Meaghan Hackinen is not going to catch Lael's record, but for three-quarters of the route, she matched or bettered the record pace.  She's had a tremendous ride.  And Ana Jager isn't likely to catch Meaghen, but hers is another phenomenal ride.

Justinas's ride is just beyond amazing.

Am sitting here looking at trackleaders now and Ulrich is 12 miles from the Border so he'll be another sub-14 day finisher. And seeing Mike Hall's dot just up the road behind him, headed to AW for the last time. Awesome efforts all.

It was a bit sad to see Mike's dot at the finish, knowing we won't see it again, but simultaneously thrilling for the two guys that finished in front of it.  Records are set to be broken, and Mike would have loved the challenge of coming back and besting Justinas' time.  You can bet Ulrich will try again.

There's a LOT of rain and storms floating around NM this evening and I wonder if Laurens Ten Dam has run into some of the resulting mud.  He appears to be barely moving forward.  The Tour has been a cruel mistress to him, but he appears to be pushing on.  Good for him!

Meaghan Hackinen has dropped back a bit from Lael's dot (about 50 miles as I type this), but with 450-odd miles remaining, Ms. Wilcox's record certainly isn't safe.  And Ana Jager is lurking just 60 miles back.  There are always great sub-races within the Tour Divide.

Our first bouncing dot.  I'm gobsmacked by that performance...it's one for the ages!!

Starting to think Justinas can beat 13 days ....

And the Mike Hall dot is at Pie Town, so he really stepped on the gas during his last day and half.

It's going to be close, but I think he's going to be a bit into the 13th day.  As I type, Justinas is 31 miles from the border with 75 minutes of the 12th day left.

If you would have told me on June 14th that I would be typing that previous sentence, I would have thought you were nuts.  What a race!!

An almost immediate update.  Justinas' dot is moving again...9mph.  That storm was right there...it must have been raining within a mile of Justinas' dot.  Ulrich's dot - completely covered by rain - is also moving...8mph.  But there's a LOT of rain around him.  We'll see if his progressed is hampered.

There's never a dull moment on the Divide!!

The monsoons have hit both our leaders in NM.  Storms have wrapped around Ulrich just north of Wall Lake (south of the Beaverhead Work Center).  Justinas is right on the edge of a substantial storm just outside of Silver City.  I can't tell if it has doused the route he's riding, but it's very, VERY close.  The dots over the next hours will tell the tale, but it appears he was leaving town and border-bound!

Mike Hall's dot is making what might be its final rest in Silver City.  RIP Mike.  You will always be a champion!!

I think Justinas has got this thing ... he's just stamping out the miles. 20 miles from Pie Town

This is an unbelievable ride, for sure.  Now I'm wondering...is a sub-13-day time possible for Justinas?  Barring an issue, he could potentially get to Silver City late this afternoon.  The WNW winds are almost completely neutral to the route, and even provide a bit of push in places.  Silver City weather shows minimal chances of rain.  The conditions are about as ideal as possible.  If he reaches SC around 6pm (not impossible given his pace), he could do another two-hour power nap and have 12 hours to make the border and still have a "12" in the day part of the time.

The fact that I can type all and not have all of you reading call me a lunatic is a testament to Justinas' other-worldly ride.  And Mike Hall's route didn't include walking Koko Claims and the somewhat slower Highland Rockies Trail on Day 1.

Flood watches have been issued for Grants and areas around there.  The next 24 hours could get very interesting.

https://weather.com/weather/alerts/localalerts/l/5e446f5aafcdafdc6bc52a4454cfdb88eaa46665aaf4e7224e2ed3d41c0ad9a2?phenomena=FA&significance=A&areaid=NMZ207&office=KABQ&etn=0008

Give it up for Meaghan Hackinen!  She is relentless, taking over (again) the women's record, just slightly in front of Lael Wilcox's dot. 

The monsoon kicked off here in Southern Arizona yesterday afternoon ( it "seems" like it's a week early ) the pattern is usually a curve from here or just east of here into New Mexico ....  be interesting to see what happens in New Mexico, having been stopped dead in my tracks there a couple of times.  

Justinas is simply cruising along ... in Del Norte now with the Mike Hall dot near Sargents. Awesome efforts being put down.

Justinas and Ulrich...well, there are no adequate adjectives for what we're watching.  It's as though the Hounds of Hell are after those two riders!!  Ulrich might be in second place, but he's slowing reeling Justinas in.  Both are in New Mexico:  Justinas is tackling the new CDT section added this year, and Ulrich is a handful of miles from that section.  The gap between the two (as I type) is less than 15 miles and Mike Hall's dot is a distant memory in Del Norte.  Remember when we watched dots in 2016, just awed by what Mike was doing?!?  It's happening again!

Remarkable!!

Justinas Leveika continues to set a torrid pace, getting ready to cross Cochetopa Pass as I type.  How he is able to put down this kind of speed on 2-3 hour "power" naps - the last one appears to have been at Tomichi Creek Trading Post in Sargents - is beyond me.  And Ulrich B. is just 3-4 hours back...lurking...stalking...waiting maybe...to make his big move.  Both are well in front of Mike Hall's legendary 2016 dot.  Based on what I can see of the NM fire situation, it doesn't appear that reroutes will be necessary...unless something fires up.  So at this point, only catastrophic mud, physical ailment, or bike breakdown will keep Mike's record around for another year.  In 2016, I wrote that for someone to beat Mike's time (given the body's need for rest), someone was just going to have to ride it faster.  Justinas is fully .5mph faster overall (so far) than Mike was.  Laurens Ten Dam's pace is still good, but it appears he will be content with the final spot on the podium.  His off-route excursion to deal with tire issues has likely put paid to any chance of victory.

The women's race is very interesting.  Meaghan Hackinen, after stopping for a good rest at Brush Mountain, appears to have fallen behind Lael Wilcox's dot.  But history has shown Ms. Hackinen capable of out-pacing the current record-holder, so we'll see how the next couple of days play out.  As I type, Ana Jager is "sleeping it off" at Brush Mountain as well, just a couple of hours back of Meaghan.  Both the men's and women's races have the potential to be very exciting.

There's no precip in the area this morning, so let the cyclists just duke it out!!!

Great stuff, for sure...and thanks Joe for keeping the call-ins coming.  I wish more riders took advantage...

Big storms are pounding Meaghan Hackinen, Cade Reichenberger, and Aiden Lampe as they leave the Basin and push toward Savery.  Yikes!!

Storms are forming up in the Basin, just as the weather predicted they might.  Our leaders, unlike last year, have escaped their clutches.  Timing is everything.  Justinas is rolling into Steamboat Springs and Ulrich is lurking a few hours back.  Laurens Ten Dam continues to impress and Meaghan Hackinen is doing her utmost to both best Lael Wilcox's record and put herself into 4th overall.

But for now, my eyes are focused on the Basin and how the storms may affect those approaching in the next 12-18 hours.

FYI, New Mexico fire conditions can be seen here:

https://nmfwri.org/gis-projects/the-new-mexico-fire-viewer/

What a difference a day makes!!

Yesterday morning the leaders were fighting snow, rain, and the ability to keep up with Mike Hall.  Well, that was yesterday morning...

THIS morning sees Justinas nearly 100 miles up on the course record - and appearing to take a siesta at Flagg Ranch - and Ulrich 50 miles up.  Laurens Ten Dam has reeled in Mike's dot and with his speed, will likely pass it today.  There's still a LOT of race to go, but considering the potential weather conditions from a couple of days ago, the pace has been astounding.  Meaghan Hackinen has kept up her blistering pace with Ana Jager just a half day back.

There are still three fires in New Mexico that are in proximity to the TD route, so there is still reason for concern.  But for the leaders (both men's and women's), it's potentially a record-breaker.

Ulrich Bartholmoes has been flying in less than ideal conditions today, moving to just 15 miles off Justinas' lead as he drops off Fleecer Ridge and lands at Wise River.  Laurens Ten Dam is just a further 15 miles back.  Justinas is running neck-and-neck with Mike Hall's spirit.  I predict that Mike's dot will stop at Montana High Country Lodge and remain there for about six hours...one of the two six-hour stops he's made every years since '16.  It's a long way to Silver City, but could we see a repeat of the 2015 Kato-Petervary-Beltchenko throwdown?...time will tell.

I don't know if Meaghan Hackinen has ever been confused with former F1 driver Mika Hakkinen, but it's appropriate...the woman has pace and is flying!!!

Sorry I haven't posted the calls in here. There are a few out there from Rick Ashton and Marty Johnson. They  called in this morning to say they plan to by-pass The Wall.

http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/td24/

Thanks so much for posting these, Joe.  They're a highlight of the TD for sure...and my yearly moment of silence and a tip of the cap for my absolute favorite caller, Hal Russell.

One other note to add...

Looking a bit further ahead, there has been some rain and snow on the Bannack Rd south of Polaris, though it doesn't appear to have been especially heavy.  And what's more, there's essentially a 100% of rain/snow today, though not a lot of accumulation.  Both Justinas and Ulrich will likely reach the area sometime today (unless they stop at MHCL to rest), so we'll see how they fare.

Well, there's all kinds of rain and snow around the riders this morning, but Justinas continues to push at a furious pace.  As I type, he's cleared Helena and one of the "big 3" climbs on the route (Park City/Lava Mtn) and is arriving in Basin.  He is ~15 miles in front of Mike Hall's spirit and about 30 miles ahead of Ulrich, who appears to have stopped and rested a few hours in Helena.  Both riders are currently outpacing Mike's 2016 average of ~11mph.

The Winter Storm Warning continues until 6am tomorrow (Tuesday), so things will not improve until tomorrow afternoon, and it's possible tonight's conditions will be worse than last night.  The good news is that borderline freezing temps usually means all hard-surface roads are only wet with no accumulations - and various webcams in the region seem to be bearing that out - but loose-surface roads and trails, especially as the elevation climbs, could be a much different story.  We'll see.

Back to stalking...