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What is the Triple Crown?
The Bikepacking Triple Crown is a highly coveted achievement in off-road bikepacking. It comprises three routes: the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, the Arizona Trail, and the Colorado Trail. Completing all three in a lifetime earns a rider a place on the Triple Crown Finisher list.
The Triple Crown Challenge involves completing these three routes during their respective grand departs within the same calendar year. This means the Tour Divide, The Colorado Trail Race and the Arizona Trail Race.
Currently, there are 23 finishers on the Challenge list and 46 finishers of the Triple Crown.
Johnny Price '24 finisher by John Schilling. photos from John unless otherwise stated
The Mammoth Feat - The Triple Crown Challenge
The Tour Divide takes place in June, the Colorado Trail Race in August, and the Arizona Trail Race in October. The Divide is the least technical but the longest of the three. While a rider doesn’t necessarily have to be the fastest on the Divide to set a new Challenge record, the time spent on this race, more than the combined time of the Arizona and Colorado races, offers the greatest opportunity to gain an advantage. For instance, Katya Rakhmatulina’s women’s record and the fourth-fastest Challenge time last year included approximately 17 days on the Divide, 5 days on the Colorado Trail, and nearly 10 days on the Arizona Trail.
Recovery between races is crucial, leaving more room for potential issues as the Challenge progresses. To put it in perspective, the Challenge involves roughly one month of riding, or hiking, spread across five months. Needless to say, sufficient recovery between events is half the battle!
Justinas Leveika Takes the Record in 2024
This year, Justinas Leveika shattered Jay Petervary’s 2015 record of 27 days, 18 hours, and 33 minutes, finishing in an astounding 25 days, 5 hours, and 30 minutes. During this feat, Justinas was the first bike across the line at the Tour Divide, taking the fastest known time (FKT), the Colorado Trail Race (CTR), and the Arizona Trail Race (AZTR).
Notably, Justinas did not officially win the CTR due to a still-hotly-debated rule infringement, where he used powered transport off the trail to repair his bike. While this is acceptable in most races, it violates the CTR's rules as stated in their FAQs.
Justinas was also ineligible for the FKT on the AZTR due to a significant fire-related reroute. However, he tackled the route alongside the current FKT holder, Alex Schultz, and crossed the finish line ahead of him.
2024 A Year of 4 Finishers
This year, not only did Justinas complete the Triple Crown Challenge, but rookie rider Dylan Disarro (34:16:54) also finished, alongside Tom Kavanagh (34:03:16), who rode almost in step with Dylan. Finally, Johnny Price completed the Challenge on a single-speed bike—an extraordinary feat of endurance, given he used only one gear for 34 days!
These riders are all bikepacking enthusiasts, taking time out from their jobs to tackle one of the most testing feats of human endurance possible. More than a full month on the bike whilst balancing life, mixed in with testing terrain, wild weather and plenty of unknowns. Make no mistake, any finish time is incredible.
Why are we talking Triple Crown Challenge?
Let’s not forget what truly brought the Triple Crown Challenge into the spotlight in 2023. Last year, a record number of four women completed the Challenge. For reference, there are now still only six women on the finishers’ list. This was a community-driven effort, documented throughout by The Town Bicycle.
Pictured is Alexandera, women's Triple Crown Challenge SS record holder. She completed the AZTR this year, winning the women's race after contracting bronchitis on a Yo-Yo (double trail) on foot and bike during the CTR24.
Will The Triple Crown Challenge Stand the Test of Time?
The Bikepacking.net Triple Crown page stipulates that riders must cover at least 90% of the generally accepted bike routes for each event. This 10% margin accounts for weather-related reroutes, which all three events are typically subject to. Each route also evolves annually, particularly the AZT, thanks to the Arizona Trail Association’s hard work on improvements and additional singletrack.
These annual changes make direct time comparisons between grand departs—and the cumulative times for all three events—somewhat futile. With climate change further complicating matters with increased flooding, wildfires and reroutes the race community is questioning the validity of Fastest Known Times. Is this potentially the last year we’ll see the Triple Crown Challenge incorporating the three FKTs?
This is food for thought, but for now, it’s the best measure we have, so let’s enjoy the DotWatching!
Photo by Chris Ellison, organiser of the Dales Divide and Tour Divide Finisher
