The attrition has begun at the 2026 Tour Divide. As riders battle elevation, crashes, knee pain, and respiratory issues, race leader Victor Bosoni seems almost unfazed, riding a powerful tailwind into Idaho and stretching his advantage. Meanwhile, Meaghan Hackinen continues to rewrite the women’s pace chart, while several top contenders have already shifted their focus from racing to simply enjoying the journey. Find all that and more here…

Photos by Eddie Clark

Dots are beginning to fall as the brutally fast pace of this year’s Tour Divide takes its toll on many riders. But leader Victor Bosoni continues charging forward, riding a westerly tailwind and expanding his triple-digit lead on his competitors.

On Monday night, Bosoni arrived at his cabin near Mack’s Inn in Idaho much earlier than he expected. He had a rough start in the morning when a screw came off his rear bag support, causing it to wobble. But he was able to locate a spare screw and fix it on the go. The elevation was wearing him down, and he said he felt like he was “taking a beating.” But a strong west wind—reportedly gusting 30 to 40 miles per hour in the afternoon—propelled him forward.

“We had the wind at our backs. Incredible,” he said on Instagram (translated from French). “It really helped. I had this goal to get here, but it was a bit ambitious. I was thinking of arriving around midnight or one in the morning. It’s 10:37 p.m., which is good.

He reported his stats for the day: 272.2 miles (438 kilometers) with 15,003 feet (4,573 meters) of climbing for 16 hours and 27 minutes, netting an average moving pace of 16.5 miles per hour (26.6 kilometers per hour). After a proper night of sleep—more than six hours of stopped time—Bosoni targeted Pinedale, another 240 miles down the route, on Tuesday. He has been closely following the pace of the 2025 winner, Robin Gremperle, including the locations of his rest stops. Bosoni reportedly studied Gremperle’s ride to learn more about the route. By Tuesday evening, he was beginning to pull away from the historical dot, more than 160 miles in front of second-position rider, Laurens Ten Dam.

Alex Malex (singlespeed) and his bag of chips

Three riders remain in the main chase group, and all are still riding near Grand Depart record pace: Ten Dam, David Tschan, and Angus Young. But the strain is beginning to show. Tschan said he was struggling with breathing difficulties, likely caused by allergies.

“Yesterday, my breathing problems kind of got out of hand,” he said. “Started on day two or three when I started coughing up mucous, little tubes of green slime. What happens over time is that the capacity of your lungs feels drastically reduced. I couldn’t get my heartbeat up anymore because I was restricted by my air intake.”

Tschan went on a hunt for allergy medication and found some, but he said he’s still not feeling 100 percent. After stopping at Mack’s Inn on Tuesday evening, he posted a photo of his bloody knee on Instagram. “We had a bit of a crash. One knee is cut up, and the other is swollen,” he wrote. “The swollen knee is honestly the biggest problem right now. Early night today, and we’ll see how it looks in a few hours.”

Colin Hart

Young was also struggling with lung congestion. “The amount of green coming out of my lungs was ridiculous,” Young said. “No wonder I couldn’t get any air in. My breathing rate was like VO2 Max.” But he reported that his breathing improved on Tuesday.

A second chase group was riding about 60 miles behind Young on Tuesday evening, including leading woman Meaghan Hackinen. She was tracking more than 90 miles ahead of her own Grand Depart record dot, and 60 miles in front of the overall women’s record. Hackinen reported that her spirits are high, and she’s feeling so strong that she’s flying up mountain passes. She camped near the base of Fleecer Ridge on Monday night and appeared to be targeting Idaho on Tuesday.

Hackinen’s competition continues to fall back. Previously riding in second position, Karin Pocock announced on Tuesday that she was dropping to a touring pace after coping with knee issues. “Pushing the left knee just isn’t in the cards right now, so I’m going to take a big rest in Helena and continue touring this beautiful route as the joint allows,” she wrote on Instagram.

Alyssa Secreto and Torin Lackmann have moved into the second-position chase group, nearly 270 miles behind Hackinen.

Dylan Taylor on the last sneaky bit of singletrack coming down from Richmond

Another previously strong contender, Alex McCormack, also announced he planned to fall back to a touring pace. “Race pace is done for me,” he wrote on Instagram. “2026 has burnt too many matches. Resentment was creeping in. Enjoyment is the aim.”

Felix Laberge continues to dominate the singespeed contingent, riding in eighth position overall. He was nearly 30 miles ahead of Chris Plesko’s record pace as he came into Lima, Montana, for a rest.

The weather should remain beautiful throughout Wednesday, with clear skies and temperatures in the mid-70s. A west-northwest wind will likely continue blowing 20 to 30 miles per hour, which could be more of a quartering crosswind for Bosoni. Sunny, breezy weather is forecast to continue through the weekend, when the chance of afternoon thunderstorms increases.

Stay tuned for more coverage from the 2026 Tour Divide, and be sure to check out the Tracker page to follow along on the live tracking map. Find it here.

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