...and now it's a Winter Storm Warning for much of that area.  A prayer is going up for all the riders.  Be safe...and be smart!!

Looking at the race flow it appears that Justinas is not really sleeping much at all whereas Ulrich and Laurens are getting a good 4 to 6 hours sleep. I wonder when it is going to catch up with Justinas. For all his lack of sleep he only has a small lead of about 20 miles, which could evaporate really quickly. Really interesting to watch the different approaches.

Great observations!

Ruh roh...it's about to get interesting on the '24 TD.  A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for much of the TD path through tomorrow (Monday) afternoon.  Heavy, wet snow...5" or more possible at lower elevations, up to a foot in the 6-8000' range.

The watch area covers the route from Eureka to just north of Whitefish, then Swan Lake, Holland Lake, Richmond Peak, Ovando and potentially Huckleberry Pass.   Other places include Lava Mountain (west of Helena), the area around Butte, and Fleecer Ridge.

https://www.wunderground.com/severe/us/mt/ovando

It might be time for some of those riders to push a bit now and get as far south as possible, but nearly every rider is potentially affected.

Thanks for that link jj.

A few years ago there was talk of compiling a list of camera links along the route.

Here's a few more that have been collected - - add to the list if you have any more.
...

Thanks for the list.  The Togwotee Mtn Lodge cam is especially good for rider-spotting...it's highly recommended.

I wonder if this is going to be the year that Mike Hall's record is going to be broken. Justinas is on a hell of pace right now!

He is definitely flying, which is a good thing, because he's going to need a lead when he reaches NM.  The new CDT section in the north and revisions south of Silver City are going to add, at the very least, several hours to the ride.  He also needs to pay close attention to his body and rest when it's required...which is true of all riders.  You cannot win the Tour in Montana, but you can certainly lose it there.

Our leaders appear to have just climbed The Wall and are headed for Galton Pass.  Then it's the screaming descent down Connor Rd and the border.  I think I'm surprised by the number of riders that have already cleared Fernie.  Again, somewhat drier conditions in the area may be helping push riders...as well as that near certainty of rain/thunderstorms (100% chances in both Fernie and Eureka) later today.

Current radar shows light rain and snow well west of the route and mostly cloudy skies in the region.  Temps in the low 40s in Fernie, and around 50 in Eureka.

FYI:  There is a webcam in Eureka that I've watched numerous times over the years and it's right on Main St.  It pivots around every 15 seconds or so to give you different views of the area, but there's a good chance for dot-stalkers to become real stalkers for a few moments if you're so inclined.

https://eurekawebcam.com/

Today has not been one of my most productive days!

John

I get that.  So imagine my joy, when in yesterday's morning status meeting, the boss said, "Several of you are looking for things to do, and I haven't got a lot prepped for you to pick up, so if you want to take the afternoon off, feel free."

On the Tour Divide's first day, that's music to a dot-stalker's ears!!!

The four leaders appear to have stopped in Fernie.  We'll see how long they stay...

There's a bit of rain-shower activity in Banff, but Koko Claims looks clear.  Yeah, maybe drier conditions have made that hike up the hill less difficult.  Fernie is going to see cyclists rolling through before dark.

The leaders are approaching Round Prairie, which means they will have covered nearly 100 miles in ~7 hours...that's some serious pace!  But of course, that also mean it's time to hike up Koko Claims.

For those with an opinion about having Koko Claims as part of the Tour, here's your chance to shine.  Love it or Lose it?

Nice group of Northbounders this morning ... looks like MJ missed the new CDT trail piece, the rest are getting within a few miles of that turn off. Old habits ( pavement to I-10 ) may be hard to break   :-)

Yeah, what a shame to be relegated two hours into the race.  Of course, maybe he has a personal goal that involves riding the route without these 2024 alterations.  If so, then good on him!!  Otherwise, I feel very badly for him.  Since the route wasn't published until last weekend, it's possible Mike missed the changes.  If/when he realizes the error, it will be a very long slog to correct it.

Justinas and Ulrich running 1-2 right now.  Haven't I have seen this before somewhere?

That is one beautiful conga line trailing out from Banff.

Banff weather looks like clouds and about 50F this morning with light SW winds.  There's a chance of rain later in the day with a high in the mid 60s.  If the rain stays away or is light, it's a perfect day to ride!

It's almost here...

I agree.  Bring the discussion back here!  Been a Dot Watcher Before 2015, but then 2015 happened and I was hooked!  So many people watching and commenting, and then the videos from dejay.birtch and wow!  A whole higher level of what we ever imagined as dot watchers.
Please don't let this site die and wither away.  go back and read the discussion of tour divide 2015 and the number of pages contributed and realize this is the place to be to discuss this wonderful race!  Not Facebook!  Don't give Facebook the time or day to make revenue.  Bring it back to bikepacking.net

+1.  Couldn't agree more than I do!!

Bikepacking.com have part one of their Tour Divide bikes up:
https://bikepacking.com/bikes/2024-tour-divide-rigs-part-1/
Time to geek out over the bikes and gear!

Does anybody else hate it when people call their bikes rigs?

I do.  It's a bike!

It's nice to see the Surly Krampus represented by at least one rider.  I think there's been at least one in every TD since I started watching in '15, and I'm guessing it sure beats lining up this morning in Banff and just being asked, "What flavor of Cutthroat do YOU have?"

Thanks for highlighting the single-speeders.  I give huge props to anyone able to tackle this endeavor, but I save my greatest respect for the single-speeders.  I haven't ridden a single-speed on a flat surface in four decades, so to be attempting this route and its contours with just one gear is almost incomprehensible to me.  As you all know, Chris Plesko holds the SS record (if one can label it such, given the ever-changing pathways of this race) at 15 days back in 2016.  I still consider that to be the single greatest accomplishment in the history of this race.

Compare the other great accomplishments to each other:  Mike Hall's sub-14 day run, Ulrich's super-human push last year after getting stuck in the Basin, Houchin's incredible SS run last year, the Kato/Petervary/Beltchenko slugfest to the finish in 2015.

Chris Plesko's run stands alone.

23 hours and counting...

I noted:

Marshall Bird - finished in <19 days back in 2015.
Ed Pickup - I believe he was part of the "Inspired to Ride" crew that did the Trans-Am in 2014.
Noah Bodewes - I wonder if he's a younger brother of Luke/Will Bodewes, who were both in their teens in 2015 and among the youngest ever to tackle the Tour.  Will had a remarkable top-10 finish.

I did a bit of comparison with a couple of the revised NM sections.

If MapMyRide is to be believed:

The revised route out of Silver City adds 10.5 miles and a little more than 200' of additional climb.  It's less of a difference climb-wise than I expected, but there will be a big difference ride-wise between 10 miles of smooth pavement and 20 miles of dirt and sand.
The revised route at Hachita adds 3.5 miles and about 530' of additional climb...and again, a change from a sealed surface to loose.

The revised route up north to Hopewell Lake is beyond my ability to rationalize between MapMyRide, Google Maps, and the TrackLeaders route.  I'll keep messing with it to try and get it.  If someone else has those numbers, feel free to share!

Does anyone know what the snow levels are like over Elk Pass in BC or north of whitefish, etc. Here in Summit County, Colorado, we had a lot of snow in May and it has only really starting to melt the last week or so. Thanks, John.

I can find snow cover information for Alberta, but none of the maps have resolution or "zoomability" to get detail.  Based on what I can find, it appears there is snow around Elk Pass, but no way to tell for sure what the trail up the pass looks like.  Having said that, the weather for the Elk Pass area on Saturday/Sunday is more concerning, with snow forecast to fall.  Accumulations don't look significant (an inch or two), but the riders won't want to dilly-dally.  Get up the hill, get down, and clear out of there on Friday.

https://www.viewweather.com/w657373-weather-forecast-for-east_elk_pass-alberta.html

There are good snow chances (up to an inch) for Harvey, Cabin, and Galton passes on Saturday.  

For Montana, this map - the URL is enormous, sorry about the length - shows a bit of snow around Grave Creek (on the route at 4300'), but I'm guessing this will be mostly gone come Saturday/Sunday:

https://nwcc-apps.sc.egov.usda.gov/imap/#version=169&elements=R&networks=!&states=!&counties=!&hucs=&minElevation=&maxElevation=&elementSelectType=all&activeOnly=true&activeForecastPointsOnly=false&hucLabels=true&hucIdLabels=false&hucParameterLabels=true&stationLabels=parameter&overlays=&hucOverlays=state&basinOpacity=70&basinNoDataOpacity=0&basemapOpacity=100&maskOpacity=0&mode=data&openSections=dataElement,parameter,date,basin,options,elements,location,networks,overlays,labels&controlsOpen=true&popup=&popupMulti=&popupBasin=&base=esriNgwm&displayType=station&basinType=mt_8&dataElement=SNWD&depth=-8&parameter=OBS&frequency=DAILY&duration=I&customDuration=&dayPart=E&monthPart=E&forecastPubDay=1&forecastExceedance=50&useMixedPast=true&seqColor=1&divColor=3&scaleType=D&scaleMin=0&scaleMax=100&referencePeriodType=POR&referenceBegin=1981&referenceEnd=2010&minimumYears=20&hucAssociations=true&relativeDate=-1&lat=46.672&lon=-109.028&zoom=7.0

Curious ... I think the new route piece just south of Hachita was in the works for quite a while, but does anyone know what the piece by the Tyrone mine is all about? ( other than to just get off pavement ) .. construction?

Caveat:  the following thoughts are from someone who has never seen these sections in person, instead relying on the power of Google's maps.

Good question.  The northern NM changes and the southern NM changes (at Hachita) seem to be an aim to get a bit more of the actual CDT involved in the race, since that trail is open to cycling and those parts appear navigable on a bike.  The alterations at Silver City are less clear.  The road section that is the GDMBR route out of Silver City seems to be in very good condition and not in need of any repair.  In addition, it has great shoulders for cycling, the residents of the area are familiar with the cyclists, and it's pretty safe to say that traffic on 90 is not heavy...so I'm not sure.

The Tyrone Ridge section especially appears to be quite sandy...maybe a bit softer than the Separ Road, so rain in that section could be a challenge.

The "conspiracy theorist" in me jokingly thinks of these alterations (much like Koko Claims) as a way to protect Mike Hall's FKT, but I know that's not the case.  More than likely, it's about challenging riders and highlighting the spirit of the CDT, which is mostly gravel and dirt.