Tour Divide to be on TV and a new record?

[Singlespeedpunk]

I might be a little slow on this but James Cracknell (ex-Olympic rower) and Ben Fogle (the only reality TV person to go on and have a TV career!) are going to ride the Tour Divide route later in the year and film it for a series (as they did with rowing the Atlantic and racing to the South Pole)

Full press release can be found here: http://www.benfogle.com/590

A couple of things stand out if they are to "set a new record" is that they are sending supplies ahead to pre-arranged pick-up points and having a film crew meet them along the way (moral support / encoragement - but avoidable if a good program is to be made) ?

While I really look forward to events like TD getting prime time Sunday evening viewing in the UK I am not sure how valid any "record" might be should they come in under 17days 21hrs and change.

All the best to them any way and I look forward to watching with a cold beer later in the year.

SSP

[AlanG]

Sending supplies to post offices and commercial addresses along the route is allowed in the race rules. However if they are going for a 17 day (maybe 16!) schedule every minute will be crucial, they won't be in a position to sit around and wait three hours for the Post Office to open to pick up their secret fuel mixture. It's a risky strategy.

In 2008 the film crew for the "Ride the Divide" movie were out on the course filming racers at various points and I don't think any rules were broken. They certainly don't need to be. As long as nothing passes between the film crew and racers apart from words they should be O.K.  In my opinion a film crew can only slow them down though.

James and Ben have done some amazing things over the last few years but the record on this route is probably beyond them.
However, as long as they play by the rules I'll be cheering them on and looking forward to the TV show.

[carlhutch]

Hopefully their tear ducts have run dry after "on thin ice".
Pair of drama queens that cant scratch their ass without filming it.
Im off to bet365 to see what odds i get on betting against them finishing in 20 days let alone 17 1/2.

Didnt John Stamsted stop his film crew in 99 because it went against the spirit of self support???

[Singlespeedpunk]

I am with you on that one, and the way that Cracknell left the other two in the crevass field...well I would have punched him out for being so bloody stupid and selfish! The one who cam out of that best was the Doctor who seemed like a genuine guy and really knuckled down and got it done.

As to the film crew, the "Ride the Divide" crew were not filming one particular rider and (AFAIK) spend the previous months following their bottom-scratching exploits for our viewing pleasure! This would make sure that no rider was seeing a friendly face (or camera lense) along the route to give them a boost.

SSP

Hopefully their tear ducts have run dry after "on thin ice".
Pair of drama queens that cant scratch their ass without filming it.
Im off to bet365 to see what odds i get on betting against them finishing in 20 days let alone 17 1/2.

Didnt John Stamsted stop his film crew in 99 because it went against the spirit of self support???

[afie]

How much does Cracknell weigh these days?

[Mathewsen]

How much does Cracknell weigh these days?

About 220, he says. But he's riding and swimming across the country for a Discovery Channel show just three weeks b/f they embark so that will likely change.

I just flew in last night from consulting with them for several days in NM. They're good fellas who mean well. In addition to doing some reconn in the Gila that ended in a mud fest, we spent quite a bit of time talking about the rules. They are pretty clear on the way things need to go to honor TD rules and desire for a small footprint. We even devoted discussion to film crew SUV tire tracks and other subtle ways a crew's presence can indirectly affect a rider. Though it's important for *any* racer to keep the course record in the back of the mind as a carrot, i honestly think they're being realistic about their prospects given they'll both be carrying hand-held HD cams and go-pro helmet cams. Their first goal is to stay together, tell a good story, and everyone knows what effect that can have on pure speed. I consider it a great bikepacking learning experience for them both and decent exposure for bikepacking in general. The fact that they're doing an ITT instead of the grand depart is neat too.

I could see James coming back for a solo go next year. He's sooo competetive, and gets this fire in his eyes when I speak to him about the exhilaration of pure solo suffering/record chasing.

They'll carry spot trackers and be followed on tourdivide.org, complete with call-ins, so let the scrutiny begin...i guess.

[naked indian]

so this is for the BBC??
Did I read that right??

[Singlespeedpunk]

Thanks for the info Matt and congratulations on another TD finish / record.

Sounds like they are approaching it in the right spirit, you never know with these programs where the producer has ideas about pace cars and 24/7 coverage of everything in the name of the program. Be great to watch it and do some research on the trail for 2011

Any idea of the weather with an August start? I would have thought that the daily Co. thunderstorms and NM heat would make it harder?

SSP

[Goldilocks]

This ITT attempt brings up an interesting opportunity to create a new Tour Divide racing category: teams.  Given that the two Brits will be riding together and have done their other adventures as a team, it may be extremely difficult for them to act as two independent riders.  They can't draft each other, they can't share tools, food and spare parts, they have to shop independently and so on.  If there was a team category, then they could do all of these things, again with no outside support.  Whether this helps or hurts their time would be irrelevant to individual Tour records.  Perhaps the team recorded completion time could be the elapsed time for the second rider to cross the finish line.  This approach would also close out any potential issues of whether they actually helped each other along the way.

[myheadsashed]

Oooops that's that buggered then.

Hope he's OK sound serious.

http://news.uk.msn.com/uk/articles.aspx?cp-documentid=154192980

[Singlespeedpunk]

Thats a bit of a bugger, hope he heals up fast.

SSP

[chrisx]

i bought a Fargo after being side swiped by a truck in north western Arizona, 2 years ago.  When I caught the truck driver at rest stop, he said it was intensional.  The county sheriff said a cyclist run over buy a truck the month before was in such bad shape he could not commit suicide

[jimfab]

Bummer

Sounds like he may be in St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix. Lucky for him St. Joe's has one of the best neurological departments in the country. In fact they recently dedicated an entire wing of there giant hospital to it. Hope he is alright. Maybe the reason so many off the beaten path trails are discovered in Arizona is because the drivers are so bad and it is just plain dangerous? Living here, i think so. Totally backwards. In fact due to public outcry the state just turned off all thee freeway speed cameras. I was just getting used to civilized driving. it is like the Daytona 500 all over again  . To top it off AZ has one of the highest uninsured and unlicensed driver rate of the country.

Cheers- Jim

[afie]

It will be interesting to see how much weigh Cracknell loses - I was a similar build and lost about 9kgs.

I just watched them race to the South Pole and I have to say I am a little disappointed in the tv show. Its pretty melodramatic - the environment and the situation creates enough drama without having a stupid voiceover. I would have had only had the three skiiers commentary - requires good recollection or a good producer to ask the right questions when out on the ice. Seems like cheap relativity tv with the dodgy voiceover - not like 'Touching the Void'.

The td is a different event. I am not sure riding in a duo or having a film crew would give you the real divide experience. To me its riding alone, removed from friends be it a film crew or a phone to call your family - might be better to have self filmed (you can get hd video out of digital still cameras).
Also, setting a goal of breaking the record sets you up for depression when you start to fall short (may be what you want when you are having it filmed)

I hope they do the ride for themselves and not for tv.

[protoceratops]

A simple idea whose time has come:

Seems like every year at the Race Across AMerica (just to pick an example), the hype machine is at full chat:  THE RECORD IS GOING TO FALL THIS TIME FOR SURE!!!  I think we should have a system-wide moratorium on imminent records.  How about waiting on such pronouncements until, say, halfway through the event with the rider/team/crew/runner still at record pace or better? 

The title of this thread pronounces the record so far in advance of the proposed attempt as to be comical.  Melodrama during or after the event just cannot compare.   

So let's keep it to ourselves if a TD record attempt is CERTAIN TO CRUSH THE CURRENT STANDARD until at least 8 or 9 days into an *actual* attempt, hmmmm? 

[Singlespeedpunk]

The title of this thread pronounces the record so far in advance of the proposed attempt as to be comical.  Melodrama during or after the event just cannot compare.   

So let's keep it to ourselves if a TD record attempt is CERTAIN TO CRUSH THE CURRENT STANDARD until at least 8 or 9 days into an *actual* attempt, hmmmm? 

The title of the thread is taken from a quote in Ben Fogle's blog about their attempt which was due to take place on the 15th Aug this year. Looks like it won't now due to James's injuries.

Maybe they will line up next year for the grand depart?

SSP

[Mathewsen]

The title of the thread is taken from a quote in Ben Fogle's blog about their attempt which was due to take place on the 15th Aug this year. Looks like it won't now due to James's injuries.

Maybe they will line up next year for the grand depart?

SSP

talk of records when setting out on ITTD is more reasonable b/c historical times are the only carrot, only competition. if an effort is to be pitted against anything besides mother nature, the record books would be it.

still, i generally agree with early talk of records. the trackleaders.com projection charts are to be taken w/ a grain of salt early on in a 2700-miler--until they get enough data. alas, `tis human to begin comparisons early, though.

the fogle/cracknell ITTD attempt is postponed for sure. james still has a bit of swelling in his frontal lobes. i've spoken with the producers of their doc. and they'll be considering their options for next summer. they remain committed to the story, which will now include james' 'comeback from injury' (warning to those averse to melodrama). the grand depart has its appeal for them, but so does ITTD. i'll be encouraging them to pursue the latter as it will be more conducive to their documentary goals--plus its important to periodically highlight ITTD lest we get too caught up in the grand depart.

[protoceratops]

Hope James is mending nicely.  As a prospective rookie rider, ITT is the only format for me.

I see it as one rider against Ma nature, circumstance, and one's own failings and weakness.

$0.02