Thanks for the response Iowagriz.

I emailed Salsa, and they don't seem to think it's possible to get a 17 inch low gear.  It makes no sense to me, but apparently the 1x setup will provide the lowest gear with a 42T max cog (which is still over 20 gear inches).  I don't know if that has to do with the fact that the 2020 Cutthroat employs boost spacing (yet the max tire width is the same?).

What's the lowest gear that mortals require to ride up the big climbs?  The new 2020 Cutthroat with a 2x build has a low gear consisting of a 30T chainring and 34T cog, which is around 25 gear inches.  For me, that's barely low enough to ride up a steep hill unloaded on the road.   On my mtb, I run a 2x with a 24T chainring and a 40T cog for the low gear, which is under 17 gear inches, and I can climb some pretty steep stuff with that combo while wearing a pack.  I'm thinking that with a fully loaded bikepacking rig, I would need something similar to get up lesser inclines.  I've looked at Josh Kato's setup, and he ran a 2x on his Cutthroat and a 3x on his Ti Fargo.    

Thanks.                        

That smile says it all. Hugest Congrats Alexandra[sic].. what a ride!

According to the reports I've read, she set a score of records:

1. First back to back women's TD winner.
2. Fastest women's single speed time ever.
3. Fastest time ever posted by a woman leaving with the Grand Depart.

Congratulations Alexandera!  

As far as I can tell, that just lists the best times--not a list of past winners by year.

Where can I find a reliable source for past TD winners?

Was Lael's record an ITT? Wikipedia does not list Lael as a Tour Divide winner:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_Divide

Thanks Briansong!  I thought I remembered it being 2016!

Hi,

Last week I followed a link to this forum, and I was reading a thread (I thought it was a TD race preparation thread), and someone posted a ride report from the previous year, which I gathered was critical of ATV's roaring around at night and making a lot of noise.  Some people responded to the post by saying that the rider was overly critical of the people who live in the heartland of America, and that hypocritically the rider described how he got in a fight with someone else when the rider himself was making a lot of noise one night. Can any of you regulars direct me back to that thread?  I've searched around, and I can't find it.

Thanks.