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The Tour Divide: What, Where, Why, and How?

The Tour Divide is an annual 2,700-mile (4,300 km) self-supported bikepacking race following the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR). Most of the route follows dirt and gravel roads with a few sections of pavement or singletrack sprinkled in for good measure (along with the occasional hike-a-bike section).

Cursory internet sleuthing tells me that the current iteration of the Tour Divide began in 2008. However, the first individual time trial of the route was in 2005, and people have been riding the GDMBR since as early as 1997 when the Adventure Cycling Association first mapped it.

Speaking of websites, the current Tour Divide website hasn’t been updated since 2014 and leaves much to be desired. Or perhaps the state of the website is instead part of the Tour Divide’s charm? Mystique? Neato-ness?

You may already have more questions than answers if you’ve encountered this with zero knowledge of the Tour Divide or the GDMBR. Fear not; they will be addressed. Also, know that I will likely have many of the same questions. I intend to answer said questions by participating in (and hopefully completing) this year’s Tour Divide.

That said, I’ve been doing my research (and investing heavily in bikepacking gear).

What Is the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route?

The northern terminus of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) is in Jasper (it was in Banff – the start of the Tour Divide – until 2018), a resort town in Alberta, Canada. It then heads south for over 3,000 mi / 4,800 km to its southern terminus at the US-Mexico Border at Antelope Wells, New Mexico. It can be ridden in either direction, but it’s traditionally ridden southbound.

Along with the Arizona Trail and the Colorado Trail, it comprises the most significant leg of bikepacking’s Triple Crown; similar to the thru-hiking Triple Crown comprised of the Pacific Crest Trail , Continental Divide Trail , and Appalachian Trail .

The route is almost entirely along dirt and gravel roads and is, for the most part, not a technical ride (i.e., you don’t need to be an expert-level mountain biker to navigate the GDMBR). Yes, there are a few short sections of singletrack, but overall, this route is suited for gravel or mountain bikes (but certainly not road bikes).

The GDMBR is approximately 3,000 mi / 4,800 km long and has over 133,000 ft / 40,500 m of climbing and an equal amount of descent. It passes through seven states/provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. Despite beginning in Canada (as in riders must pass immigration at a border crossing), the route does not enter Mexico; it ends (or begins) at the US-Mexico Border.

The Difference Between the Tour Divide and the GDMBR

You may be asking yourself, as I have, what’s the difference between the Tour Divide and the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route? The answer? Nothing. Kind of.

The Tour Divide is the name of the annual self-supported race of the GDMBR . Put another way, the Tour Divide follows the GDMBR. However, it begins in Banff instead of Jasper; Banff was the northern terminus of the GDMBR until 2018, when it was moved to Jasper. At least, that’s all you need to know if you’re not racing and/or riding the Tour Divide. What’s self-supported? It means that racers are only afforded resources available to everyone else participating.

For example, staying at a hotel? Perfectly fine. Staying at a friend’s house? Not okay.

When you drill down to the details, there are a few sections where the Tour Divide diverges from the GDMBR. But for all intents and purposes, they’re the same; again, unless you’re concerned about racing the Tour Dviide, then there are a few spots you need to take note of.

Every year, people bikepack all or part of the GDMBR on their own (in both directions). These people can take as much or as little time as they like – many presumably even enjoy their experience. Meanwhile, others decide to race the Tour Divide beginning on the second Friday of June at the northern terminus in Banff, Alberta (in Canada). The latter group’s enjoyment often falls more heavily into the Type II (or even Type III) fun category.

The GDMBR Versus the Continental Divide Trail

When I first hiked the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), I met one person in Island Park, Idaho, who was riding the Divide; I had no idea what they were doing, what the Tour Divide was, or what the GDMBR was. The cyclist was stoked to see me and my CDT hiking buddy, but we thought ourselves cooler than him because what could be cooler than hiking the CDT?

How things have changed. I apologize for not greeting you with the enthusiasm you deserved, anonymous 2017 Tour Divide racer.

Despite the CDT following a lot of dirt and gravel roads – that would be suitable for bikepacking – there’s actually very little overlap between the two routes. Yes, there will be opportunities for northbound CDT thru-hikers to see Tour Divide riders, but many will pass like ships in the night.

The Tour Divide starts too early for southbound CDT hikers to catch any riders, but they could still encounter northbound GDMBR riders during their thru-hikes. Remember, play nice if/when you see each other out there. We’re all out there doing awesome things in nature. There’s no need to perpetuate a bikepacker-backpacker divide (on the Divide).

How to Participate in the Tour Divide

The community that has made the Tour Divide what it is today doesn’t exist as an official organization or entity. Instead, it’s willed into being by the yearly riding crop’s cohesion, carrying on traditions from and iterating upon actions of previous years’ cyclists.

There’s no sign-up form, no entry fee, no website (at least not a website updated in the last decade), and no organized event at the starting line in Banff (or at the finish line at Antelope Wells, New Mexico).

Most of the organization appears to come from Facebook groups (typically some of the most toxic online cesspools, but in rare cases, useful information corners). Every year, participants who provide tracking information (using a device such as a Garmin inReach Mini 2 ) to trackleaders can be watched online as they move down the course.

You show up in Banff, start riding south on the second Friday in June, tell anyone who asks that you’re riding the Tour Divide, and BOOM! you’re officially racing the Tour Divide. I’ve heard that in recent years that the community attempts to organize waves of riders (based on estimated finishing time) to ease impacts and congestion on/along the start of the race. Don’t want the local government to come in and try to shut down the unofficial race, after all.

Maybe one day, the magic of this unofficial, unorganized, organized, official bikepacking race will wane as permits, regulations, and rules are imposed with increasing popularity and awareness of the event. Maybe someone will write a best-selling book about the Tour Divide and blow it up like a certain unnamed book did to a certain unnamed trail in the Western United States.

Apparently, you’re supposed to send in a letter of intent to a random email address that I suspect is maintained by the crew at Bikepacking.com , but the letters of intent used to be posted to the Tour Divide website (which seems like it was a fun tradition that’s now sadly gone as of 2010).

For now, you only need to get on your bike and ride.

The Tour Divide is the unofficial orrifical self-supported race of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, with a few changes to the route. Simple enough, right?

It’s an incredible test of physical and mental endurance, with many riders forgoing sleep to put in more hours on the bike (how many hours I sleep every night is something I’m interested in seeing).

According to DotWatcher , since the Tour Divide’s conception in 2008, only 716 riders have completed the race (this number is likely not 100% accurate, but it’s about as good as we can do). Hopefully, after this year’s race, I will be able to count myself among the fewer than 1,000 total finishers.

For now, it’s time to go and ride my bike .

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‘Tour Divide’ Champ’s Secrets To Conquer A Mountain Range

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[leadin] Unassuming cyclist Josh Kato crushed last year’s Great Tour Divide, a self-supported race that crosses the United States north to south over the Rocky Mountains.[/leadin]

Imagine your longest day in the saddle. Let’s go with 100 miles….that’s a typical long distance endurance ride. Now double it. Then, repeat…for 14 days, 11 hours, and 37 minutes straight. And for good measure, do it over the most rugged mountain range in America and entirely off-pavement.

That’s precisely what the 40-year-old Washington nurse and endurance cyclist did at last year’s Great Tour Divide (GTD). His time not only won the 2,745-mile event, but it set the course record.

We caught up with Kato to discuss the highs and lows of endurance cycling, and his secret training weapons, including patience, a fat bike, and donuts!

GearJunkie: Two years ago, your GTD didn’t go as planned. Can you tell us more about that?

Josh Kato:  2014 was supposed to be the year I was going to accomplish a dream of competing in the Tour Divide. I was riding much stronger than I had anticipated and on day three of the race, in Montana (around mile 300), I ended up crashing in the mud and snow. It was a bit of a worst-case scenario type of wreck. I landed wrong, fractured my fibula, tore my hamstring, and gashed the back of my leg which subsequently got infected. I rode until around mile 1,100 before I called it quits.

That hurt. Dropping out of something I had poured so much time, money, and energy into. It was as if I had let myself down. I was rather depressed. I figured I wouldn’t ever be able to get time off of work again to give it another go.

So that’s 800 miles with a broken leg! How did you push through that sort of pain? Did you underestimate the injury?

Ha! I said I was a nurse. Never said I was a good one.

Yeah, after my wreck, I realized fairly quickly that something was very wrong with my leg, but denial is a powerful tool. I truly never thought I’d be able to get the time off from work to do the race again so I was committed to pushing on as long as I could turn the pedals. When it got to the point that it was no longer physically possible, I called it on the race.

I’m 40 and my body has been around the block a few times. It’s pretty commonplace to have aches and pains that don’t go away very quickly. In my head, I was pretty sure what I’d done, but also realized I probably wouldn’t incur any permanent disability from it. Of course, had I completely torn my hamstring rather than just a partial tear that would have taken a huge amount of recovery time. It got to the point that I had to lift my leg to the pedal by pulling with my hand a length of strap wrapped around my foot, like a lasso.

On the GTD, everyone hurts. Some things can be overcome and some things can’t. Perhaps being in healthcare, it’s easy to minimize suffering. Acute pain isn’t a permanent ailment. It’s just something that needs to be worked through.

So last year–you decided to give it another go! You must have felt you had unfinished business.

When I found out I was going to get the vacation time from work, I trained like a madman. I wanted to finish what I had started and made every effort to make sure I could.

I never trained with the goal of winning. I trained to finish. I’m not a very competitive guy. Except with myself. I guess I was able to achieve a level of conditioning that allowed me to compete with the amazing field of competitors we had last year.

“I think one of the most important things I did was train with a heavier bike than I used in the Divide.”

What kind of mileage are you churning through to train for the GTD? 

In my lead up to the Divide in 2015, I rode about 3,000 miles with an unusual amount of climbing — round 450,000 feet. We have a lot of hills in Washington. Almost all of my riding was on very poor gravel roads, trails, and abandoned logging roads. Very Divide-like terrain.

I think one of the most important things I did was train with a heavier bike than I used in the divide. I purposely go out and try to find the most challenging rides I can do. For a race like the Divide, a rider has to get used to going slow uphill with a heavy bike. It’s a mental thing.

Of course, we had a very mild winter last year in Washington so I was able to churn out some good rides early in the season. This year is making me get a bit more creative with training. Fat bikes are a great invention for training. This amount of training and having a job means I have to sacrifice a fair bit of other items in life. When I’m not at work, I’m riding, running, or prepping in some way for the Divide. It’s a huge time commitment.

You work as a nurse – does shift work lend itself to training and pulling in long days in the saddle?

I work the night shift. So yes, I guess it helps to know what keeps your mind going at 3am .

I think one thing that nursing lends itself to more than anything is seeing the struggles of other people. The body can overcome some pretty astonishing things. Some people have an amazing amount of will to keep going when the odds are stacked against them. It’s a good reminder to hear people tell me that they just wished they could be well enough to be outside roaming through the hills. People remind me every day to not take health for granted.

Obviously, you love to ride – do you cross-train to keep it fresh? 

The best rides are the ones that are not about the ride at all. I only wish that fly-fishing was a better workout. That’s my main passion. Nothing like standing in a river with a bit of graphite. Sadly, it doesn’t work the cardio system too well.

You rode in the Smoke’n Fire 400 last year. Do you use these ‘middle distance’ bikepacking rides as training rides? How many do you take on each year?

The Smoke’n Fire is a super fun event! Excellent scenery and awesome trail sections. My first bikepacking race was the 2014 Tour Divide. My second was the 2015 Divide. My third was the Smoke’n Fire 400. I finished the Divide in June. The SNF 400 was in September. I barely rode after the Divide. I had to go fishing! I used the SNF 400 as a test for myself to see how I’d do “off the couch”. I was very happy with my result.

It was also interesting doing the full sleep deprivation thing. In the Tour Divide, I slept every night. It’s a long race. These shorter races seem to be much more about sleep deprivation. On some of the last climbs in the SNF 400 I was hallucinating pretty well. I remember seeing Jay Petervary (who wasn’t in the race) sitting alongside the road petting a capybara. Also, when I rode into Boise at the end of that race I heard someone shout my name. I thought that might be a hallucination as well.

You weren’t hallucinating. I was following the leader board and cheering finishers at the end of the race–I gave a shout out to you.

Funny! Good to know now I wasn’t that bad off. I guess I’m not cut out for the full sleep deprivation thing. I’d enjoy doing more races but the work schedule interferes quite a bit.

“You gotta find a way to keep going. Donuts help a lot.”

Pulling in mile after mile … I’m sure it can be incredibly emotional, but on both sides. You must hit both extreme highs and lows. How do you monitor your emotional state?

The Tour Divide is so long that yes, you go through every single emotion possible, as well as some that you didn’t realize were in you. Riding mostly alone, pushing yourself to unfamiliar physical limits, that’s the easy part. The emotional aspect is the hard part. You gotta find a way to keep going. Donuts help a lot. In reality, I always try to remind myself that no matter how bad I feel, how down in the dumps my mind is, that things will get better at some point. All bleeding stops, eventually. Ultra-racing is very much like that.

So you’re 40. That’s venturing into middle age. But you’re at the top of the game. Jay P. is even older. Does endurance riding get better with age?

JK: Yup, 40. I’ll hit 41 before this years Divide. Guys like Jay P. and Jefe Branham are very inspirational to me. They keep going and going. I’d like to say I’ve solved the mystery of the 40ish racer and ultra-endurance but I haven’t got “the” answer. One of the only things that I can determine is that we keep realizing our gig might be up at any time. So we gotta get done with a few things as fast as we can. I know that I can ride much longer than I could when I was younger. Perhaps it’s an impatience thing with youth. Perhaps we’ve just learned through life experience to endure more. Or maybe we are just more determined to show up the youngsters. I do know I focus on the journey far more than the speed. Oh, I wanna go fast, but the journey means a lot more to me now than it did when I was younger.

You’re quite a photographer. (All photos in this post are taken by Josh Kato). How do you balance pushing so hard, so long, yet taking time to smell the proverbial roses?

The main difference between my touring speed and racing speed are the number of photos I take during a ride. Landscape photography is a hobby of mine and I do love getting a shot of a fleeting moment in a beautiful place. My wife can attest that my camera is rarely out of hand during a tour. Nonetheless, even when racing the best of the best ultra-guys I’m not going to pass up a landscape that creates an emotional response in me.

What kind of camera do you take with you on the bike?

During races, I carry a small point and shoot that takes decent images. During the Divide, I carried a Canon S110. It does great while shooting on the go. While touring I use either a Sony RX100 or Fuji XE-1.

Any advice on how to keep the camera readily available while riding?

I almost always ride with a hydration pack. The packs with a small pocket on the shoulder strap are very nice to be able to tuck a small camera into. I then use a carabiner to clip the lanyard to my sternum strap so I can drop the camera should I need to brake quickly. Of course this only works well if it’s dry outside. I have yet to try a waterproof camera that has the image quality I want. When it rains, Ziploc bags are my friend.

So what’s your ride schedule look like this year?

I don’t have a huge agenda other than having another go at the Tour Divide. The race just kind of sticks in your head. Amazingly, I got the time off of work to go again, so I’m not going to pass it up. Not sure I’ll be able to train as much as last year but I’m certain I’m still going to have a blast. Other than the Divide, we’ll just have to see. I do know I need to get some more fly fishing trips in this year.

Thanks Josh and good luck this year!

This year’s GTD will roll out of Banff, Alberta on June 10th. The website hosts some good background information, but for the latest check out the  Tour Divide on Facebook . To follow Josh and all the cyclists in real time, head on over to the Tour Divide’s leaderboard at  Trackleaders.com .

Steve Graepel is a Contributing Editor and Gear Tester at GearJunkie. He has been writing about trail running, camping, skiing, and general dirtbagging for 10+ years. When not testing gear with GearJunkie, he is a Senior Medical Illustrator on the Neurosurgery Team at Mayo Clinic. Based in Boise, Idaho, Graepel is an avid trail runner, camper, angler, cyclist, skier, and loves to introduce his children to the Idaho outdoors.

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Tour Divide Bike Race

The Tour Divide is the most demanding ultra-distance trail bike race in the world.

Held each summer, the Tour Divide is an extreme test of endurance, self-reliance and mental toughness.  Decidedly not for sprinters, this battle royal braves mountain passes and windswept valleys as it traverses the United States, starting in the hinterlands of Canada and ending in the badlands of the Mexican Plateau.

Following the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route [GDMBR], a 2,745-mile trail that follows the Continental Divide from Canada to the Mexican border, the Tour Divide is the world’s longest off-pavement bicycle race.  Beginning in Banff, Alberta, and ending in Antelope Wells, New Mexico, the route is unmarked and circuitous, requiring navigational skills as it crisscrosses the Continental Divide 30 times from north to south.

Traveling through boundless remote mountain wilderness sprinkled with grizzly bears and mountain lions, the GDMBR meanders through the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, then works its way south through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico.  Unlike the  Trans Am Bike Race , which is contested on paved roads as it travels from Oregon to Virginia, the Tour Divide is raced off-road, with 90 percent of the course unpaved.

Tirelessly mapped over a four-year span and published in 1998 by the Adventure Cycling Association, North America’s premiere bicycle travel organization, the GDMBR hugs the spine of the Continental Divide.

Competitors race while  bikepacking  – backpacking by bike – over some of the country’s most rugged terrain.  During the race, a raindrop falling on a cyclist’s left check will find its way to the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico, while one landing on his right check will end up in the Pacific.

The route has multiple personalities, climbing a total of nearly 200,000 vertical feet – equivalent to summiting  Mount Everest  from sea level seven times.  Riders must contend with wind, rain, snow and extreme temperature swings while navigating mountain passes, open grasslands, and the Chihuahuan Desert.

The race typically takes three weeks to complete on a course chock-full of spectacular scenery.  The highest point is Colorado’s Indiana Pass, which sits 11,190 feet above sea level, and riders pass through Alberta’s Flathead Valley, the Grand Tetons, Boreas Pass, and the Gila Wilderness along the way.

Although the Tour Divide has been completed on both single-speed and tandem bicycles, most competitors race the rooftop of North America by mountain bike.

The race is strictly self-supported – riders provide their own food, water, shelter, and medical treatment – and cannot rely on outside assistance with course navigation or bike maintenance.

While the route passes through Helena, Butte, Steamboat Springs, Breckenridge, and Silver City, most of the course runs through extremely small towns, where goods and services are limited.

The Tour Divide is not a stage race.  The clock runs continuously from the start until riders cross the finish line.  To be competitive for the overall title, riders must cover at least 150 miles per day while spending 16-plus hours in the saddle.

No entourages follow these athletes, and there are no rest days.  Receiving little coverage in mainstream media, the Tour Divide is a niche event, but it was the subject of  Ride the Divide , an award-winning documentary that followed the inaugural race, in 2008.

The race usually starts the second weekend of June.  There is no entry fee or formal registration – any rider who shows up at the start can compete – and there are no prizes for finishing.  First contested in 2008, the Tour Divide recognizes the top male and female finishers.

Matthew Lee was the top male in the first three events, while the women’s side has had no repeat winner in the nine-year history of the competition.  British endurance racer Mike Hall is a two-time TD champion and course record holder.

In 2016, Hall finished in an unfathomable time of 13 days, 22 hours and 51 minutes, beating the course record Josh Kato set one year earlier by over 12 hours.

Winner of the 2014 Trans Am Bike Race, Hall first competed in the Tour Divide in 2012.

One year later , he recorded the fastest time in the history of the event while finishing first, but missed out on the official record because he had been forced to take an alternate route due to forest fires. “Experience counts for a lot on the Tour Divide.

You learn a lot the first time and it seems a waste not to go back and use that experience.  It’s the type of route that gets under your skin and into your blood.”

At one point, Mike Hall held the world record for fastest circumnavigation of the globe by bicycle.  In 2012, he took 91 days, 18 hours to circle the world from west to east, averaging nearly 200 miles per day.

The 2018 Tour Divide bike race is slated to begin  Friday, June 8 at 8 a.m. MT .  The defending male champion is Brian Lucido, who won the 2017 event as a rookie.  Marketa Peggy Marvanova is the defending female winner after finishing last year’s Tour Divide in 22 days, 18 hours and four minutes.

“It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.”   — Ernest Hemingway

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• Touring & Bikepacking Bikes

The Fastest Bikes of the Tour Divide Ultra Race (4,400KM Non-Stop)

The Tour Divide is an annual off-road ride traversing the length of the Rocky Mountains, from Canada all the way to the Mexican border. The course is over 4,418km long (2745mi), and along the way, riders will gain over 60,000 metres in elevation (200,000ft).

The clock begins at the grand depart and doesn’t stop until riders cross the finish line. And by the way, the ride is strictly self-supported. The fastest riders will complete the course in around two weeks, covering approximately 280 kilometres per day (174mi).

It’s safe to say that the Tour Divide is an extreme test of both the body and mind.

It’s also very interesting from a gear optimisation perspective, as a few small differences in bike setup will allow riders to make their lives a bit easier. In this video, we will be analysing 121 different bike setups from this year’s Tour Divide to find out what makes the best possible setup.

The statistics I will be drawing upon have been wonderfully collected by BIKEPACKING.com in the form of two articles ( HERE and HERE ), where riders from all around the world discuss their bike, bag and gear highlights.

As these articles separate bikes based on whether they use a drop bar or flat bar, this seems like a great place for us to start.

A bit over half of the riders interviewed this year are using drop bar bikes (55%).

When people think ‘drop bars’, they think ‘speed’. But speed alone is not how most will pick a handlebar for the Tour Divide. This is a very long event, so comfort is the likely reason that riders choose one handlebar design over another. Contrary to popular belief, the widespread use of the different bar types demonstrates that many bar designs can be ergonomic and comfortable – it’s really just a case of personal preference.

But comfort aside, there is likely an aerodynamic advantage to using drop bars.

When it comes to the aerodynamics of cycling, you ideally want to make your body shape more aerodynamic (Cd), your frontal area smaller (A) – or both. By using drop bars, your hands and elbows do not sit as wide, allowing you to reduce your frontal area and optimise your body shape.

A bit of napkin maths suggests that drop bars could save two or three hours over the full Tour Divide course (75kg/165lb rider, 15kg/33lb bike, 140 watts power output).

You can learn more about the aerodynamics of touring and bikepacking HERE .

While we’re still on the topic of handlebars, one of the best possible ways to improve both your speed and comfort is to fit aero bars to your bike. Most Tour Divide riders seem to agree, as 77% of them are using aero bars this year.

This is partly because you can make your body shape more aerodynamic with an aero bar, allowing you to ride faster with the same effort. But arguably, it’s the additional comfort that’s the most appealing feature.

Consider this, Tour Divide riders at the pointy end of the race spend upwards of 20 hours per day riding their bikes. This results in a lot of localised body fatigue. Aero bars offer your body a break by providing a different riding position that reduces strain on your arms, wrists, hands and bum, and will allow you to stretch out your back and use different muscles.

If you want to go further down this rabbit hole, I have a detailed article about aero bars HERE .

The saddle you choose is going to be the difference between completing the Tour Divide and having to scratch.

It’s hard to make saddle recommendations to a broad audience – you really have to try them first. But there are some trends here.

Brooks is the most popular saddle brand for the Tour Divide with 20% of riders using one, so they must be doing something right. Ergon saddles have really taken off recently and now more than 17% of riders have one fitted. And WTB has consistently been a popular brand, featuring on 15% of the bikes.

You can learn more about saddle comfort for touring HERE .

Only 13% of riders are using a suspension seatpost (including the carbon leaf-sprung Ergon CF3).

After extensively testing suspension seatposts, I think that many riders could improve their TD experience with one of these. Short travel posts are 100 or maybe 200 grams heavier (3-6oz) than a rigid post. That’s it.

You can read my detailed suspension seatpost article HERE and carbon flex seatpost article HERE .

If you are racing the clock, your tyres are probably the most important component you can optimise over a 4,400km ride.

Some tyres that I’m seeing fitted to TD bikes have been tested on smooth surfaces to roll with 20-watts extra resistance over other tyre sets. A bit of napkin maths suggests that slow tyres could add more than 20 hours of pedalling to a TD run!

But that said, it’s hard to come up with an accurate time figure due to the mix of road surfaces, varying rider weights, tyre pressures and more.

The most popular tyre is the Vittoria Mezcal and you will find it on more than 1/3 of all bikes.

The Mezcal has become the go-to tyre for the TD as it does an incredible job of balancing rolling resistance, puncture resistance, durability and grip. When you move to faster-rolling options like the Schwalbe Thunder Burt, you end up with significantly less grip and a touch less puncture resistance too – which might not keep your mind at ease.

Essentially, there’s a trade-off on all tyres, and it seems that the Mezcal is where most people end up.

The second most popular tyre is the Maxxis Ikon. These are tested to be slower rolling but are known for their reliability – I know ultra racers who have been using them for years and have literally never had a puncture.

I’m not sure why the Continental Race King Protection tyres (7% of bikes) are less popular than in years past. These tyres are what the late Mike Hall used to set the current 13-day, 22-hour course record. They’ve been tested to be ultra-fast rolling, they’re protective of punctures, and some riders have even raced the TD twice on the same set (8,800km).

If you know why these tyres are less preferred nowadays – let me know.

In terms of wheel diameter, there are three common sizes on bikes tackling the TD: 26-inch, 27.5-inch and 29-inch.

As the largest diameter wheel offers the smallest ‘angle of attack’ over bumps and depressions in the road, it can maintain the highest speed. 88% of riders are now picking the big 29″ wheels, and it drops off to just 7% of riders using the smaller 27.5″ wheels.

The average tyre width that’s used is 2.2″/55mm. This is likely the sweet spot where riders have the lowest rolling resistance and the most ride comfort on the long dirt roads.

Frame Material

Almost half of all TD riders (49%) opted for a carbon fibre bike frame. This is the obvious choice for an event with over 60,000 vertical metres (200,000ft) climbing, as a kilogram can make a measurable difference here.

A Salsa Cutthroat carbon frame weighs a touch under 1.5 kilograms (3.3lb). In comparison, a similarly tough titanium frame is often about 2.2kg/4.9lb, and steel is closer to 3.0kg/6.6lb.

Again, the napkin comes out and I’ve calculated an extra kilogram for the average rider to be about 1.5 hours over 4,400km. That’s not huge, but it could be the difference between first and second place.

Drivetrains

1X drivetrains now make up 82% of all bike setups using derailleurs. This should be unsurprising, as the Tour Divide is an off-road route that demands wide tyres and low gear ratios, and almost all bikes that accommodate these features now come with 1X drivetrains.

You’ll notice that there aren’t too many gearbox drivetrains at the Tour Divide this year (4%). But this event has previously been won on a Rohloff 14-speed bike (Ollie Whalley, 2012) – so these drivetrains can be a good idea.

That said, gearbox drivetrains are heavier and less efficient than derailleurs so I suspect that’s why they aren’t popular.

Again, my napkin is out, and I’d estimate the Rohloff would add 3-4 hours in good conditions as a result of its lower drive efficiency, plus you could add another hour or two due to the heavier weight. And the Pinion gearbox could add a total of 10 hours when we factor everything in.

Gear Ratios

If you want to get up the steep hills without going into the red, you’ll want appropriately low gear ratios on your bike. Tour Divide riders seem to know this well, as the average low climbing gear across all bikes is just 20 gear inches. This is about right for the course.

Achieving less than 20 gear inches is easy on flat bar bikes, but harder on drop bar bikes as there is limited compatibility between drop bar shifters and mountain bike derailleurs. I’m really impressed with the drivetrain workarounds on the drop bar bikes – about a quarter have been ‘hacked’ in some way to achieve 20 gear inches or less.

The most popular hack is the Wolftooth RoadLink . This extends the effective length of your derailleur, allowing you to accommodate a bigger cassette with lower gear ratios. Another nice hack is the fitment of the Ratio Technology upgrade kit that mates 11-speed SRAM road shifters to 12-speed mountain bike derailleurs.

If you have deep pockets, the SRAM AXS wireless road shifters pair with the wireless AXS mountain bike derailleurs to fit 10 to 52-tooth cassettes. It seems that few drop bars riders are on a small budget as one-in-three bikes are using this setup!

Almost all riders are using clip-in pedals (86%).

Most of the performance advantages of clip-in pedals are found under acceleration , so there likely isn’t a big disadvantage to those who choose flats. I’d guess that clip-in pedals are simply what most people are used to when they ride their road or mountain bikes, and as a result, it’s just their preference.

Hydraulic disc brakes are also preferred by the majority of riders (82%). They are very reliable these days and often require less grip strength to pull your bike to a stop. This is particularly important when your hands are fatigued after a couple of weeks of riding!

Only 30% of all TD bikes are using suspension forks.

Suspension will undoubtedly reduce rider fatigue on the rougher sections of the route. And given that you can lock out most suspension, the biggest disadvantage is simply that it adds weight to your bike – most suspension forks are approximately 1.5kg heavier than carbon forks.

My napkin says that’s a bit over two hours of ride time for the average rider. So, what do you think? Is it worth it?

The Most Popular Tour Divide Bike

Incredibly, Salsa made up a whopping 39% of all Tour Divide bikes this year. In fact, there were 8X more Salsas than the second-most popular bike brand (Niner).

Salsa Cycles are the biggest adventure bike brand in the world right now, and the Cutthroat model, in particular, was designed specifically to excel at the Tour Divide. This model represents 52% of all drop bar bikes here, and it’s not hard to see why – when I take a look at my Bikepacking Bike Buyer’s Guide , the Cutthroat is the only carbon drop bar bike that can fit wide tyres.

And if you’ve ever wondered where the name Cutthroat comes from, the Cutthroat trout is the state fish for all US states that the Tour Divide passes through. You’re welcome.

Through this analysis, I think the seatpost and tyres are the only areas where Tour Divide riders could squeeze out a bit more performance and comfort. But overall, these rigs are really well dialled in. Just lining up for this event requires a lot of research, so I’m not surprised that almost all bikes are perfectly ready for the course.

To finish up, here’s what the average Tour Divide bike is:

It’s a rigid carbon bike fitted with 29″ wheels and running Vittoria Mezcal tyres in the 2.2″ width. The bike has drop bars, clip-in pedals, hydraulic brakes, aero bars and a 1X drivetrain. The saddle is most likely made by Brooks.

There is a high chance that a SRAM wireless drivetrain is fitted, which allows for the pairing of drop bar shifters and a mountain bike drivetrain to give an appropriately low 20 gear inch climbing gear.

Update: The Top-10 Tour Divide Bikes for 2022

There is now a 2022 Tour Divide winner – Sofiane Sehili! He rode a carbon Vitus Rapide to Antelope Wells in 14 days, 16 hours and 36 minutes.

Here are the bike statistics from the top-10 finishers this year: Handlebar Type – 70% flat bar, 30% drop bar Aero Bars – 100% aero bars fitted Saddles – 20% Brooks, 20% Ergon, rest is mixed Seatposts – 70% rigid, 30% suspension (including Ergon leaf-sprung posts) Tyre Model – 60% Vittoria Mezcal, 20% Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge, 10% Maxxis Rekon, 10% Schwalbe G-One Tyre Width  – 2.19″ wide average Wheel Size – 100% 29-inch wheels Frame Material – 50% carbon, 40% titanium, 10% steel Drivetrains – 80% 1X drivetrains, 10% 2X drivetrains, 10% singlespeed Low Climbing Gear – 19.9 gear inches average Pedals – 100% clip-in Brakes – 90% hydraulic, 10% mechanical Suspension – 80% rigid, 20% suspension Bike Brands – 20% Salsa, 20% Chiru, rest is mixed

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The Best Tires For The Great Divide? (video)

With the Tour Divide kicking off tomorrow, folks might be wondering how riders choose the best tires for the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, a long and intense ride that tests all bike components, especially the ones grinding along day after day. In our latest YouTube video, we talk about what factors to consider and reveal a few of our favorite tires for long, mixed-terrain routes…

What are the best tires for the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, the Tour Divide race, and other long, mixed-terrain bikepacking routes? Figuring out which tires will perform well and hold up for the duration can be tricky, especially given all the options on the market. In our latest video, Neil sheds some light on the essential considerations that will help you make an educated decision. He also touches on eight different tires that fit the bill, including his favorite one in this class.

Now it’s your turn. Let us know in the conversation below if you have a tire that you’d recommend for a long mixed terrain route like the GDMBR…

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Ultra-endurance and bikepacking legend Jay Petervary seriously injured after being hit by car

Petervary was in the midst of his 'great divide ride unearthed' when he was hit outside of salida, colorado..

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“I’m not done with this ride yet.”

Although lying in a hospital bed, suffering from multiple injuries and facing numerous surgeries, ultra-endurance and bikepacking legend Jay Petervary is still thinking about the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.

Petervary, 51, was hit by a motorist on a dirt road about 10 miles outside of Hartsel, CO on Sunday, August 27.

At the time of the accident, Petervary was over 2,000 miles into his FKT attempt on the 3,080 mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR), which begins in Jasper, Alberta, Canada and ends in Antelope Wells, New Mexico. Petervary’s ride, dubbed the “Great Divide Ride Unearthed” was manyfold: in addition to trying to set a fastest known time on the full GDMBR, Petervary also hoped to educate people about the route, which was developed by the Adventure Cycling Association in 1997.

He was also raising money for bikepacking scholarships through the Be Good Foundation, as well as testing a new concept mid-tail bike by Esker.

Petervary, who lives in Idaho, is no stranger to the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. He says his life changed after winning the 2007 Great Divide Race.

“That was the start of my obsession with the route and solo unsupported long distance bike racing,” he writes on his blog.

At that time, the GDMBR’s northern terminus was in Eureka, Montana. However, over the years the ACA has extended it northward. In 2008, the route was extended 300 miles north to Banff, Canada. That summer, Matthew Lee launched a new bikepacking race, the Tour Divide , on the GDMBR, this one beginning at the new terminus in Banff, Alberta and, like the defunct Great Divide Race, ending at the US/Mexico border.

In 2009, Petervary raced the Tour Divide on a tandem with his wife Tracey; their record still stands as the fastest known tandem time. Since then, Petervary has spent “over 100 nights and ridden over 20,000 miles” on the route. In 2011 and 2012 he set independent time trial FKTs, and in 2015, he placed second in the Tour Divide race.

In the “Great Divide Ride Unearthed” project, Petervary hoped to establish a FKT on the most updated version of the GDMBR, which was extended another 400 miles to Jasper, Alberta in 2018.

According to a press release, Petervary was 14 days into his ride when he was hit on a rural dirt road.

“The collision occurred in a remote area about 10 miles outside of Hartsel, CO in daylight hours while Jay was traveling straight on a wide, open road with no trees or obstructions,” the release stated. “Jay was hit from behind by a young driver (estimated 16/17 years old) and Jay reports that he was riding looking forward and suddenly got hit from behind, was launched forward from his bike and skidded on his face on the dirt road.”

When EMS arrived on scene, Petervary was transported by ambulance to the nearest trauma center in Colorado Springs, CO, where he has been undergoing treatment and surgeries for multiple injuries, including a shattered left wrist, fractured right humerus, and lumbar spinal fracture.

Petervary and his friends family will provide updates on social media as they are able.

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Divide and conquer: Xi Jinping’s European tour reveals China’s strategy to split the continent

• Bloomberg News
• May 12, 2024
• 4 minute read

Other than photo opportunities and some local delicacies, Chinese President Xi Jinping didn’t get—or give—much during his two days in France with President Emmanuel Macron this week. Yet Xi’s swing through Eastern Europe proved more productive, allowing him to add Serbia to the list of countries supporting his vision of global order and lean into the increasingly strained relationship between Hungary and the European Union. Although Xi talked about avoiding a “new Cold War,” his diplomacy has revived the divisions of the last one by pitting Europe’s east against west. Here are some of the key takeaways from the trip—and what to watch in the months ahead.

No dealmaking in France

Macron had hoped that, through building a closer personal connection, he could persuade the Chinese leader to influence Vladimir Putin to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. But Xi hasn’t shifted China’s stance much. “China understands the repercussions of the Ukraine crisis on the people of Europe,” he wrote in an op-ed published in the French newspaper Le Figaro. That’s about as much empathy Xi has shown since the beginning of the conflict.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who joined a trilateral meeting in Paris, also highlighted the war’s “existential nature.” Xi later pushed back on Brussels’ pressure and warned against using the conflict as a tool to criticize China.

If Xi had hoped to drive a wedge between the EU and the US, he didn’t get much success. After a meeting with Xi, von de Leyen said that the bloc is prepared to use all tools available to push back what she called China’s unfair trade practices, which remain a concern in the US. Xi has categorically denied such claims.

Playing nice earns more yuan

Xi announced a range of new investments in Budapest while touting Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Hungary as a model for what the European Union’s relationship could look like with the world’s second-largest economy. He also brought pledges to build infrastructure that will help spread products across the trading bloc from Chinese factories planned for Hungary. BYD Co., the Chinese EV giant, previously picked the country as the site of its first European car factory; the country is also a hub for battery production.

Hungary’s cash-strapped government has been looking to lock in financing and fresh stimulus for its economy. Among the agreements is money for a costly upgrade of the country’s aging rail network and the construction of a long-delayed connection between Budapest Airport and the capital’s downtown, according to Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. Hungary will also seek to deepen cooperation with Huawei to advance digitalization in the country.

No limits with Serbia

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic threw Xi a grand reception in Belgrade, with a crowd cheering and waving national flags. The scene was a PR win for him in China, as was Xi’s wining and dining in France—which even became a trending topic on the social media platform Weibo.

Vucic declared “the sky is the limit” between the two countries, an echo of Moscow’s no-limits friendship with Beijing (and perhaps a reminder of support for Russia and its agenda). Xi also got Serbia to sign up to be a “community with a shared future,” becoming the first European country to join China’s efforts to build a coalition that challenges the US-led world order.

As a show of economic benefits a friendly partner could enjoy from China, Xi said a Free Trade Agreement with Serbia will take effect on July 1, adding that his nation will expand imports of agricultural products and begin more direct flights. The two country’s central banks will also work on a clearing arrangement in yuan to help strengthen their business and trade ties. Serbia also says it would keep a portion of its foreign currency reserves in yuan, proportionate to the nation’s debt to China, which is rising.

Pivoting to the East, again

In Hungary, Xi praised Orban’s “independent” foreign policies, as he called for Budapest to lead the region’s relations with China. Chinese state media went so far as to call Hungary “the most Western of Eastern nations,” in an attempt to highlight cultural similarities between the two countries. (There aren’t many.)

This isn’t China’s first effort to divide the bloc. Beijing set up a mechanism to strengthen ties with 16 central and eastern European nations in 2012. But enthusiasm for the framework gradually waned; countries bristled at widening trade balances while China also failed to deliver on pledges of billions of dollars in investments. (Then came Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which triggered a broader re-think of relations with China.) Lithuania and three Baltic nations have all formally announced their decision to quit, effectively rendering the format obsolete.

In Belgrade, Xi also vowed to “never forget” the bombing of the Chinese embassy by NATO forces on the 25th anniversary of the attack. US missiles killed three Chinese journalists in a 1999 strike that the White House later called a mistake and blamed on faulty maps. Xi didn’t seem to have visited the site of the former embassy.

What to watch next

China and France signed 18 bilateral cooperation agreements during Xi’s visit. There is likely a truce on cognac; China’s Ministry of Commerce started an anti-dumping investigation into liquor products from the EU earlier this year, a move that came in response to the EU opening a probe into China’s electric vehicle subsidies last October. The EU can impose provisional EV subsidies after nine months, so that July deadline is approaching. Xi also said that China “welcomes” French farm products and cosmetics, but if the disputes over China’s excessive manufacturing capacity evolve into a trade war, these areas could easily become the next targets.

And as for Ukraine, Putin’s upcoming visit to Beijing will show just how much Macron might’ve been able to sway Xi.

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Beyoncé could blow away other artists for top-grossing tour

By Elizabeth Napolitano

May 12, 2023 / 12:23 PM EDT / MoneyWatch

Beyoncé and Taylor Swift have blown past music industry records before, picking up dozens of Grammy awards and smashing streaming numbers . So, it shouldn't be any surprise that both pop stars are also on track to break another record — the highest-grossing concerts of all-time.  

Beyoncé could rake in more than $2 billion from her "Renaissance" world tour, which kicked off this week and includes 57 shows, projections show. Taylor Swift, who is also touring this year, could similarly surpass the billion-dollar mark. The country-pop singer's 20-city nationwide "Eras" tour, with 52 shows, is expected to gross a whopping $1.6 billion, Forbes reported. 

The projections are based on "the most optimistic assumptions of the number of fans buying tickets" and assume an average ticket price of $700, the publication said.  

But, while the pop queens' earnings could far exceed those of their peers, they're not the only ones raking in concert cash. 

Billboard Boxscore, a report that tracks live entertainment receipts, shows the top five highest-earning music tours of all-time have earned a staggering $635.6 million on average. 

Here is a list of the top five highest-grossing concert tours of all time, according to Billboard Boxscore. The list has been edited to exclude tours, such as Elton John's "Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour," that are currently ongoing or that had repeated runs.

1. Ed Sheeran "The ÷ (Divide) Tour" (2017-19)

Based off Sheeran's third album, The Divide Tour grossed $776 million over the course of 258 shows attended by 8.9 million people. 

2. U2 "360° Tour" (2009-11)

The seven-leg world tour promoting the Irish band's 12th album grossed $736 million for 110 shows attended by 7.3 million concertgoers. 

3. Guns N' Roses "Not in This Lifetime Tour" (2016-19)

The hard-rock band's most recent tour raked in $584 million for 158 shows across the world, with 5.4 million people turning out to see them perform. 

4. The Rolling Stones "A Bigger Bang Tour" (2005-07)

The iconic rock band's tour grossed $558 million for 147 shows that brought out 3.5 million fans. The tour —one of the last before the passing of founding member, Charlie Watts — held the top spot, before being  outgrossed  by U2's "360° Tour."

5. Coldplay "A Head Full of Dreams Tour" (2016-17)

The British rock band's five-continent tour to promote its seventh album pulled in $524 million in gross revenue over 115 shows attended by 5.4 million concertgoers. 

See the full list here .

• Taylor Swift
• Beyoncé

Elizabeth Napolitano is a freelance reporter at CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and technology news. She also writes for CoinDesk. Before joining CBS, she interned at NBC News' BizTech Unit and worked on The Associated Press' web scraping team.

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Xi wraps up Europe tour hailing stronger ties with Hungary

Insights from the South China Morning Post, Chatham House, and Financial Times

Sign up for Semafor Flagship: The daily global news briefing you can trust. Read it now .

Chinese leader Xi Jinping wrapped up his Europe tour with a visit to Budapest, where he hailed his deepening relationship with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

“We have gone through hardships together and defied power politics together amid volatile international situations,” Xi wrote in an open letter to Hungary on Thursday, calling the partnership between Budapest and Beijing “ as mellow and rich as Tokaji wine.”

The closeness between Xi and Orbán stands in stark contrast to both leaders’ relationships with the European Union. Xi’s earlier stop in France was comparatively tense , with French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pressing him to support Ukraine and change China’s approach to trade.

China’s partnership with Russia scrutinized during Xi visit

China and Russia have a “no-limits partnership,” and Beijing has refrained from condemning Moscow for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That has been a point of contention between China and the West, with ties becoming “confrontational” in recent years, the South China Morning Post noted. Chinese analysts blame the West for worsening ties between Europe and Beijing: Wang Yiwei, director of the Centre for European Union Studies at Renmin University of China, told the SCMP that “when they realised economic sanctions could not defeat Russia, they turned to blame China ... it is the West that has pushed Russia closer to China.”

Xi aimed to boost Europe ties and show divide over US

Xi likely hopes his visit to Europe mitigated some of the damage that has been done to China-Europe ties in recent years, preventing them from fraying further, like they have with the US, wrote Yu Jie, a senior research fellow on China at Chatham House. Xi strategically picked France, Hungary, and Serbia for his tour, she noted: “Xi’s visits will serve to demonstrate division within Europe over the war in Ukraine and US relations.” Meanwhile, “the trip also shows the extent to which China’s protracted geopolitical competition with the US has already reduced Beijing’s choice of European partners and consumers.”

Trip was largely ‘unproductive’

Xi eschewed the opportunity to strengthen ties with Europe, instead choosing “to sow divisions,” the Financial Times noted. The Chinese leader’s trip to Serbia aligned with the 25th anniversary of NATO’s bombing of Belgrade, and Xi used the occasion to criticize the alliance. In Hungary, Xi was able to highlight his strong ties with one of the most disruptive members of the EU. “Xi seemed to think he could head off the risk of tariff barriers by exploiting Europe’s faultlines,” the FT’s editorial board argued. “Yet his confidence underestimates the extent to which the majority of EU countries now see China both as a security threat” and an economic one, it added.

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Jay calls in with some final words

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Hello everybody. This is jay and this is truly the last call. I think Tracey called and said we’re…got in at about ten to midnight last night and of course without the stiff headwind and bitter rain and stuff, ah, it wouldn’t have been the same. We ended the race just like the rest of it…with some weather. Um, right now we’re doing the most difficult task of the whole ride and that’s the logistics of getting home. This big ole tandem bicycle and our two selves but we’re on the way…ah, I thanked a lot of people yesterday and ah, a few others came to mind that I sorta left out…I appreciate the bars and stems from Salsa, our cockpits were perfect. And uh, also Mike Curiak, for building us a bomber set of wheels. We never had to touch them at all. A lot of people questioned our parts choices for such a ride and…but everything held up great so anything you see on this bike is tandem worthy. Um…to everyone who thought these are divorce bikes, you guys are all crazy, um, you should give it a shot. It might make you a little closer than you think. And um, once again, just really appreciate it. Oh yeah, and WTB…the Nano Raptor, 2 sets, they held up great…and the saddles we sit on, WTB…kept our butts pretty happy. So uh, that’s it, the bike run is over and don’t have much more to say but we’re anxious to get home, and it was a great journey…(can’t interpret this last part)…ok. Have fun!

Tracey called in to say they made it!

Good morning, this is T-Race, um, Jay, myself, and the Love Shack are now in Demming. We finished up at Antelope Wells last night at 10 til 12. Oh, it was a great, wild day, it was a…hard push to the finish there and just hurried up and tried to get it done. Of course we got stuck in nasty headwind and um, some rain but fortunately we saw Kurt and Maggie and they met us at the finish, and um, gave us a ride back up to Demming. Just want to say thanks to JayP for being an awesome captain and the best husband I could ever ask for. We had great times, great experiences. Also wanted to thank John…thanks for the Skins, they really helped the recovery, and um, Mike C., thanks for building these bomber wheels…you obviously know what they went through and they held up and did a great job. So uh, yeah, I guess this is it, and um, here’s to the king sized section of the candy isle…there’s so many great things out there that went down and hopefully we’ll have a little recap about the whole episode and we’re really happy to be done, and um, alright…til’ next time. Thanks everybody.

Jay calls in from Separ

Listen to the latest call from this racer here !

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Tracey calls in from Silver City

Jay p calls in from grants, tracey calls in from cuba.

Hello, this is Tracey calling in from Cuba, and JayP, and a yeah, we had a really good morning…really good night, really good morning, and did lots of climbing, and the downhill…got all that section coming off that pass from…where were we yesterday…forget the name of the town where we were…oh, Abiquiu. Yeah all that area up there was really cool, slept good, there was a nice camping area up there to sleep and then woke up early and finished up the pass and then uh, holy rainbow gathering…that was pretty wicked. There was like hundreds and hundreds of rainbow people and patchouli and dreads and all that kind of stuff going on. I think I got cut off but uh, we’re in Cuba, we’re gonna head out to Grants, seems like there is a 140 miles of roads so Jay and I are hopefully going to rock that and keep it moving forward. The food…I guess it kind of hard for Jay, he keeps eating and eating and eating and is getting skinnier. So um, that’s going on for him, I am doing fine, yeah, uh, it’s been fun, so uh, just moving forward, heading to the border, and thinking about everybody who has been supporting us and watching us and we definitely thank you for all that and appreciate all that. So, I don’t know, I guess that is it for now and we’ll talk to you soon.

Tracey calls from Abiquiu

Hello, this is Tracey calling in from Abiquiu, NM. We are here at the Abiquiu Inn, we had a fan-tastic day of riding. We didn’t make it too far from the lodge last night and it started raining again so we pulled over at a little shelter and spent the night there, got some good rest and it really paid off today. We did some climbing and the downhills were super fun, super fun, and played it safe and made it down so now we’re here and gonna get some dinner and head over the next pass that’s coming up…there’s lots of mosquitoes here, but uh, what else is going on…Jay just cleaned up the bike, so that is getting ready, we got some more sunscreen…just having a really good time and when I looked at the map this morning it was very overwhelming and I pretty much had an anxiety attack and kinda got sick from looking at it…but now that its behind me it’s a really great feeling and um, yeah, we’re in good spirits and we met up with Chris and it was really nice to travel along with him for a little bit and talk and switch things up a little bit. Yeah, we’re almost there, I mean, maybe not almost, but we’re making it so, um, yeh, we’ll talk to you soon. Bye.

Jay calls in drying out in Platoro

Tracey calls in fro del norte.

Good morning, this is T-Race and JayP calling in from Del Norte. Made it in here last night…had a freakin’ awesome, wonderful day of riding, kickin’ some passes fer sure. And then as soon as we pulled into Del Norte, maybe 10 miles away, we got nailed with the rain, so that was not a good ending to a wonderful day but made the best of it…and uh, got a dry room and dried out our stuff, again, so that went well. Uh, we’re going into day 15 here and I am still wearing the same clothes I began the race in, um, socks, knee warmers, arm warmers, and shirt thanks to Smartwool. They are holding up fantastically…I am overwhelmed with how they are performing…they outperformed anything I would have expected, and holding up well. The kit…thanks to Fitzgerald’s Bicycles for that and for helping us with our bike…getting that on the road and to the start and we appreciate all their support. Um, life on the trail’s been pretty good. Its definitely uncomfortable at times but definitely some cool stuff to check out. Um, the back of the tandem…the farting…the farting is probably the worst to deal with (did she really say that?) and Jay has been so kind and sweet to quit eating the dairy, the ice cream…so that’s been helping out a bit and that’s a pretty big sacrifice for him. He’s a good captain, keeping the crew happy. Um, what else? The cows are pretty cool. Lots of cows. They’ve got different hairdos…its pretty funny. Check that out some time. And, um, other than that, I guess we’re just gonna motor over another pass today and head to Platoro and hopefully be into New Mexico by this afternoon. So, moving right along, we’re doing great. Alright, happy to be here, thanks everyone for your support. We’ll hopefully see you soon. Bye.

Birthday Breakfast

Thanks to Dan Monaco for this pic of Jay and Tracy in Breckenridge for the birthday breakfast. That's quite a rig and quite a birthday!

Chinese President Xi’s trip to Europe: ‘Charm offensive’ or canny bid to divide the West?

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Fine brandy, a Tour de France jersey and old grudges against NATO: On his first European tour in five years, Chinese President Xi Jinping is engaging in a diplomatic dance that is seen by some as a concerted Chinese bid to stress-test the transatlantic alliance.

With Washington watching warily from the sidelines, Xi’s whirlwind visit this week has taken him to France, Serbia and Hungary, with a very different tone and agenda at each stop, but with some overarching goals in common.

Taken as a whole, the Chinese leader’s European trip is seen as both a charm offensive and a hard-nosed display of realpolitik on matters such as trade and the war in Ukraine — at the expense of a united Western front on both.

During the visit, Xi has nodded to traditional European centers of power such as France and the European Union — but also laid heavy emphasis on deepening ties with autocratic allies on the continent’s fringe.

In the peaks of the cloud-shrouded Pyrenees, Xi accepted a jersey from France’s famed bicycle race and joined President Emmanuel Macron in calling for a truce in all global hostilities during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

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In Serbia’s capital, Xi’s arrival coincided with the 25th anniversary of NATO’s mistargeted bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade — an episode that still stirs anti-Western fury among Serbian nationalists.

And in Hungary, cementing a Chinese economic footprint within the European Union, Xi offered warm praise for Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the illiberal leader who has been a thorn in the side of European allies in the more than two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine .

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Some analysts saw Xi’s trip as meant to drive home the message that China will seek to counter U.S. influence wherever it can, and pointedly remind even close American allies to consider whether their own interests run counter to those of Washington.

“There’s lot of press commentary that the Chinese are engaged in a ‘charm offensive,’ ” Evan Medeiros, the former China director at the National Security Council, said in a video interview with Foreign Policy magazine.

While that may be so, he said, the three stops on the tour were specifically chosen in service of “advancing Chinese interests in ways meant to undermine the priorities of both the European Union and NATO.”

Other analysts also described the visit as a simultaneous act of wooing the West and seeking to divide it.

“It embodies Beijing’s skillful navigation of the delicate balance between aggressively advancing its economic imperatives and preserving amicable diplomatic relations, possibly even bolstering its sway in certain quarters of the continent,” political economist Sona Muzikarova, a political economist, wrote in a commentary for the Atlantic Council.

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Xi’s visit came as Europe and the United States are presenting a largely united front in support for Ukraine . But there are some cracks, and China showed signs it might seek to exploit them.

Weeks before Russia launched its war in Ukraine, Beijing and Moscow declared themselves in a “no limits” relationship — widely seen as in effect greenlighting Russia’s February 2022 invasion . But since then, China has portrayed itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine war .

That has been met with skepticism in Western quarters, but during Xi’s stop in France, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, made a point of praising China for playing “an important role in de-escalating Russia’s irresponsible nuclear threats” in connection with the fighting in Ukraine .

But despite that gesture of conciliation, Von der Leyen and Macron made no visible headway in persuading Xi to use his influence with Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring an end to the conflict.

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Instead, Xi pushed back hard against assertions, primarily by the United States, that China has helped prop up Moscow’s war effort.

With Macron at his side, the Chinese leader declared that his government was “not at the origin of this crisis, nor a party to it, nor a participant.” And he said the Ukraine war should not be used as a pretext to “cast blame, smear a third country and incite a new Cold War.”

At the same time, Xi expressed broad support for peace, endorsing Macron’s call for an “Olympics truce” — a hiatus to hostilities in Ukraine and elsewhere during the Summer Games. But such a halt to fighting appeared unlikely to take hold in Ukraine any time soon.

As summer approaches, Russia has been aggressively moving to try to pierce Ukraine’s defense along the front lines and has launched a near-nightly onslaught of missile and drone attacks meant to smash the country’s power grid .

Like most of Xi’s diplomatic forays, this one is centered heavily on trade. Most countries have their own specific bilateral interests in dealings with China and use high-level meetings to try to advance them.

Macron brought up some particularly French concerns, including China’s threat of tariffs on cognacs. As a symbolic sweetener for his insistence, the French president’s gift offerings to Xi included an Armagnac from France’s southwest, one of the liqueurs at risk of the damaging Chinese sanctions. And in an equally symbolic move, the Chinese side said that for now, the brandies would have a reprieve.

Larger trade issues, though, are proving considerably more contentious.

China is upset about a European Union investigation, launched last year, of Chinese subsidies for its domestically produced electric vehicles for export. The EU considers the subsidies a threat to Europe’s auto industry, but some German carmakers have publicly objected to the investigation, fearing it could launch a trade war and harm joint ventures.

Macron and Von der Leyen teamed up during Xi‘s visit to argue the EU’s case on Chinese practices deemed predatory, but the talks did not include officials from Germany, Europe’s largest economy.

Muzikarova, the Atlantic Council political economist, said intra-EU trade disagreements gave China an opportunity to “deploy its signature ‘divide and conquer’ strategy,” noting that EU member Hungary “has been especially useful to this end.”

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In Budapest, the last stop on Xi’s European tour, the Chinese finalized a number of agreements with Orban that will significantly deepen economic ties, even while the EU has taken a more protectionist stance.

“We live in a multi-polar world order, and one of the main columns of this new world order is China,” the Hungarian leader declared after hosting Xi at his capital’s Buda Castle.

As Orban has found himself increasingly on the outs with other European leaders — over Ukraine, his government’s antidemocratic moves and Hungary’s warmth toward Russia — Xi lavished praise on the Hungarian prime minister.

Orban, a darling of U.S. conservatives aligned with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, has worked to block NATO expansion and EU aid to Ukraine. In March, he made a pilgrimage to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and declared that the former president, if reelected, could instantly halt the war by cutting off Ukraine assistance.

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In an ode that appeared in the pro-government outlet Magyar Nemzet on the eve of his visit, the Chinese leader praised Hungary’s “independent” foreign policy — comments seen as encouraging Hungary to continue defying the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the EU.

Serbia, for its part, used Xi’s visit to highlight its quarter-century-old grievance against NATO over the destruction of the Chinese Embassy in a U.S. airstrike, which came as the alliance moved against Serbia during the Kosovo war. Xi arrived in Belgrade on Tuesday night, coinciding with the bombing anniversary.

The two countries, which announced during the visit they are implementing a free-trade agreement beginning in the summer, also offered mutual support over the sensitive issue of territorial claims rejected by most of the rest of the world. Serbia backs China’s stance that Taiwan is not a sovereign country but a breakaway province, while Beijing supports the Belgrade government’s claim to Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia in 2008.

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Laura King is a Washington, D.C.-based reporter for the Los Angeles Times. A member of the Foreign/National staff, she primarily covers foreign affairs. She previously served as bureau chief in Jerusalem, Kabul and Cairo.

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What to Know About Xi Jinping’s Trip to Europe

The Chinese president this week will be visiting France, Serbia and Hungary. His trip comes at a time of tensions with many European countries over trade and accusations of Chinese espionage.

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By Emma Bubola

This week, for the first time in five years, President Xi Jinping of China is visiting Europe, with stops in France, Serbia and Hungary.

Mr. Xi’s trip comes at a time of tensions with many European countries over China’s support for Russia in the face of its war in Ukraine, its trade practices and its apparent espionage activities . The trip will also test Europe’s delicate balancing act between China and the United States.

Mr. Xi hopes to head off a trade war with the European Union as frictions rise over exports of Chinese electric vehicles and diminished market access for European companies in China. Mr. Xi will also encourage President Emmanuel Macron of France to pursue greater autonomy from the United States in a bid to weaken Washington’s global dominance.

Here is what we know about Mr. Xi’s trip, which began Sunday.

What is the significance of Mr. Xi’s itinerary?

The three countries Mr. Xi will be visiting, experts say , to varying degrees embrace China’s push for a redefined global order. All have to some extent questioned America’s postwar ordering of the world, and are eager to bolster ties with Beijing.

Hungary has close ties to China and is keen to attract Chinese investments in areas like electric car and battery manufacturing as Chinese producers expand beyond Asia. Serbia, too, has warm relations with Beijing and has secured billions of dollars in Chinese investment.

Mr. Xi’s first stop is France, where Mr. Macron recently said that Europe “must never be a vassal of the United States,” and has cast France as a bridge between the “Global South” and Western powers.

Despite his courting of Beijing, Mr. Macron has said he is still closer to its ally, the United States, than to China.

“I prefer to choose my relationship with the United States, with China, rather than have it imposed on me by one of the two parties, either pushing me in one direction or pulling me in the other,” he said in an interview with The Economist magazine. But, he added: “Very clearly, we are not equidistant. We are allies of the Americans.”

Before Mr. Xi’s visit, Chinese diplomats expressed hopes that ties between France and China would be at the forefront of China’s relations with the West .

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, the E.U.’s executive branch, joined talks on Monday with Mr. Xi and Mr. Macron in Paris.

This year is also a symbolic one for China and the three countries.

It is the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France and the 75th of those with Hungary.

This year is also the 25th anniversary of the NATO bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, during the Kosovo war, which killed three Chinese journalists and set off angry protests at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Chinese authorities have continued to point to the bombing as a sign of NATO aggression and an example of why Russia was justified in feeling threatened before it decided to invade Ukraine.

When was the last time Mr. Xi visited Europe?

Mr. Xi’s last European visit was in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, which he spent hunkered down in China, leaving the country’s borders for the first time in the fall of 2022 .

The 2019 trip included a flashy ceremony in Rome to celebrate Italy’s participation in China’s Belt and Road global infrastructure project, which is aimed at expanding China’s influence abroad. France rolled out the red carpet for Mr. Xi in Paris and signed more than a dozen commercial and governmental treaties worth billions of euros, even as Mr. Macron warned that “China plays on our divisions” and that “the period of European naïveté is over.”

Mr. Xi also visited Greece , where he pledged his support to the country in its struggle with Britain to obtain the Parthenon sculptures known as the Elgin Marbles .

How is the relationship between Europe and China?

Since Mr. Xi’s last visit, there has been a widening rift in the relationship between China and much of Europe. The coronavirus pandemic , Beijing’s embrace of Russia and its repression of ethnic minorities, and a surge in Chinese exports have generated backlashes against China in many European countries.

China has quintupled car shipments to foreign markets in recent years, and the European Union has recently adopted a more confrontational tone over China’s trade practices. E.U. authorities have opened an investigation that could result in limits on Chinese solar exports, and have taken preliminary steps toward restricting trade with Chinese goods that include electric cars, wind turbines and medical devices.

Italy has also told China that it would no longer participate in its Belt and Road Initiative, and last month, six people in Europe were charged with spying for China in the span of a week, in a sign that European countries are stepping up their response to Chinese espionage.

At the same time, European nations vary in their views on how to engage with Beijing and benefit from economic opportunities there, and some are fearful of any imposition of European tariffs.

Mr. Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany also think that China’s leverage will be critical in bringing an end to the war in Ukraine.

David Pierson contributed reporting from Hong Kong, and Aurelien Breeden from Paris.

Emma Bubola is a Times reporter based in London, covering news across Europe and around the world. More about Emma Bubola

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LIV’s Talor Gooch receives special invitation to PGA Championship

For the first time since the onset of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf divide, a LIV golfer has been awarded a position in a major championship due primarily to his performance on the 54-hole team-format tour.

Talor Gooch, who joined the Saudi-backed Tour in May 2022, announced via X (formerly Twitter) that the PGA of America has extended a special invitation to compete in next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. The PGA of America also extended an invitation to LIV’s David Puig, the 22-year-old Arizona State product who recently won the Malaysian Open and qualified for the Open Championship.

Looking forward to Valhalla next week! Thank you for the invitation @PGA 🙏🏼 See y'all there. pic.twitter.com/0Rcm652KMP — Talor Gooch (@TalorGooch) May 6, 2024

“Looking forward to Valhalla next week!” Gooch wrote on X. “Thank you for the invitation PGA. See ya’ll there.”

The PGA of America (the governing body of the PGA Championship) traditionally invites the Official World Golf Ranking’s top 100 players to compete at the PGA. Gooch is currently ranked No. 644, while Puig is No. 106. LIV Golf tournaments are not recognized in the ranking system, and Gooch only teed it up in only six OWGR-official events since joining LIV. However, after leaving the PGA Tour , Gooch won three times on LIV and finished as the league’s 2023 individual champion. His sole PGA Tour victory came at the 2021 RSM Classic, six months before joining the upstart league.

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LIV’s Joaquin Niemann notably received a special invitation to the Masters last month, but the Chilean intentionally traveled around the world to play in tournaments outside of LIV Golf and earn his place in the majors. Niemann won the Australian Open in December and placed in the top five in three DP World Tour events. Gooch, however, has not made the same effort. He played in the Hong Kong Open in November and the Saudi International last winter, but other than those two starts, the 32-year-old has not played outside of LIV. Gooch’s invitation to the PGA Championship indicates that the tournament’s organizers recognize his performance on the Saudi-backed tour.

Gooch has been especially outspoken about his exclusion from major championships. He was eligible for the Masters, the PGA Championship and the Open Championship last season due to his PGA Tour performance before joining LIV. But the USGA changed its eligibility rules and Gooch could not tee it up at Los Angeles Country Club in 2023 for the U.S. Open.

In a news conference last week in Singapore, Gooch announced that he would not attempt to qualify for the 2024 U.S. Open, despite 35 LIV players trying their hand at final qualifying in the coming weeks.

“I’m not,” Gooch said when asked if he would be qualifying. He did not offer further explanation.

Gooch also garnered attention when he said that if Rory McIlroy were to have completed the career grand slam at the Masters, the accolade would have needed an “asterisk” due to the absence of LIV players from the field. Yet 13 LIV golfers teed it up at Augusta this year.

The full PGA Championship field list has not been released. Brooks Koepka, the defending champion, is a LIV member and hoisted the individual trophy at LIV Singapore last week.

(Photo of Talor Gooch: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)

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Gabby Herzig is a Staff Writer for The Athletic covering golf. Before joining The Athletic, she worked as a breaking news writer for Sports Illustrated’s golf vertical and a contributing editor at Golf Digest. She is a graduate of Pomona College, where she captained the varsity women’s golf team.