Tour Divide 2015 - race discussion thread

[tassava]

Such a great race, and such a great thread here. I'm a huge JayP fan, and as such I'd toss out two items that I'm pondering with respect to the endgame here. First, he got outmaneuvered at the end of the Arrowhead 135 this winter (a far, far, far shorter race, of course) by a younger, less experienced rider. Second, he could have won the ITI this year but "sat up" in a super classy way to ride the last leg into Nome with Jeff Oatley, who pulled back at the line to let Jay finish "first." I dunno if Summer Jay is as inclined to be sporting as Winter Jay!

[gringo]

I read a number of articles when choosing a road bike on bike gearing and overall pace impacts, and the common thread was that given that the number of people who can really push the big gears at 90-100 rpm on the flat can be counted on the fingers of a careless woodsman, the gearing issue may not be such a significant factor. Of course, I see just now that Jay pulled out a mile on Neil on a slight downhill ....

based on photos on FB it looks like Neil is running not more than a 38*11 which is absolutely no match for a 50 or 53 on pavement. I don't know what you have read about gearing but based on personal experience l am gonna say that all other things being equal Jay has a huge advantage with his gearing for the final etappe.

Unrelated, but I don't understand why you would run a 1x in this event in the first place, the huge climbs combined with long flats are exactly why front derailleurs were invented. ( disclaimer: I run a 1x on all my bikes except the Fargo!) Big ups to NB that he can push a single ring over this route, I just don't see any advantage in doing so.

*pavement and flat being relative terms in this case!!

[Wayne]

Sounds as though spectators will be at finish? Is there an official line?

The border. Look around the web. There are photos of folks at the official border sign.

Wayne

[JF-mtnbiker]

Dang. Josh caught up yesterday but finds himself 30 miles in the hole leaving out of Pie Town. Seems JP was late for an appointment and in a big hurry to get to Pie Town but has backed off a bit now or Neil is just catching him because he is just one fast dude. Lovin some blue dots right now.

[mtnbound]

Looks like Josh stuck around Pie Town to eat some pie!  However, with this stop, he likely lost sufficient time to get back into the lead, with Jay and Neil pulling away.  Maybe he decided he wouldn't be able to cover the gap anyway and decided to relax a bit and eat some pie (after all, he deserved some pie after his huge effort!).  In any event, I am all for either a required 30 minute stop in pie town or 10 minute bonus for each piece of pie you eat (like Eszter mentioned)!

This is great race! Kudos to all the racers!

[Jgrooms]

The border. Look around the web. There are photos of folks at the official border sign.

Wayne

Yep and the border has a gate? You stop? If two cats are jamming down the road, where do they sprint to? Internet photos aside, has there ever been a 'sprint' finish.

And boy if that holds, it'd be difficult not to draft & try to get a jump.

[cousinmosquito]

I read a number of articles when choosing a road bike on bike gearing and overall pace impacts, and the common thread was that given that the number of people who can really push the big gears at 90-100 rpm on the flat can be counted on the fingers of a careless woodsman, the gearing issue may not be such a significant factor. Of course, I see just now that Jay pulled out a mile on Neil on a slight downhill ....

I think you nailed it on the head there Kiwi Dave. On the flat, loaded, a 1x will do, but with some long gentle downhill, you could glass-crank away with a double or triple and put on some pace and kms very quickly and easily while down on the aeros.

[ScottM]

Yep and the border has a gate? You stop? If two cats are jamming down the road, where do they sprint to? Internet photos aside, has there ever been a 'sprint' finish.

The very first divide race (in '04) came down to a 'sprint' in the final 20 miles between Mike Curiak and Pete Basigner.  I don't think it's been closer since.  If you're going to take it, you better have a good gap with a half mile out, because the border guards are going to expect you to stop, race or no.

[Bluechip]

Some of the border guards follow the race too. Maybe if it's close enough they could just open the gates and let them continue to the Panama Canal. 

[Mxhdroom]

Looks like Josh stuck around Pie Town to eat some pie!  However, with this stop, he likely lost sufficient time to get back into the lead, with Jay and Neil pulling away.  Maybe he decided he wouldn't be able to cover the gap anyway and decided to relax a bit and eat some pie (after all, he deserved some pie after his huge effort!).  In any event, I am all for either a required 30 minute stop in pie town or 10 minute bonus for each piece of pie you eat (like Eszter mentioned)!

This is great race! Kudos to all the racers!

Kid Riemer was handing out stem caps at the GD in Banff - one stem cap in Pie Town was good for two pieces of free pie, IIRC.

Maybe Josh got more than one? 

[mtbcast]

‪#‎TourDivide15‬ - Marty Johnson called in from Boulder!

http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/td15/

[Mxhdroom]

Looks like Jill Homer has run into some problems, according to this new Tweet. I hope she's OK:

https://twitter.com/AlaskaJill/status/614186954054348800

[multisportscott]

Nyet, this is considered very bad form.  Run what you brung, ship home (as in *you* take the time to ship it) or throw away -- no caching and retrieving.

I have to agree with earlier comments about no 'hand-holding' to the finish for Jay.  I doubt that's going to happen with a record on the line.  I'm surprised he has been 'holding hands' (using his own words) with Neil so much, anyway, after his 'eagles soar alone' commentary in years past.

So we have ourselves a horse race!  This is rare to see this late in the game, so the next 24 hours should be mighty interesting.  Good thing we upgraded the TL servers the other night. 

I'm rooting for Kato.  To get back in contact with the leaders after so long, when it's so easy to convince yourself they are out of reach -- that's impressive determination.  And he seems to be having fun, to boot.

Thanks for bringing up JayP's "holier than thou" rant from a couple of years ago Scott. I have found it interesting that he has ridden with Neil for so long in this years event after ranting on about how bad it was that Ollie and Craig seemed to ride together that year.
It has certainly been exciting to watch this year with such close racing.
Gutted for Seb Dunne :-(
Carry on

[mattman]

any link to the rant? I'm interested and could use some fun reading!

Ride on everyone on the trail!

[Yagi]

Not sure that it was so much a "holier than thou" rant, but I definitely remember it being an "if you coming to race, then race" doctrine.  Back when Toby was on here to instigate forum threads into novels.  Maybe I can find the thread...

This may have been the one:
http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/ultra-racing/racing-or-riding-the-td/msg18382/#msg18382

This probably wasn't the rant, though, that somebody else pointed out. 

[Krampus Snail]

It's scorching out there, much hotter than typical for this time of year. I hope Jill and all the racers are OK.

[EndoAgain]

Front derailleur and gearing: Advantages of a single chain ring up front may become apparent when they hit the mud. Broken chains and bent chain rings from the front derailleur jamming are mostly eliminated. Its certainly lighter (1/2-3/4 lb.)and did not keep Mike Hall from going fast. I don't think there is enough sustained downhill to give JP an advantage. Separ road is downhill but it is sandy and does have some washboard. The ONLY way I see his gearing working for him is IF they get a strong tail wind. Otherwise on a fully loaded TD bike on level ground the 1x system is more than enough.

JP: I think he IS racing and not riding with others. At this point in the race with three people so close their ability to sustain watts has to be roughly equal. No one has the power to overcome the others (Josh though certainly looked strong on the roads yesterday) so strategy comes into play. Its like watching single speeders dual it out.

Rest up Jill! Respect the heat!

[cccniuk]

Unrelated, but I don't understand why you would run a 1x in this event in the first place, the huge climbs combined with long flats are exactly why front derailleurs were invented. ( disclaimer: I run a 1x on all my bikes except the Fargo!) Big ups to NB that he can push a single ring over this route, I just don't see any advantage in doing so.

*pavement and flat being relative terms in this case!!

single chain ring is 550grams lighter than double when you include the mech. over 2750miles thats quite alot. with average speeds of 12-14mph on the flat, single chain ring should be plenty, on the flats mostpeople could not max out a 30X11 for any length of time. but your right, JP with his extensive experience of the route and the gearing on his cyclo cross hybrid will have a huge advantage on the final road section. but lets not forget neil has huge racing exprince as well.

very intresting to watch this unfold.

[pbarsom]

Thanks for bringing up JayP's "holier than thou" rant from a couple of years ago Scott. I have found it interesting that he has ridden with Neil for so long in this years event after ranting on about how bad it was that Ollie and Craig seemed to ride together that year.
It has certainly been exciting to watch this year with such close racing.
Carry on

They did ride together for a while there but JP has spent most of the race since Montana regularly putting a gap of between 2 and 30 miles between himself and Neil, and having/letting it close again late.  That looks like attacking to me, in the weird, slo-mo, hour-hand watching way that this race unfolds.  A ten mile lead in a bike race between well-matched, alert competitors is enormous, actually, but it's hard to remember that when you're looking at a map of the whole continent. Seems negligible but it still means somebody got dropped by a lot.  And some of bike racing is about marking the competition, anyway, even if only to assess their condition, so it'd be interesting to know what that's been about.  It looks to me like JP is coming out most days and just driving the pace, making the others try to match it and creating gaps.  Just going through his race plan?  What I wonder is why Neil hasn't/isn't/cant' attack.  Strategy?  Trying to ride his own tempo to even out energy expenditure until a big jump?  Does he hit the jets at Silver City?  Really interesting stuff.  Fantastic athletes.  Wow.  

[mtbcast]

Keep in mind what looks like side-by-side might be 100 yards. I dunno.