tour the divide 2022

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• Bikepacking Races

2022 Tour Divide

June 10, 2022 @ 8:00 am,  alberta, canada    2745mi (4,418km).

Next Event Sat Dec 23, 2017

Next Event:

BAM! Bicycle Adventure Meeting 2022

The 2022 Tour Divide takes place on Friday, June 10th at 8AM. Race the length of Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, from Banff to New Mexico, 2,745 miles of ultra-endurance bikepacking.

Date: June 10, 2022

Time: 8:00 am

Event Website

Tour Divide Grand Depart

Banff , Alberta Canada

The Tour Divide roughly follows the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) is the most recognized and important off-pavement cycling route in the United States, if not the world. The route crisscrosses the Continental Divide from north to south starting in Banff, Alberta, Canada and finishing at the US/Mexico border in Antelope Wells, New Mexico.

Time-trial season on the GDMBR begins annually with Grand Départ, occurring on the second Friday in June from both termini of the Route; the main Depart takes place in Bannf, Alberta. The Tour Divide see hundreds of riders each year, with the goal of these Solstice common starts is for athletes to challenge the Route in situ, under similar weather conditions and maximum daylight. If one cannot make a grand départ, there is a season-long ITT-Divide format to contend. Tour Divide requires no entry fee or formal registration. There are no prizes for finishing. Riders who carry SPOT GPS Messengers are tracked via the Live tracker.

For more on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, check out our guide, here . Also, find the Rigs of the 2019 Tour Divide here , and check out #tour-divide for many more articles and resources.

Registration: Send a letter of intent after winter solstice to [email protected] .

Event image by Matt & Brett, A View From Two Wheels. 

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DotWatcher.cc

Tour divide 2022 results.

A blisteringly fast start from Sofiane allowed his to develop a healthy lead which he kept in his grasp to the US/Mexico border. This year's race will go down in Tour Divide legend for the many Search and Rescues around the US/Canada border due to the extreme low temperatures and snow storms. So numerous were the re-routes, that no time could contend Mike Hall's record from 2016.

Classification

Nationality.

• France ( 2 )
• Belgium ( 2 )
• Switzerland ( 1 )
• United States ( 1 )
• Germany ( 1 )
• United Kingdom ( 2 )
• CANADA ( 4 )
• Italy ( 2 )
• Australia ( 1 )
• Canada ( 3 )
• South Africa ( 1 )

90 entrants have no registered nationality

Finished / Scratched

Dotwatcher needs your help.

Riders: You know these races better than anyone. If you notice any potential errors in the race results, please let us know .

Race organisers: If you would like to help grow the community and contribute to the results database, please get in touch .

Halfway Anywhere

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

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The Grand Tour of MTB

Banff, ab ca - antelope wells, nm usa, expedition bike racing at it's finest, great divide mountain bike route, one stage: 2745mi / 4418km self-supported racing, great continental divide mountain bike race, 13th of june, 2014.

Decidedly not for sprinters, this battle royale braves mountain passes and windswept valleys of the Continental Divide from hinterlands of the Canadian Rockies to badlands of the Mexican Plateau.

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Sofiane Sehili Wins The Tour Divide 2022

After 14 days, 16 hours, and 36 minutes. sofiane became the 2022 winner of the tour divide. .

The Tour Divide is thought to be the hardest ultra-endurance race on the planet. 2,754 miles, with over 200,000ft of elevation, from Canada to the Mexican Border. Traversing the length of the Rocky Mountains. Combine this with the harsh weather conditions, and the odd Bear encounter, and you have an extreme test of both body and mind.

It wouldn’t be the first time that the Frenchman has attempted to win The Tour Divide. This win is the conclusion of an eight year journey, that saw Sofiane take on the route for the first time in 2016, where he finished third.

A few years later, in 2019, Sofiane returned to The Tour Divide with the aim of beating the course record. He led from the start, and was on track to beat the record when a massive storm front came in covering the route in snow, and stopping him in his tracks.

Fast forward to 2022, Sofiane was back with one aim. To win The Tour Divide 2022. Sadly, there was no record on offer this time around as the course was re-routed due to wild fires. 

Onboard his Rapide HT with rigid forks, Sofiane led from the off. Braving some of the harshest conditions in The Tour Divide Race's history. Riding through  f reezing cold wind and rain, to scorching  hot heat. Not to mention ‘the peanut butter mud’, which saw him walking for miles through thick, ankle deep mud toward the finish line. 

Above Sofiane's race rig - a Rapide HT frame with rigid forks. 

“I'm a stubborn individual and when I set my mind on something, I just won't let go,” Sofian wrote on Instagram. “I did it. Not to show the world. Not to prove doubters wrong. Just to keep a promise I made to myself. Because these are the most important." Sofiane Sehili . 

You can listen to a pretty cool podcast by Bikes or Death that covers Sofiane's crazy ride here . 

Tour Divide 2022 All News Items

About the Tracker

• 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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‘True Aloneness,’ Tour Divide Updates Rules, Forbids Personal Media

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If you ride the Tour Divide while a media crew films you, are you in violation of the rules? A new rule says ‘yes.’

For over 2 years, the debate over whether or not media constitutes “support” on “unsupported” endurance missions has raged.  In 2019, the Tour Divide race was embroiled in controversy involving perhaps its most high-profile athlete,  Lael Wilcox .

Wilcox sought to become the first woman to be the overall race winner. A film crew planned to document her attempt along the way. But then-Salsa rider and prominent distance cyclist Jay Petervary publicly took issue.

Petervary (better known as JayP) and others argued that a film crew constituted support, violating what many see as a critical part of the Tour Divide’s legacy: fully unsupported riding.

Wilcox ultimately withdrew from the race. The film still ran; it’s called “I Just Want To Ride.”

Now, Tour Divide race organizers have taken a big step toward one side of the dispute. The goal? To ensure that the spirit of the race, and all the elements that are part of a race like this one, forge on as fairly as possible.

Check out our podcast interviews with  Jay Petervary and  Lael Wilcox .

New Messaging in All Caps

On Wednesday afternoon, Petervary put up a social media post that grabbed our attention. An apparent screenshot looked like a document that condemned media presence at the Tour Divide, maybe or maybe not posted by the Tour Divide itself.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Jay Petervary (@jay_petervary)

“WHILE TD IS NOT YET READY TO BAN ALL MEDIA ENTIRELY, FOR GRAND DEPARTS, PERSONAL MEDIA TEAMS FOCUSING ON AN INDIVIDUAL RIDER WITH INTENT TO FOLLOW THEM ON COURSE CAN INJECT UNDUE MORAL HAZARD INTO THE EQUATION,” it reads. “THEREFORE, IT WILL BE DEEMED AS A FORM OF SUPPORT GOING FORWARD.”

Meanwhile, the trans-Continental Divide race’s website suggested the statement held water — if it wasn’t quite yet the law of the land.

A note at the top of the Tour Divide rules page specifies that “[w]hile not yet published, the Tour Divide race director has added to this list [of rules] that personal film crews are not allowed.”

Tour Divide Clarifies

So, we reached out to find out what’s what. Matthew Lee, who describes himself as the Tour Divide “disorganizer,” set the record straight. He wrote in an email that the screenshot came from the race’s “confirmation of understanding,” which is a set of agreements all riders enter into on sign-up.

“That language is new for 2022,” he said, referencing the screenshot. “This decision was not made lightly and has been in the works for at least two years now.”

“It’s not an easy or simple debate,” he acknowledged.

Tour Divide Controversy: Salsa Drops Racer Jay Petervary

Salsa cited a 'conflict' at this year’s Tour Divide and conduct that did not align with 'brand values of empathy, community, and positivity.' Read more…

According to Lee, organizers accounted for the exploding popularity of gravel riding and the sport at large to make their decision.

“This needs to be a policy for year [over] year,” he wrote, “for veterans of our little bikepacking scene and for gravel pros new to the scene coming along in the future.”

So, for now, the new “confirmation of understanding” language is tantamount to the word of the Tour Divide gods.

“TRUE ALONENESS IS PRIMARY TO THE TD CHALLENGE AND A PERSONAL MEDIA TEAM CONFLICTS WITH THIS TENET,” it reads.

So, let it be written. No personal film crews, just riders, organizers, and the occasional trail angels. The 2022 Tour Divide starts this Friday, June 10.

Lael Wilcox: The Extraordinary Ordinary Bikepacking Queen

Ultra-endurance bikepacking is about as niche a sport as you'll come across. But in short order, Lael Wilcox has helped raise it out of obscurity and even cultivated a cult following. Read more…

Sam Anderson is a staff writer at GearJunkie, and several other All Gear websites.

He has been writing about climbing, cycling, running, wildlife, outdoor policy, the outdoor industry, vehicles, and more for 2 years. Prior to GearJunkie, he owned and operated his own business before freelancing at GearHungry. Based in Austin, Texas, Anderson loves to climb, boulder, road bike, trail run, and frequent local watering holes (of both varieties).

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Hunt at Tour Divide 2022

Hunt beyond at tour divide 2022.

The Great Divide Mountain bike route is a 2745mile off road mountain bike route running from Banff in Canada down the length of the Rocky Mountains to the US/ Mexico border. It crosses the watershed Divide many times along the way and seeks out old forest roads, high mountain passes and dirt tracks less travelled.

The route was established in 1998 and since 2005 the Tour Divide grand depart has been held every year on the second Friday in June. It was one of the original bike packing races and has developed into one of the most prestigious events on the bike packing calendar. The current course record is held by the late Mike hall, 13days 22hours 51 minutes, set in 2016.

HUNT Beyond has a number of riders competing in 2022. Serial event winner Sofiane Sehili returns after pushing the record pace in 2019 and will not be happy with anything short of a record or at least a win. Will conditions allow Sofiane to have a shot at Mike Halls record, or will the weather play havoc the same as it did when Sofiane last took on the Divide in 2019.

Jim Barrow can usually be found repairing and building wheels at HUNT’s Sussex headquarters, however this year he will be making a return to the Tour Divide. Jim has started the Divide once before but unfortunately had to scratch, so he’s back with a point to prove.

Our final HUNT Beyond rider is the HUNT Beyond brand manager Josh Ibbett . Much like Jim, Josh is returning in 2022 for his second ride on the Divide. He finished 6 th in the 2019 edition, however, feel that there’s a faster time in him so is back for more!

You can follow the Tour Divide on the event tracker here . Beware Dotwatching can become addictive!

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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.

News analysis: Why Putin is raising the specter of nuclear weapons again

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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.

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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David gilmour announces 2024 tour, 2 msg concerts. get tickets today.

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That crazy diamond is shining on again.

Long-time Pink Floyd member David Gilmour just announced he will perform four U.S. concerts this year as part of an international tour in support of his forthcoming solo album “Luck and Strange.”

His first two North American gigs will be at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday, Oct. 29 and Wednesday, Oct. 30 .

After that, the 78-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer drops into the Big Apple for a pair of concerts at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Monday, Nov. 4 and Tuesday, Nov. 5 .

While we can’t confirm or deny whether Gilmour will perform Pink Floyd classics in addition to solo tracks on this brief jaunt, records show he has played favorites like “The Great Gig in the Sky,” “Wish You Were Here,” “Money,” “Time” and “Comfortably Numb” at concerts in year’s past, according to Set List FM .

If you can’t wait to catch Gilmour live this year, tickets can be scooped up for all North American concerts as soon as today.

Fans can now purchase tickets on sites like Vivid Seats ; the official on-sale is Friday, May 17.

Vivid Seats is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.

They have a 100% buyer guarantee that states your transaction will be safe and secure and will be delivered before the event.

In addition to the quartet of stateside gigs, Gilmour is also six shows at Rome’s Circo Massimo from September 27 through Oct. 3 and London’s Royal Albert Hall on Oct. 9-15.

David Gilmour tour schedule 2024

A complete calendar of all North American David Gilmour tour dates, venues and links to buy tickets can be found below.

David Gilmour set list

The last full concert Gilmour performed was back in September 2016 at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Here’s what he took to the stage that evening, according to Set List FM :

01.) “5 A.M.” 02.) “Rattle That Lock” 03.) “Faces of Stone” 04.) “What Do You Want From Me” (Pink Floyd song) 05.) “The Blue” 06.) “The Great Gig in the Sky” (Pink Floyd song) 07.) “A Boat Lies Waiting” 08.) “Wish You Were Here” (Pink Floyd song) 09.) “Money” (Pink Floyd song) 10.) “In Any Tongue” 11.) “High Hopes” (Pink Floyd song) Set II

12.) “One of These Days” (Pink Floyd song) 13.) “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)” (Pink Floyd song) 14.) “Fat Old Sun” (Pink Floyd song) 15.) “Coming Back to Life” (Pink Floyd song) 16.) “On an Island” 17.) “The Girl in the Yellow Dress” 18.) “Today” 19.) “Sorrow” (Pink Floyd song) 20.) “Run Like Hell” (Pink Floyd song) Encore

21.) “Time” (Pink Floyd song) 22.) “Breathe (Reprise)” (Pink Floyd song) 23.) “Comfortably Numb” (Pink Floyd song)

David Gilmour new album

Gilmour’s new album “Luck and Strange” is due out Sept. 6.

Prior to the record’s release, he dropped the gentle, surreal, rockin’ single “The Piper’s Call.”

You can listen to the slow five-minute track here .

Classic rockers on tour in 2024

Gilmour isn’t your only rock hero from yesterday on the road this year.

Here are just five more of our favorites that just may be coming to a venue near you these next few months.

•  Rolling Stones

•  Neil Young

•  Bob Dylan with Robert Plant and Willie Nelson

•  BEAT- Belew, Vai, Levin, Carey (playing a tribute to King Crimson ’80s albums)

•  Electric Light Orchestra

Who else is still lugging their amps around? Check out our list of the 52 biggest classic rock concerts of 2024 to find out.

Why you should trust ‘Post Wanted’ by the New York Post

This article was written by Matt Levy , New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed Bruce Springsteen and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change.

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