{"id":647236,"date":"2026-06-19T13:48:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T13:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/647236\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T13:48:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T13:48:19","slug":"tour-divide-day-6-7-acclimation-and-grit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/647236\/","title":{"rendered":"Tour Divide Day 6-7: Acclimation and Grit"},"content":{"rendered":"

A week into the 2026 Tour Divide, the race has revealed its true character. Victor Bosoni is still flying across the continent, but behind him, the Divide is exacting its toll through crashes, swollen knees, nosebleeds, and mounting fatigue that\u2019s reshuffling the standings. Through it all, the top singlespeeder stretches an astonishing lead, and Meaghan Hackinen continues a remarkable ride, pushing deeper into record territory. Find all the gritty details in our latest update\u2026<\/p>\n

\t\"Tailfin\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photos by Eddie Clark<\/a><\/p>\n

Thursday was another beautiful day on the Tour Divide route. As lead rider Victor Bosoni declared, \u201cIt\u2019s just sunny all of the time. Crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it was also the seventh day of an extremely demanding race. This is usually about the time that the body has redirected all systems to prioritize forward motion. Cuts and bruises take longer to heal, digestion slows, and the brain\u2019s emotional regulation begins to break down. Every feeling rushes to the surface, sending riders on a wild ride that undulates between exhilaration and despair. Bosoni demonstrated this swing in his Instagram videos. In one, he whoops with joy as he zips past resting cattle in the Great Divide Basin. In another, he is overcome with tears after learning that his brother plans to meet him at the finish line. <\/p>\n

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Top: Meaghan Hackinen climbing Togwotee dry with little snow left<\/p>\n

Bosoni has been dealing with a mechanical issue caused by loose screws in his rear bag. He estimated he lost about two hours trying to fix the issue on Wednesday. He was frustrated, but the setback turned out to be fortuitous. Although he\u2019d planned to ride to Steamboat Springs on Wednesday night, he found himself at Brush Mountain Lodge in the evening. The owner, longtime Tour Divide trail angel Kirsten Henricksen, served Bosoni the nutritious food he\u2019d been craving and set him up with a bed and laundry service. After a six-hour stop and a \u201cfull reset,\u201d Bosoni was back on the road, clean and grateful for the boost after an emotional rollercoaster of a day. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn a race like this, every unexpected problem requires patience and adaptation,\u201d Bosoni wrote on Instagram. \u201cBut once back on the bike, it was all bout the immensity of endless deserts\u2014raw and breathtaking landscapes that give you that unique feeling of being tiny in the middle of nowhere. And then there are the encounters that change everything. Huge thanks to Kirsten for her kindness, hospitality, and for giving me a moment of peace that made me forget all the struggles of the road, even if only for a little while.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mikko Kainu between the mud ruts in Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge<\/p>\n

Bosoni held a 200-mile lead on second-position rider Laurens Ten Dam when he appeared to stop in Breckenridge, Colorado, on Thursday evening. Angus Young was about 50 miles behind Ten Dam in third position. Xavier Chiriboga has moved up to fourth position after problems with mechanicals, a serious nosebleed, and foot pain earlier in the race. Chiriboga was followed closely by Finnish rider Mikko Kainu. <\/p>\n

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Meaghan Hackinen is all smiles<\/p>\n

Lead woman Meaghan Hackinen has moved to sixth position overall. She was tracking more than 140 miles in front of her own Grand Depart record pace, and almost 400 miles ahead of her closest competition, Torin Lackmann and Alyssa Secreto, who rode through Lima, Montana, on Thursday afternoon. Hackinen is crushing miles, and it seems she\u2019s having a great time doing so. On Instagram, she described interactions she\u2019s enjoyed in recent days. Near Red Rock Lakes, she passed a group of fellow Canadians, \u201cwaving flags and playing my song\u2014aka \u2018Oh Canada.\u2019\u201d Later, she met a TransAm rider on a stretch of road where the TransAmerica Trail and the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route overlap. The woman had read Hackinen\u2019s book about the TransAm and felt inspired to ride the route. \u201cFunny we should meet out here,\u201d Hackinen said. <\/p>\n

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Felix Laberge lead singlespeeder looking down the Cabin Creek descent<\/p>\n

Top singlespeed rider Felix Laberge was riding close to Hackinen in eighth position overall as they neared the Great Divide Basin on Thursday evening. He had nearly 300 miles on his closest singlespeed competitor, Scott Petrie. He was also moving about 80 miles in front of the historical dot of Chris Plesko, the current singlespeed record holder.<\/p>\n

Previous top-five contender David Tshcan has been taking an extended break in Pinedale, Wyoming. Tshcan crashed his bike on Tuesday night, injuring both of his knees. After riding more than 230 miles on Wednesday, one of his knees \u201cblew up like a balloon, and after it turned into a broomstick while resupplying in Pinedale, I decided I should get it checked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The good news, Tschan said, is that he hasn\u2019t broken any bones. But the doctor in Pinedale said the swelling made it impossible to determine the extent of damage in his knee. She recommended that Tschan stop riding, since continuing could risk further damage if something was wrong with the soft tissue. As of Thursday evening, Tschan had been resting in Pinedale for more than 24 hours and planned to spend another night icing his knee while deciding whether to continue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have a great feeling about it, so now I\u2019m in between\u2014maybe it\u2019s nothing, and I will beat myself up about it in two weeks when the swelling is gone, and I get an MRI. Or on the other hand, it might be something, and I\u2019m going to beat myself up about not listening to my body and causing damage to my knee. It\u2019s just tough.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Tschan said the decision is hard because he invested so much time, training, and money into racing at a high level in the Tour Divide this year, and he was having a lot of fun racing other top riders. But he also doesn\u2019t want to risk chronic knee issues down the road. \u201cThis will be there next year, but I only have two knees,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Tshcan is not the only top rider left bloodied by the Divide. Many riders have complained of nosebleeds, with Angus Young of England sporting a blood-stained jersey and Xavier Chiriboga of Ecuador calling the issue severe. It seems likely that cyclists from overseas aren\u2019t as conditioned to the hot, dry climate of the Mountain West. Lack of acclimation also tends to lead to more breathing problems from allergic reactions to dust and other irritants. <\/p>\n

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Xavier Chiriboga on the top of Medicine Lodge Rd (also on cover)<\/p>\n

Despite these disadvantages, international riders are dominating the 2026 Tour Divide. As of Thursday evening, the top American was riding in 11th place overall. Brian Elander of Moab, Utah, is a 24-year-old rookie. He too seems to be having a great time in the stellar weather riders have enjoyed for much of the week, peppering his Strava updates with photos of long, lonely roads and dazzling sunsets. On Thursday, he posted a video while sitting outside a convenience store surrounded by snacks and empty beverage containers. \u201cThe strange looks I\u2019m getting outside these gas stations are increasing, which means the Tour Divide effect is working,\u201d he said as he chugged a can of Coke. <\/p>\n

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Top: Dries Van Der Kleij with Fish Creek behind him; Above left: Yossi Baruch crossing Fish Creek Bridge on Union; Above right: Mikko Kainu descending at 10:30 p.m. on Fish Lake Mountain Road<\/p>\n

The Rio Fire, which sparked Tuesday evening on Polvadera Mesa in Northern New Mexico, remains a concern for riders. The fire is burning in steep terrain just a few miles west of the route near Vallecitos. Firefighters have been battling the blaze aggressively and limited its spread to an updated perimeter of 166 acres on Thursday evening. There are currently no evacuations or road closures in place, but the fire is 0% contained as it burns through brush and heavy dead-and-down fuel. Friday\u2019s weather in Abiquiu is forecast to be hot, 92 degrees, with a 10-mile-per-hour west wind that could drive flames closer to the route. <\/p>\n

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Meaghan Hackinen yard sale<\/p>\n

But for most Divide riders, Friday should be another gorgeous day. The Colorado high country will see sunshine and temperatures in the high 70s. Temperatures across the Great Divide Basin should be similar, although the tailwind will begin to shift to a more northerly crosswind. Farther north in Montana, a sunny day on Friday will start to give way to a greater chance of thunderstorms on Saturday, which could stir up difficult mud conditions for the back half of the field. <\/p>\n

2026 Tour Divide coverage supported by<\/p>\n

<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\"Tracker\"\/<\/a>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.<\/a><\/p>\n

Further Reading<\/p>\n

Make sure to dig into these related articles for more info…<\/p>\n

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Please keep the conversation civil, constructive, and inclusive, or your comment will be removed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A week into the 2026 Tour Divide, the race has revealed its true character. Victor Bosoni is still…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":647237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[173302,173298,173299,173303,50635,173300,50634,4985,101,173305,173301,387,56,54,55,173304],"class_list":["post-647236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-adventure-cycling","tag-bicycle-touring","tag-bike-touring","tag-bike-tours","tag-bike-packing","tag-bikepacking","tag-cycle-touring","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-stealth-camping","tag-touring-bikes","tag-travel","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-world-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=647236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/647237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=647236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=647236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=647236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}