TD Rider Profile: Josh Ibbett

My name is Josh Ibbett, 31 years old from Cambridgeshire in the UK.

2019 will be my Rookie year at the Tour Divide. The Tour Divide is the event that first opened my eyes to the world of bikepacking way back in 2008 when I read an article by Jenn Hill in one of the UK bike magazines. At the time it seemed like an awesome but far fetched thing to do, but it certainly peaked my interest.

Years ticked by and I progressed from XC racing, to 12 hour solo MTB racing, to 24 hour solo and MTB stage racing but still an event of this magnitude seemed unachievable. Then Mike Hall raced the Divide and shortly after set the round the world record. I knew Mike from the races and had competed alongside him. I also knew Mike as a normal down to earth bloke so seeing him achieve these incredible results and cross continents on his bicycle gave me the belief that I too could at least try to try riding a bike over these distances, although I was still intimidated by the thought. Then Mike created the Transcontinental race and my excuses dried up, I had to give it a go. In 2014 I raced TCR for the first time, made loads of mistakes, got injured and went on a roller coaster of emotions and most importantly realised the joy of travelling long distances by bike. Since that moment I have travelled all over the world on my bike, both racing and touring, but the Divide has always remained atop my to do list.

So here we are in 2019 and the time has come to give the Divide a go. I very much feel like a rookie, albeit an experienced one. My aim is to complete the Divide and enjoy the terrain and the experience. If I use my experience to its potential then it may be a reasonable finish time, but I’m taking nothing for granted, I just want to finish!

Big thanks must go out to HuntBikeWheels, WTB, Mason Progressive Cycles, dhb clothing and Miss Grape for their support in making this happen.

Editor: You can find Josh online: Instagram: joshibbett / Strava: Josh Ibbett / youtube: josh ibett