Riders ready to start Tour Divide

A huge field is set to start the 2011 Tour Divide on Friday, June 10. Seventy racers are on the start list for beginning at the northern end in Banff, Alberta, Canada, while another 18 are planning on starting from the southern terminus at Antelope Wells, New Mexico.

Of those signed up in advance, only 10 are veterans; the rest are rookies. Notably, five-time winner and well known Divide racer Matt Lee is not listed on the Tour Divide 2011 start list.

The Tour Divide is a self-supported annual race covering 2745 miles (4418km) along the Continental Divide in the US and part of Canada. It requires no entry fee or formal registration. There are no prizes for finishing. Riders call in to a toll-free number en route to leave voicemails with their status updates. They are also tracked in real time by spot trackers.

In 2010, Lee won the seventh edition of the Tour Divide in a time of 17 days, 15 hours and 10 minutes.

To follow the progress of racers, visit the race website, including the live tracker at http://tourdivide.org.

Tour Divide Start List