$1 Million Dollar Unsupported MTB race

[openroad]

Have you guys seen this race?

www.themunga.com

What do you think the winning time will be? 1000kms non-stop!

[Marshal]

around 3 days

[mountainjah]

You had me right up to the entry fee and prize money...

[Done]

$10,000 entry fee. Slower riders pay the winners.

I would rather get the ice cream.

[phil_rad]

10 grand for registration fee's?! Get real! Doesn't self-support mean NO support?  Looks like this is a semi-self-support race for the rich. No doubt a tough course but still not even close to the TDR, AZT 750, CTR  or others. Would bear spray work on a full grown lion? Yikes!

[Done]

Five aid stations. Unsupported? Hell, it's not even self-supported.

Hardest race in the word? $10,000 sure buys a lot of hype.

Probably a great race for those who are into this style of competition. But not really fair to compare it to the classic self-supported bikepacking races.

[phil_rad]

Five aid stations. Unsupported? Hell, it's not even self-supported.

Hardest race in the word? $10,000 sure buys a lot of hype.

Probably a great race for those who are into this style of competition. But not really fair to compare it to the classic self-supported bikepacking races.

Exactly Toby!

[openroad]

3 Days? Surely quicker? Mike Hall covered that distance in last years TD in the Rockies in just over 3 days! 50 hours maybe?

[ScottM]

Yeah, no comparison, though Alex Harris has completed the Divide as he says on the site.

16 pages of rules,  including anti-doping controls.  Wow.  Way to take the simplicity out of ultra racing.

Also, no women's category, so the prize money is all for the dudes.

Seems very shortsighted to me.

[the tortoise]

I thought Toby would be all over Those reams of rules!

[Jilleo]

In fairness, it doesn't look like this Web site made a direct comparison to self-supported bikepacking races, beyond stating that one of the race organizers completed the Tour Divide. It's clearly not their market, either. They're looking for fast riders who are willing to put it all on the line for a whole lot of prize money, thereby generating the widespread interest they're surely aiming for (it takes a lot of sponsors to fill a $1 million purse; entry fees won't begin to cover that plus expenses.)

Not exactly my thing either, but I find it intriguing. No other ultra-endurance race of any sort offers that kind of money. People in ultrarunning are always chattering about what might happen if elite marathoners had incentive to show up for a 100-mile trail run. In a way, this might be similar. 1,000 km? It's a little more complicated than Tour Divide terrain, and it's hot, really hot, in December. One aid station every 200 km isn't exactly a ton of support. I'm guessing they're banking on pros showing up. I can't be the only one who thinks it will be interesting to see what happens.

[james-o]

I guess the anti-doping rules are needed, as soon as there's $$ involved people have the incentive. Or, it attracts Pros already on the stuff.

Interesting race .. and knowing Alex, the intro doesn't seem OTT or lacking source-credibility. It's a fair question, what motivates you to dig deepest? For most in a classic GD+self-support event it'll be a simple need to answer their own questions, for others here it's kudos and $$.

[Mike McElveen]

There are other intriguing questions this race asks.  One I'd ask the racers AFTER their race is "You know there are people who do a race four times this long for nothing?  What would motivate you to do something like that?" 

The race is inherently different when the incentives are different.  If the incentives were there I have little doubt that someone like Phillip Sausser or Todd Wells or Julian Absalon would take days, not hours off Mike Hall's TD time.  The question is, what would that incentive have to be.  What makes the big grassroots bikepacking races unique is that it takes  "no" external incentive, much like the original mountain bike cross country races.  You bring your own internal incentives, just like the support.

Jill is right.  The format is intriguing, but it's an apples and oranges comparison.   

[Done]

In fairness, it doesn't look like this Web site made a direct comparison to self-supported bikepacking races, beyond stating that one of the race organizers completed the Tour Divide.

From the website: "This time I came third, but no blanket. Just a handshake from the US border police and an ice cream. Yup. You heard me right, an ice cream. Race the world's toughest mountain bike race for 17 days and all you get is an ice cream. It intrigued me that someone would race their heart out for nothing more than the satisfaction of finishing."

Further: "The time has come. The time is now. Its time to recognize the racers that have lived largely in the shadows and obscurity while their colleagues bask in the glory."

Seems to me that they are clearly aiming at TD types who feel that they didn't get the recognition or prizes that they deserved. The pitch is straightforward: Relish in the hype, and race for the money!

The race seems like a great opportunity for those who are motivated by fame and fortune. Lots of people out there like that for sure. Probably many more than those who are motivated internally. I wish them the best of luck, even if I wouldn't be caught dead joining them!

[Eszter]

I can't be the only one who thinks it will be interesting to see what happens.

I'm definitely intrigued.

The lack of gender fairness in terms of prize money definitely rubs me the wrong way...but that's just me.

My gut instinct was that adding money to bikepack racing was ridiculous, lame, etc etc. But...if there was equal prize money between the genders...I can't honestly say that I wouldn't take a gamble with the entry fee and give it a shot.

Fame and fortune thru bikepacking...yup.

[dream4est]

The World Series of Poker is also a  10k entry fee. Pros vs. schmoes. I could see where 700k first prize is enticing to big time players. Maybe even road pros or athletes from other sports. I would like to see Ned Overend hook up a fast teammate and kill it.

Not unsupported bikepacking really. I say go for it. No wonder Alex didnt bring it up here it isnt a unsupported bikepack race its a super throwdown race like the WSOP but on bikes not drinking and smoking in Vegas!

[dgjessee]

This $10,000 entry is bullshit. No one who isn't sponsored is likely gonna dole that out. I do think it's an interesting concept... I love that our "sporting community" is based on racing for adventure and backslaps, but it would be kind of cool if there was an optional $100 entry "donation." Just like buying into a March madness pool. If you don't donate, that's cool, you just aren't eligible to win. Say you have 100 racers (that donate): make/female winner gets $2500, the rest is doled out in a way that recognizes every single racer. Like the guy who guesses closest on how many days/hours it will take him/her; the person who logs the most accidental detour miles...etc.

[Eszter]

Entry fees for 6-day adventure races are ~$6,500. $10k is a lot, but it's not unheard of. This sounds like they're trying to do something similar - big entry fees, big prize money, big hype...except without the paddling/running/climbing and other silliness.

I personally loved getting an ice cream bar at the end of TD. That, combined with Pie Town, totally made it all worth it.

From a spectator point of view, I'd love to see the top bikepackers face off against adventure racers and the likes.

As for pros...many have lined up for AZT/CTR/TD etc and suffered mightily. Same with adventure racers.

[Jilleo]

I agree it's short-sighted to not include a women's category. However, it's difficult to set up a prize structure without equal-opportunity giving, and my guess would be they don't want to dilute the eye-popping value of $700K.

I can't help but look at this from an ultrarunning point of view. Prize money was only recently introduced to that sport in a few races, and so far it hasn't changed much. The same prize-free races are still immensely popular, and no Kenyan has yet come out of the woodwork to crush the entire field. Joe Shmoes continue to do what they want to do, and even the faster runners in the sport don't seem to base their calendar on money races. But it still generates arguments about doping, purity of the sport, etc.

Still, distance running offers relatively small potatoes money — $12,000 for Run Rabbit Run, $10,000 for the North Face 50. These organizers decided to go big right out of the gate, probably in hopes of actually enticing people out of the woodwork. It's a big gamble for everyone involved, which of course is what makes it intriguing. You could be a decent 24-hour racer and sign up, but who knows who will show up on race day? Oh, the drama. World Series of Poker is an apt comparison.

Yeah, it's kind of silly. But it should make for good stories. I'll definitely have the popcorn ready if it actually pans out.

[DaveH]

What a fascinating concept. I say we start a sponsorship for two of our favorites and get them in. I vote for Krefs and Jefe, interested guys?