Day two of the 2025 Tour Divide has already delivered a heavy dose of highs and heartbreak. While frontrunners Robin Gemperle and Lael Wilcox continue to push record pace, several riders have been sidelined by illness, crashes, and forgotten food—yes, really. From a growing wildfire in New Mexico to a smashed helmet and suspected pneumonia, it’s a reminder that things can unravel fast in this race. Catch the full update here…

As day two of Tour Divide rolls on, while some riders are starting to settle into their respective rhythms, other riders have been met with disaster and despair. It’s often thought that major issues arise several days into a race like the Tour Divide, but stuff can go wrong off the bat. And for some riders, it has.

• Joe Nation of New Zealand caught some sort of bug on the flight over and has abandoned Tour Divide with suspected pneumonia after reporting his throat tasting like blood and developing breathing issues. Get better quick, Joe!
• The Kiwi tandem, Muurtle the Turtle, piloted by Geof Blance and Denise Thorn and headed northbound, has abandoned due to heat.
• Dirty Dan had a mega crash and smashed his helmet to pieces. He’s sourced a new helmet that he reports matches the dolphin on his handlebars.
• Maarten Van Haverbeke slashed his tire before Fernie. He used every trick in the book to get it to seal and managed to limp it along until a more permanent solution was found.
• Mateo Paez forgot all his food in Banff and had to ride to Fernie on eight gels.

At the front of the field, Robin Gemperle continues to hold his lead. After skipping sleep the first night, he took an extended break, and presumably took a nap, and the Echo Cafe north of the Swan Lake section. He took another nearly six-hour break in Ovando. The two stops in such a short period are worth noting…but not looking too deeply into. 88 hours in, he’s at mile 570, about 50 miles ahead of course record pace. Behind him, Svein Tuft and Mikko Kainu seem to be riding near each other. Tuft went off route to sleep at Holland Lake Lodge, which is not an insignificant detour, but it is in the middle of grizzly country. Still, interesting strategy choice for a race this close. According to his Instagram, Tuft is sticking to his plan and seeing how things end up in the end. The duo is still ahead of record pace, but not by much.

For the women, Lael Wilcox and Nathalie Ballion are proving to be quite well matched in terms of speed. Ballion led across the border but hinted that she wasn’t particularly confident that her lead would hold. Still, with more than two days on the clock, she’s holding on to a 13-mile lead over Wilcox, having covered nearly 460 miles. It seems like both women stopped for the night at the Swan River crossing before heading into the Swan River area, a section known for its bear density. Again, Ballion stopped for only about 2.5 hours, while Wilcox was down for her classic four. Both women are currently ahead of the record dot.

The big news on route is the Trout Fire has broken out in the Pinos Altos range in the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico, north of Silver City. It’s currently closed part of the Tour Divide route, and seems to be growing. It’s currently 12,000 acres. Northbound riders are already having to detour, and only time will tell what will happen to the southbound group.

Check out the 2025 Tour Divide Tracker page to follow along on the live tracking map, see our Rigs of the Tour Divide roundups, and stay tuned in for more event coverage. Find it here.

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