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- Mar 18, 2009
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The race itself was in June. It'll be interesting to see how fast Lachlan completes the route in comparison to this year's winning time of 14 days, 3 hours 23 minutes.
- May 5, 2010
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Huh? Is this sort of weird "ultra-distance-racing" rule? A reverse "pics, or it didn't happen" thing? "Pics, and it doesn't count!"...
ManicJack
BANNED
- Apr 4, 2023
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No support of any kind is allowed. Emotional included.
- May 5, 2010
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ManicJack
BANNED
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Good question. Maybe emotional was a bad choice of words.
ManicJack
BANNED
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Rules | Tour Divide
The Tour Divide challenge is based on one guiding principle: Cycle the GDMBR end-to-end, as fast as possible in a solo, self-supported fashion.The Particulars:Who: Any determined cyclist may challenge the Great Divide Route at any time, in either direction, to qualify for the Tour Divide (TD)...
- May 5, 2010
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8a is the relevant section along with "spirit"Rules | Tour Divide
The Tour Divide challenge is based on one guiding principle: Cycle the GDMBR end-to-end, as fast as possible in a solo, self-supported fashion.The Particulars:Who: Any determined cyclist may challenge the Great Divide Route at any time, in either direction, to qualify for the Tour Divide (TD)...tourdivide.org
So, basically "You are allowed to have a phone with you, but don't expect it to work"?
- Nov 5, 2013
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No, you can do the race at any point. June was when the majority of riders started (referred to as the "informal common start date,")but you can do the route at any time, and if you remain within the rules, you can win. You can also do it top to bottom or bottom to top. Lachlan isn't within the rules: http://tourdivide.org/the_rules
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- Oct 5, 2010
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Drinking picke juice is a whole vibe unto itself
- Nov 5, 2013
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They're considered "support," and anything like that has to be commercially available to all challengers and not pre-arranged. You cannot even have your spouse, family member, or anyone else, meet you anywhere on course (people have been DQ'd for that). His camera crew are considered support, as they are organized and following him. The rules are super struct regarding being "self-supported."
4. Modus operandi: To complete the Route, a rider may resupply food / equipment, rent a room, launder clothing, even service their bike at commercial shops along the way. The intent is to ride unsupported between towns, and function self-supported when in towns. Any services utilized must always be commercially available to all challengers and not pre-arranged[1]. No private resupply, no private lodging.
Tour Divide strives for equal opportunity within the GC. Whether doing an independent time trial or tackling the grand départ, TD requires that every challenger—from those living along the route to those living on other continents—have an equal playing field. Therefore, outside assistance[2] with navigation, lodging or resupply (especially receipt of supplies from a non-commercial shipper) is prohibited. Visitation: Divide racing is not intended to be a spectator sport! However, route-town locals only may interact with (i.e. visit briefly, cheer on) thru-racers as they pass through their locale. Out-of-town visitation to the GDMBR mid-race from challengers' family or friends—even if only a 'loosely-planned', remote possibility for rider rendezvous—is prohibited. Item 4 FAQs
I wish him well and he is a great example of what social media can be to cycling.. Lots of people following him and cycling events they would not be if YouTube didn't exist.. would have preferred seeing him eat Jelly Belly beans versus pickle juice.. and he was certainly popular with the Unbound crowd..
- Jan 7, 2017
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Hats off to anyone who completes this - it looks brutal. Watching Ted King attempt it, and end up in hospital was tough......
- Nov 5, 2013
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This year, he's been riding the roads and dirt where I live. Only saw him once, but still, pretty cool that he has been riding the roads and areas I love. I think he may be staying with Powless' family, who are near here as well...so he's popular here, and we're more the Lost and Found crowd. Next year, Unbound and L&F will be on different weekends for the first time ever, so maybe he'll ride both.
- Mar 18, 2009
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Ah, didn't know that the independent time trial riders were included in the official results.
- Mar 18, 2009
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162.58km to go, down to 3 gears, using a spoke to shift, and he's looking good to get to Antelope Wells more than a day ahead of Mike Hall's record time.
- May 5, 2010
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Wonder if he might pay tribute to Mike Hall in some way.
- Nov 5, 2013
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Good thing the last bit is mostly downhill.
And, while I have AXS on my enduro bike, I can't imagine why you'd take the chance on electronic shifting on something like that, unless you have to because of sponsorship. Give me something you can fix with a cable.
Funny though, the guy who owns my local bike shop did the Divide on a single speed.
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- Sep 8, 2015
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And he finishes.
Time elapsed was 12 days 12 hours 28 min, previous record was 13 days 22 hours 51 mins!
Time elapsed was 12 days 12 hours 28 min, previous record was 13 days 22 hours 51 mins!
- Nov 5, 2013
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Dude just loves to ride his bike (on the same roads and gravel I get to ride). Chapeau!!
- Jan 31, 2016
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And he knows how to ride like a Pro in the last few feet of a 203 mile race against another Pro. Exceptional and the "amateur" band-aid on gravel is seriously ripped off.
Haven't heard what VanAvermaet had to say, yet. I'm thinking those guys are wondering if this was the best first choice after retiring from the World Tour? Ouch.
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Oss, Dekker, and several others. I genuinely think this race (and races like it) is for guys who love to ride bikes. It really is too bad that there is no streaming coverage of the race.
I came to the forum wondering if someone would have posted about Lachlan. What an easy human to root for. He’s authentic, humble, and better at suffering than 99.999% of all others.
- Jan 31, 2016
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He seems to have a masochistic joy of being in the saddle. That would make him 99.999% more satisfied than other riders.
Actually a pretty damn good debut for GVA; I'm impressed! This edition yesterday crushed some really good riders, and fully agree with you regarding the amateur band-aid being ripped off. It's not enough just to be World Tour strong, Unbound is a completely different beast altogether.
Loved watching Lachlan win this thing; as a previous poster alluded to, he is such an easy guy to root for. Chapeau to him!
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