Triple Crown of Bikepacking
The bikepacking triple crown informally refers to completing all three of the classic dirt bikepacking routes in the USA. These are:
- Arizona Trail – ~750 miles
- Great Divide Mountain Bike Route – ~2800 miles
- Colorado Trail – ~500 miles
All three routes have free and loosely organized events held annually, but completing the triple crown is not contingent on participating in any of them. This is a touring/completion feat similar to the Triple Crown of Hiking.
The only standards, for the purposes of bikepacking.net’s completion page, are the following:
- Cover at least 90% of the generally accepted bike routes for each
- Complete the routes under your own power, riding a continuous line
- No time limit
- Support is fine, but bikepackers are generally self-supported
The race routes for each year are a good rough guide for what is ‘generally accepted’ as the bike route. For the GDMBR, the Canadian section is optional, per ACA’s guidelines for completion at their register (this is also the source of the 90% standard).
Triple Crown Finishers
Aaron Denberg
Alexandera Houchin
Alice Drobna
Ana Jager
Andrew Strempke
Brett Stepanik
Craig Fowler (+hiking Triple Crown)
David Goldberg
Dean Anderson (Canada)
Dylan Taylor
Eric Foster
Eszter Horanyi
Forest Baker
Hanoch Redlich (Israel)
Hannah Simon
Indiana Schulz
Isaac Denny (2018 Calendar Triple)
Jay Petervary
Jefe Branham
Jill Hueckman
Johana Stastna (Czech Republic)
John Fairbairn
Josh Tucker
Justin Smith
Katya Rakhmatulina
Ken Blakey-Shell
Kristen Tonsager
Kurt Refsnider
Kurt Sandiforth
Mark Caminiti
Marshal Bird
Max Morris
Pavel Machacek (Czech Republic)
Rick Miller
Robert Orr
Roman Bojda (Slovakia)
Randall Brandt
Scott Morris
Sheila Torres-Blank
To submit your triple crown completion, simply comment with your name and the year you finished the last of the three below.
The Triple Crown Challenge
The triple crown challenge was dreamed up by bikepacker David Goldberg in 2012. It is to complete the three classic dirt bikepacking events in one calendar year: The Arizona Trail 750, Tour Divide and The Colorado Trail Race. This is a huge undertaking, both in terms of total time spent pedaling and especially managing the short recovery time between the events. Kurt Sandiforth was the first to complete the challenge in 2012 and set the benchmark for the fastest time.
It is understood that all efforts should be undertaken as a part of the Grand Depart of each event. ITTs of all three are respectable (and still happily documented here), but not considered a full triple crown challenge completion.
Background on the triple crown challenge: THE FIRST TRIPLE BIKEPACKING CROWN
Triple Crown Challenge Finishers
Jay Petervary (2015) – 7:20:03 / 14:11:48 / 5:10:42 / Total 27:18:33 (Current Men’s Record)
Dylan Taylor (2015) – 8:06:58 / 15:02:59 / 5:17:23 / Total 29:03:20
Kurt Sandiforth (2012) – 9:05:36 / 16:22:04 / 5:10:15 / Total 31:13:55
Katya Rakhmatulina (2023) – 09:19:52 / 17:08:48 / 5:01:53 / Total 32:06:33 (Current Women’s Record)
Andrew Strempke (2022, singlespeed) – 10:23:30 / 16:19:12 / 6:12:20 / Total 34:07:02 (Men’s Singlespeed record)
Robert Orr (2015) – 9:08:09 / 18:07:41 / 6:20:39 / Total 34:12:29
Indiana Schulz (2023) – 12:13:11 / 16:17:25 / 5:06:19 / Total 34:12:55
Alexandera Houchin (2023, singlespeed) – 10:13:36 / 18:18:26 / 05:14:31 / Total 34:22:33 (Women’s singlespeed record)
Hannah Simon (2023) – 11:11:23 / 18:11:13 / 06:07:28 / Total: 36:06:04
Alice Drobna (2015, singlespeed) – 9:13:53 / 19:22:04 / 6:18:59 / Total 36:06:56
Forest Baker (2013) – 10:14:45 / 18:11:51 / 7:13:51 / Total 35:40:27
Ana Jager (2022) – 12:06:11 / 19:00:44 / 6:07:28 / Total 37:14:23
Brett Stepanik (2017, singlespeed) – 10:7:54 / 21:15:57 / 7:12:58 / Total 39:12:49
Eric Foster (2013) – 10:11:15 / 23:11:50 / 6:23:00 / Total 39:46:05
Kristen Tonsager (2023) – 12:01:39 / 21:17:56 / 06:13:46 / Total 40:09:21
Mark Caminiti (2015) – 11:04:41 / 23:03:56 / 8:18:44 / Total 43:03:21
Josh Tucker (2023, singlespeed) – 16:18:43 / 21:14:46 / 7:15:12 / Total 46:00:41
Mark Caminiti (2014) – 11:12:38 / 27:10:25 / 8:08:56 / Total 46:31:59
Ian MacNab (2016) – 15:10:14 / 23:02:12 / 10:11:44 / Total 49:00:10
Please, if you have finished the challenge, submit your finish times (and total time) in the comments below to have them added to the finisher’s list.
Jesse on 
Financial planning on 
Martin on 
Rod on 
best dark techno 2023 on 
ScottM on 
John Schilling on 
Don Hauer on
I think I am possibly a triple crown finisher, with ctr inaug. 2013, aztr this year, and depending how you apply the 90% rule, the GDR this year (I missed impassable section). Thanks, Aaron denberg
Added Aaron Denberg and Kurt Refsnider to triple crown finishers, adding to the initial list of: David Goldberg Eric Foster Eszter Horanyi Forest Baker Jill Hueckman Kurt Sandiforth Mark Caminiti Marshal Bird Max Morris Scott Morris
Here are my times
Az trail-10:11:15
Tour Divide-23:11:50
Colorado Trail-6:23:?
Guess I’m a triple crown finisher, just completed the AZTR!
Congrats, Robert! Added Eric’s times, as well, thanks Eric.
Scott – Please add me to the Triple Crown finishers list. CTR 2010, TD 2012, AZT750 2015. Thanks! Dylan
Congrats, Dylan. The short list grows!
According to TrackLeaders the missing info from above is:
Forest Baker (2013) AZT: 10:11:15, TD: 23:11:50, and CT: 06:23:00
Mark Caminiti (2014) AZT: 11:12:38, TD: 27:10:25, and CT: 08:08:56
Thanks, Sam — we have full results for the TCC (triple crown challenge) finishers now.
You’re most welcome, Scott. Hope to see a name or two more added this season.
Hi Scott, I’ve now completed the “Triple Crown Finisher” if you could add me to the list.
Tour Divide 2014
AZTR750 2015
CTR 2015
Thanks!
Added all five 2015 Triple Crown Challenge finishers, including both new men’s and women’s records! Thanks to SamH for doing the data collection and math!
Also added John Fairbairn as a Triple Crown finisher.
Scott,
My 2016 TD finish, along with my 2015 AZTR and 2014 CTR, completes my triple crown. Thanks.
Congrats, Rick! Added your name to a list that is still pretty short.
Hi Scott, my times for the triple crown challenge 2016 …
AZT750 15:10:14
TD 23:02:12
CTR 10:11:44
Congrats Ian! I’ve added you to the list. Huge accomplishment, a huge year.
Please check my math on the total elapsed time.
Hmmmm, no women?
On the contrary, there are several women listed here. Hopefully more to come!
Scott,
I hope you enjoyed those Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. My times for consideration are:
Tour Divide 20:18:56
CTR 7:12:56
AZT: 15:05:49 (ITT)
All in 2017
Thanks Craig, and congratulations.
Added Craig Fowler and Brett Stepanik to the finishers list (+ hiking triple crown for Craig!).
Need times for Brett in the Triple Crown Challenge.
Angela — Alice finished the challenge version in 2015, and there are a couple other women in the tour/general finisher list. Everyone would certainly love to see more!
What’s Brett Stepaniks Triple Crown time? Couldn’t find it, but I thought i remember reading he beat ADs time.
I’ve bothered him a few times to submit his times, but haven’t been able to get his attention. 🙂 An interested party could come up with a rough estimate from trackleaders split times, but he has the more precise times.
Brett S’ times from Track Leaders…
AZTR: 10d 7h 54min
TD: 21d 15h 57min
CTR: 7d 12h 58min
Total: 39d 12h 49min
I just want to see his name up on the wall of fame!
Hi Scott, I’ve now completed the “Triple Crown Finisher” if you could add me to the list.
Tour Divide 2016: 18d15 h 53minutes
CTR 2018: 8d 7h 31minutes
AZTR750 2019: 9d 5h 38minutes
Thanks!
PS: It looks I am first non-USA citizen who completed Triple Crown.
Yes, Pavel it looks like you are the first non-US triple crowner! Congrats. I’ve added you, and also Brett’s belated times for his 2017 triple crown challenge finish. Will there be more finishers and challengers this year? We shall see.
Hi Scott,
thank you for an evidence list enhancement. Can I ask you to add “Czech republic” behind my name? I am of course proud that representant of this small country is between these bikepacking legends 🙂
Pavel
I recently knocked off the last of these. I have just been “fast touring” the routes instead of racing but it has still been awesome to complete these three routes:
-Colorado Trail: July/August 2017 – 11 Days 5 hrs 53 min
-Arizona Trail: March/April 2019 – 17 days 18 min
-Tour Divide: June/July 2019 – 26 days 14 hrs 6 min
Congrats Ken! Added you to the finishers list. And a note about Pavel’s Czech citizenship. Nice!
TD 2011 28:09:29
AZTR 2013 15:07:46
TD 2014 28:09:22
CTR 2019 13:06:56
Congratulations Sheila! Way to finish it up with CTR this year. You’re on the list.
[…] the Continental Divide Trail in 2015. A total distance of 7574 miles. In 2017 he started the Bikepacking Triple Crown with the Tour Divide in June, a distance of 2732 miles. Up next was the Colorado Trail in July, a […]
[…] Arizona trail race jsem se zapsal jako první stranger (cizinec) na seznam držitelů Triple Crown of Bickepacking– […]
Hi,
To get into the triple crown challenge bracket, do all attempts have to be within A year, or the same year? so all attempts in say 2022? or do Arizona in 2021 and do colorado and the TDR in 2022, resulting in all attempts within 1 year?
The Challenge bracket would be all finishes within a single calendar year, yep. I believe that’s the way it was originally intended by the late great Dave Goldberg.
I just finished. Missed the challenge by about two weeks.
Colorado
July 22
14 days 7 hours
AZT
Nov. 2021
24 days 2 hours 30 min
Great Divide
August 2022
28 days
I just finished. I think I missed the challenge component by one day. Aug 5 CDT finish and last trail being the Great Divide August 6. Shoot, I should have woke up earlier.
Colorado
August 5 2021
14 days 7 hours
AZT
Nov. 2021
24 days 2 hours 30 min
Great Divide
August 6 2022
28 days
Added two new triple crown challenge finishers for 2022: Andrew Strempke (new SS record) and Ana Jager (2nd woman to finish the challenge).
Also added Jefe Branham, Randall Brandt, Alexandera Houchin, plus Andrew and Ana to the career triple finishers list.
It should be noted that the order of the events has changed since AZTR is in the fall since 2021. The order is now TD-CTR-AZTR whereas in previous years it was AZTR/TD/CTR.
Great to see new names here on this! Fantastic riding by all.
Scott,
Thanks for the update, you beat me to it!! I’ve gone down the AZTR finishers list and added a ‘^’ next to the rider’s name indicating they completed the Triple Crown Challenge as that should be recognized.
Looking over the AZTR results, I have Kurt Sandiforth as a 2012 finisher, not 2013.
Could you add a SS next to any rider that finished on a singlespeed? I know it’s marked for the record holders, but Brett Stepanik should have a SS. Are there any others on that list?
I don’t intend to slight any of those who have finished this monumental achievement with the following comment, because what they’ve done is truly impressive. Congratulations to all.
But it is inconceivable that there is a ‘triple crown’ that doesn’t include the original long-distance ‘bikepacking’ event — the Iditasport in Alaska.
That race has been a constant since the 80’s, and the full 1000+ mile distance has been happening for 22 consecutive years now.
The first ‘bikepack race’ rules originated at the Idita, and had evolved for many years before any of the current triple crown events were imagined, much less raced. It is not a stretch to say that the rules framework advanced by most multi-day races today came straight from AK.
If the calendar-year challenge needs to be limited to three events, we should eliminate the gravel race and replace it with the granddaddy ITI. Gravel is not mountain biking, nor is the TD, and bikepack racing had its’ foundations firmly on trails and off of roads.
Thank you for keeping up this great resource! And so great to follow Andrew and Ana’s accomplishments this summer. Just a quick question as I was looking at the history of the AZT, should there be two separate triple crown challenge records? One record for when the course was the AZT 750 and one that is the current record for the AZT 800?
Based off of looking at past routes, Andrew and Ana’s experience on the AZT isn’t wholly comparable to those before since the course used to be both shorter and contain many more fast road miles. Times for the current AZT are clearly longer than the previous versions. This isn’t to demean any efforts at all, they are all incredible! It just seems that the records are comparing very different experiences with the large changes to the route and therefore effort/time needed to complete them.
[…] to an elite rider in the sport in a matter of months. She is only the second woman to complete the triple crown challenge of finishing all three races in a calendar year. Alice Drobna was the first in […]
I am so proud to join such an elite group of nar-nar cyclists and be a Triple Crowner! Each ride was a journey inwards with incredible views around each turn. Experiencing each moment through seeing and feeling at such a deep level was life-changing. Cheers to all for keeping the magic alive, inspiring us all, sustaining the ripping trails and events. Keep pedaling.
2017 AZTR 8d 5hr 15min
2018 CTR- 5d 5h 32m
2023 TD- 16d 7hr 49min
Total- 29 days 18hr 36 min
Hey Justin! Welcome to the nar-nar cyclists ha. I happily added you to the list. Thanks for the kind words and great to see you out on TD this year.
Circling back on some comments here.
Craig P – You make a good point. No doubt the AZT 800 is harder/longer than the 750. This is just one of those things that can’t really be quantified or accounted for in the results. I don’t think it is a big enough difference to justify a new list, especially given how few people take on the challenge. It’s up to the community to know these small details and compare efforts accordingly. I think that happens naturally by those paying attention.
MikeC – Duly noted. There was a concept of the quadruple crown including ITI but I believe only Jay has attempted/completed it. You commented that TD isn’t really mountain biking. One reasonable argument is that ITI isn’t really mountain biking, either. What might be needed is another classic and iconic singletrack route to complete the bikepacking triple. Thanks for the comment — definitely appreciate the notion. Your name is a notable omission here: come on down and hike your bike across the canyon!!
John – Thanks for the correction on Kurt. I added a SS note by Brett. I am not sure who else might have completed the challenge with one gear. Anyone, feel free to call them out!
As a small program note here: in 2023 we have probably the largest number of triple crown challenge contenders ever. TD is in the books, with CTR looming. There’s at least half a dozen riders in the running.
Hi 🙂
My name is Hanoch redlich, from
Israel.
I finished the triple crown this year…
2019: azt with a time of 8 days and a few minutes.
2020: CTR in 5 days and 14 hours
2023: TD in 16 days, 20 hours, 36 minutes
That’s 30 days, 10 hours, 40 minutes total❤️
Tnx
Congrats Hanoch!
I have added you to the list of career triple finishers. Glad you made the trips over here to do our events!
Hi!
My name is Roman Bojda, from Slovakia(currently living in Liberec,Czech rep)
I finish the triple just yesterday by completion of Colorado trail.
Azt last year in spring – these two are was on general tracker. And Tour Divide was on 2018.
Thanks!
Hello,
My name is Johana Stastna from Czech republic.
I finish the triple crown by completion of Colorado trail just yesterday😀
Last year at spring made an AZT and in 2018 Tour Divide.
Thanks a lot
Hi Scott,
Again me Roman😀
Just notice, Me and Johana Stastna rode together the AZT and CT(both were on general tracker),
Tour Divide separately on some parts but mostly tohether also. I dont know if its works for the add to the list
but anyway, we done it by our own power whith any other help and carrying our own baggage😉
Thanks for answer
Thanks Roman and Johana. I’ve got you both on the Triple Crown career list. Congrats and we are quite happy to have more international folks on the list!
[…] can read more about the history of the Triple Crown here, and dot watching for the Arizona Trail race can be found here. […]
Hey Scott!
I think I might be the first Canadian to finish a career Triple Crown! Just finished the CTR this year. What an awesome trail!
2016 Tour Divide
19 days 17 hours 29 minutes
June 30, 2016
2018 Arizona Trail Race 750
10 days 22 hours 15 minutes
April 16, 2018
2023 Colorado Trail Race
7 days 18 hours 33 minutes
August 20, 2023
Thanks, Dean. I added you to the Career triple list. Congrats!
Massive update to the Triple Crown Challenge list, adding six names — 2023 was a big year for the Triple!
Katya Rakhmatulina (new women’s record, 2023 overall winner)
Indiana Schulz
Alexandera Houchin (new women’s singlespeed record)
Hannah Simon
Kristen Tonsager
Josh Tucker (singlespeed)
Love it. Congrats to all!!!
Scott, I somehow missed your comment in July.
And now that I’ve read it, I can’t take it seriously. Riding a fatbike across the state of Alaska is as mountain biking as mountain biking gets. You’ve seen enough of the route to know that.
Again, no slight to any of the finishers of these three difficult and beautiful events.