second-placed woman at this point. I also love how the 400mm compresses and melts backgrounds.
A simple silhouette composition in the mountains up on Whitefish Divide. Peaceful serenity in nature, if you will. This remoteness in nature was the very first thing that drew me into loving the Tour Divide when I was shooting it for the first time in the Great Divide Basin in 2009. I loved it and wanted more of it.
The next morning, as I was coming down from Whitefish Divide, wispy upper-level clouds were forming, and it reiterated to me why I was still doing this. There aren’t many other races or events where you’re so far out in wild places getting to meld with the landscape, and after a few days out here the towns and gas stations start seeming out of place.
I was a little annoyed with myself because I had wasted time on something that had nothing to do with me getting photos, and as a result, I practically missed a perfectly good sunset in a great location. This was shot pivoting on the back foot in the very last minutes of light when I should have gotten so much more. The racer, whose name I didn’t get written down in my notebook, didn’t seem to care, though, and I got something that I actually ended up liking, which is always better than nothing. If I’ve learned anything about doing this, it’s not to squander great photo opportunities, because there’s no telling when you’ll get one again. I promised myself not to let it happen again, and I made those sunset photos happen two days later.
After sunset, I rolled a little further up Morrell Creek Road, where Jay Petervary and the Dutch Live Slow Ride Fast film crew, who were making a film about the whole race, camped with me for the evening. Alex Malex (Kowalski), then in second place, rolled up with his bag of chips and stopped to talk. Shot in the waning light of the day with the 35mm at f1.2, it’s a classic environmental style Tour Divide racer portrait, which was one of the photo ideas I’d kicked around for a project and also what the 35mm focal length excels at.
Later that evening, an hour-long wave of Starlink satellites whizzed across the sky above us, and I pointed the camera up to capture the folly of man in front of the Milky Way. Growing up night fishing on the ocean off the southeast coast of Florida with my dad, I remember staring endlessly at the countless stars in the sky. Back then, there were practically no satellites, and for many years, you could enjoy gazing at the intergalactic heavens without their presence. Now, as with so many aspects of our natural world, I’m sad for the younger generations who will never be able to look up to a dark sky and marvel at the thousands of stars without seeing mankind’s trappings orbiting our planet.
A triumphant fist in the air with a guttural victory shout by Xavier as he crested Medicine Lodge Pass. He didn’t stop to talk, but instead kept rolling down to Cabin Creek Road. One of those moments where I could tell he’d just won a battle that probably only he knew about, and I was happy for him. The Tour Divide is a week-long series of everyday battles and tribulations, and it’s usually best to take them on one at a time and count your victories.
I caught up with Meaghan Hackinen a couple of days later at Ralph’s Exxon in Lima, Montana, as she packed up her kit after letting it air-dry while she resupplied. A patron stopped to talk to her, and notably she’s smiling while talking to them. Having fun makes it a lot easier to go fast, and those smiles speak volumes for how someone’s day is going.
A happy portrait of Miko Kainu with the 50mm at f1.4 to make the background melt away in the evening light. Usually, the 35mm prime is my go-to lens, but on this edition, I found myself gelling with the 50mm instead. Around this time, it started becoming one of my new go-to lenses.
Milky Way over Lower Red Rock Lake in Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. One of my absolute favorite places on the route, and also one of the last sets of astro photos I worked on during this edition. As I got further south, the moon and clouds conspired against photographing the stars.
Dusk over the Tetons from Fish Lake Mountain Road by Union Pass. It was quite the treat being up there in the cool evening air with those mountains to myself. You could look in any direction, and there was not an artificial light to be seen, just dark wild landscapes.
While waiting for Miko to ride by, these antelope jogged past, seemingly oblivious to my presence, with the snowy Wind River Mountains behind them. Amazingly, I pulled off this shot of them at the limits of my camera’s low-light abilities, at ISO 10,000, with the 50mm at f1.2 and 1/250th. Fun fact: the Wind River Range is the highest mountain mass in Wyoming, and its glaciers, hidden deep within the range, are cited as the largest ice fields in the lower 48 states.
Fish Creek near Union Pass is a place I’ve shot many photos over the years, with my first being of Matthew Lee riding through this area in 2010. Obviously, Union Pass is another favorite area of mine, although the route technically no longer goes over it. These swallows were nesting under the bridge and would fly off en masse as if a new swarm of mosquitoes had been blown their way to feast on.
Felix Laberge in a slightly overexposed photo at Brush Mountain Lodge, grinning about something Kirstin said as he’s about to get back at it.
Laurens Ten Dam on his way into Del Norte and shot with my 135mm f1.8 wide open. I used this lens as the sole lens for my photo portrait project last year, and I learned a couple of things from doing so. First, it was quite an unexpectedly challenging undertaking, and I mostly learned that I preferred backing up a bit and giving the subject some room to breathe for a more revealing three-quarter style portrait. The thing about this lens is it sure does sing when you give it a chance, and I feel like it did its job with this photo.
An impromptu roadside portrait of Angus Young in bright light that I quite liked.
Shot right after I got out of my sleeping bag before sunrise south of the El Malpais National Monument. A testament to the fact that there’s a whole lot of pretty happening before most people get out of bed, and an inspirational refresher to do so when I’d rather sleep in.
One of those rare moments. I really worked for this photoset, and maybe Victor knew it and was pleased I was out there pre-dawn shooting photos on a lonely but serene section of highway south of Grants. Being in the right place so early in the morning is one of the bigger challenges of photographing racers in the Tour Divide simply because there’s no way to know for sure when they’ll be on the bike and riding. When you compound that with ideal locations and little or no internet access, it becomes quite difficult, and this was the culmination of years of experience learning the route and studying the racers to show up without notice when they least expect me.
Putting the 135mm to work again. A bright, happy moment of Victor on his amazing record-breaking ride.
Another thing I’d decided on with my photography, and was employing quite a bit, was the idea of filling the frame with the four hundred. FFF, as I called it. It’s a bit challenging to maintain the composition at that focal length with moving subjects, so I was firing off 15-20 frames per second in most cases when I did this. As is often the case with digital photography these days, it’s easy to play the numbers game by stacking a lot of photos on the card to ensure you get one really good one. Also, Meaghan had that smile going and was just cranking along for a well-earned women’s record.
I stalked Brian Elander to the Circle K in Cuba, New Mexico, for this photo, and waited outside for him to walk through those doors with an armload of supplies. It’s sometimes a good strategy for catching someone off guard and eliciting a natural response—usually a happy one.
Old donkey. I have a soft spot for animals, and this sweet boy just wanted to say hi and have his head scratched. I can’t begin to recall the last time a donkey walked up to me as he did, and it made my day.
Torin Lackmann in a distinctly different-looking part of the route with a small smile showing through. I’ve photographed this area from a few different spots over the years, and you can pretty much work with a lot of different backgrounds depending on what the light is doing. It’s practically one of those Tour Divide photo wells I can go to and find something to work with if I’m in the area and need photos.
This last photo of Alyssa Secreto comes with a heavy heart. Early yesterday morning, July 2nd, Alyssa was hit by a car on Highway 146 in New Mexico just before Hachita. She was transported to El Paso, where she was hospitalized with substantial injuries. It just makes no sense how and why this happens, and it’s the absolute worst part of cycling. I wish her strength and a speedy recovery. A GofundMe has been set up for her, and she can use all the help we can give her right now.
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.
Further Reading
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