In June the hub of the bikepacking world is the Great Divide Mountain Bike Race. The progress of the riders can be followed at trackleaders, and in 2014 one of the more exciting stories is the effort by current leader Jefe Branham to complete the route in 14 days. If successful, Branham would shatter Jay Petervary's mark of over 15 days, set in 2012. For singlespeed enthusiasts, of equally compelling interest this year is the performance of the 6 riders on 1x1 setups, among them 54-year-old rookie Tom DeVries who, so far, appears to be surprising both himself and his fans with his strong showing. Two years ago the eyes of the 1X1 crowd were on the feats of rider Justin Simoni, attempting to go the distance a year after crashing and withdrawing practically in sight of the US-Mexico border. A superb account of Simoni's 2012 singlespeed-winning race is here: http://www.westword.com/2012-08-02/news/worlds-toughest-bicycle-race-tour-divide/full/
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AuthorHi Everybody Archives
June 2016
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