https://www.instagram.com/p/CfHkYmXMsWD/

 From Manu :Mud, official reroute in place. Backtrack To Hwy 84 then 96 to Cuba. see Manu's IG for more

Ouch - looks like real a slog!!!

Could be sandy washes, his low speeds seem to correlate with crossing arroyos

Looks like Manu has some issue this morning, heading off course to El Vado.  Road seams to be paved here so maybe a mechanical?

Seems Manu was stopped on the side of the road when Jeff came by....from their speed looks like they are walking. Diner seems likely, though I see Jeff at the RV park now. With Jeff with him I'm wondering if it's a health-related issue

I think the Cuba dirt will actually be faster for SS -- it's less mileage overall.

Some rain in the forecast might slow SS down getting to Grants, but from there he should be fine. Manu is making a move and the weather might play into his hands....

Bets on that Sofiane beats Mike Hall's dot to Cuba !! 100 miles on the road vs Polvadera Mesa

Good to see Pete Basinger back on route. Any word on Ashley Carelock? She was up on Richmond Peak this morning, then backtracked.

Yip Ashely posted to IG that she was getting dangerously cold heading up Richmond Peak in deep (new) snow, so decided to backtrack to Holland Lake Lodge and a warm bed

I think Sofiane just made the fastest transit of Helena ever... 

Seems like Sofiane and his chase group will miss the atmospheric river and may just get 'regular' rain. So the strategy may pay off in that sense.

There was a post from Manu Cattrysse that they were very aware of the incoming weather and the need to get south asap.

There's a great battle going on in the women's race. I'm wondering if Ana is more comfortable with the hiking being from Alaska?

Sofiane and Zoe for me, I think Zoe's experience from 2019 will be crucial as the route unfolds.

I'm interested to see how things play out with the route changes in NM with the last "hard" section getting to Grants meaning there's a pretty clean run in from there. Will the heat be the deciding factor? The time of day that riders hit the desert section (night) could make or break some...

Any idea of tyres? I'm thinking Ikons or Mezcals.

Although I think Mezcals are great I'd be thinking something with more traction. I toured it on Ikons and they were great.

Yip, he's an hour up on record pace coming into Breckinridge

https://www.efprocycling.com/morton-completes-colorado-trail-in-under-four-days/

Yip he said 22 hrs total stop time with 17 hrs sleep. Copper to Waterton 0700 to 0200 which is bloody fast

Geez,he's faster than Fed Ex.

Hey, that's an unfair comparison. Took me a week to get a package from Durango to Denver.

He's 3 hrs up on record pace at Tank Seven Ck!

He posted his kit on IG. https://www.instagram.com/p/B1pT7HqhieB/

He's over an hour up on record pace at Stony Pass....and now 2 hrs up at Carson saddle

https://bikepacking.com/plog/jakub-sliacan-srmr-interview/

Interesting how he strategised his altitude plan. He managed to sleep "low" pretty much every night. Inspite of his minimal sleep kit had pretty solid rests too

Ah no. Jakub just had a tracker issue.

Interesting race developing...

Is Lachlan Morton there

He said he's going to ITT after the Tour of Utah