More riders rolling in 

WOW, WHAT A WILD SET OF FIRST FINISHES!

The Canyon (still) and the Record?

Update Pre-Canyon

An Update As The Riders Catch the Women's FKT 

Reaching Picketpost

AZTR - Oracle Calling

AZTR - The first 24 hours

AZTR - The Riders, The Records and the Triple Crown

AZTR - The Route and Conditions

Lots of action at Stateline CG the past couple of days. The organiser has been posting finish photos on the [AZTR Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/azt300_800/).

Hannah Simon wrapped up her Triple Crown Challenge completing the podium with Katya & Alexandera. Kristen has just finished her Triple Crown Challenge too. What an incredible year for the women's field. Katie Strempke will also finish in a few hours completing a career Triple Crown.

To round out the women on the 800, Karin has been dealing with all kinds of issues from the start. She caught a cold the night before the Grand Depart, had to sleep it off in Tucson delaying her 36 hours. Bottom bracket started to fail near Sunflower, broken spoke, then another that went into the derailleur - luckily it didn't damage anything further. So another delay in Flagstaff to get sorted. Now she's coughing again, probably due to the cold. But she's determined to finish. That would be a clean sweep for the women in the 800, 6 for 6!! So good.

Eric Melby finished last night completing the podium for the singlespeeders. Trevor Thornton also came in, between Hannah & Eric.

What a great year it's been. So tough, challenging conditions, yet records went down. Amazing athletes out there.

*Pictured Philippe by John Schilling*

Exploring more on Alex's and Katya's finish:

Alex battled hard even suffering with bad cramps around Mt Lemmon. He found his toughest competitor's in Katya and Philippe. Philippe dropped back early, battling back hard after having some serious issues with his tyres just prior to the 300 mile mark.

Katya was moving incredibly swiftly, with Alex managing to regain control after the High Country with a clear lead. Katya's race was immense, keeping a strong tactical lead at many points but some stomach issues definitely played a part, mixed in with fatigue. Despite the blasting heat she took a huge chunk out of the women's record not only for the AZTR itself, but the longstanding Triple Crown Record. Katya as you may have noticed, has her bike on her back, after having an irrepairable puncture 3 miles from the finish, she mounted her bike on her back and headed onwards to the finish by foot!

The [AZTR300_800](https://www.instagram.com/azt300_800/) Instagram page broke the record down for us:

Katya's finish time was also fast enough to break the long standing women's Triple Crown Challenge set by Alice Drobna in 2015. That year, Alice rode the AZTR750, Tour Divide & CTR in that order. Here's the breakdown:

Alice Drobna
AZTR750: 9:13:53
TD: 19:22:04
CTR: 6:18:59
Total: 36:06:56
Alice also was on a singlespeed.

Katya's breakdown:
TD: 17:08:48
CTR: 5:01:53
AZT800: 9:19:52
Total: 32:04:33

## More Records Down

Alexandera Houchin finished in 10 days, 13 hours and 36 minutes. This means she's taken HER OWN single-speed record from last year of 12d 16h 38m. That's over a 2 full day improvement in 1 year! A massive undertaking, but not only this, she has also completed the triple crown this year on a single speed.

Tour Divide: 18d 18h 26m
CTR: 5d 14h 31m
AZTR: 10d 13h 36m
Total: 34d 22h 33m

This makes Alexandera the new Women's Single Speed triple crown challenge record holder. We cannot express how challenging these routes are with only the one gear.

## Triple Crown vs Triple Crown Challenge

The Triple Crown is a roll of fame for all those that have finished the three routes with these stipulations as written by bikepacking.net:

Cover at least 90% of the generally accepted bike routes for each
Complete the routes under your own power, riding a continuous line
No time limit
Support is fine, but bikepackers are generally self-supported

The Triple Crown Challenge is when a rider must complete all three in a calendar year upon the Grand Departs. Meaning, they must complete all three in the same year (over 4000 miles) heading to the pre-determined race with other riders. They can't pick ideal dates and must head out when the proverbial gun goes off!

The Triple crowners this year:
- Katya Rakhmatulina - __COMPLETED__
- Alexandera Houchin (SS) - __COMPLETED__
- Hannah Simon - currently 45 miles out
- Kristen Tonsage - currently 75 miles out
- Ry 'Indiana' Schulz - currently 100 miles out
- Josh Tucker (SS) - currently 300 miles out


In-depth on the First to Finish and some more Records SMASHED!

This has been the most incredible edition of the AZTR in recent times. With so many twists and turns we'll explore them in more depth tomorrow.

However, excitingly, Alex Schultz won this edition, taking the men's record.

Katya Rakhmatulina took the 2nd place and first woman across the line, she also took the women's record by a significant chunk! This also means she has set a new women's triple crown record. A feat that will be extremely hard to beat for anyone in the coming seasons.

What a trailblazing ride this has been. We'll dive into some analysis soon.

Photo of Alex by Andrew Strempke and Katya by John Schilling

Alex is charging towards Stateline CG!! He'll be the new 800 record holder. Only 7 miles or so remaining.

Katya is making an impressive push through the Canyon as she is now on the final batch of switchbacks. Philippe isn't too far behind.

![Phillipe AZTR canyon trailhead](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/36TF652NXRFpsI5NJHfKHK/3e3df021651238993364c5ae14187b8d/IMG-20231028-WA0003.jpg)

*Philippe dropping in to the Canyon at the South Kaibab trailhead*

Can Miron catch anyone else? It's unlikely, but what an amazing mid-race pace he threw down.

The Johnny's have dropped in to the canyoj and Alexandera is getting close to the South Rim!! Exciting day.

The next batch is moving away from Flagstaff. Kristen broke her rear brake lever and concocted a solution.

![IMG-20231028-WA0001](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2uLypNev9rqrlHsX3clgyx/21b25158cf721987f570b4c749cd3b6b/IMG-20231028-WA0001.jpg)

All 6 of the Triple Crown Challenge crew are still in the game!

Alex is quite a bit ahead of record pace. The record pace dots are on Trackleaders, slightly smaller with the record holders initials. Alex should be dropping into the Canyon shortly.

Both Philippe & Katya are solidly in 2nd & 3rd at the moment. Katya is also ahead of record pace as is Alexandera for her own singlespeed record.

Miron Golfman continues his late push through the rankings. He is no stranger to this, but how many more can he catch??
Elliot Dumont is out with a broken frame. Karin Pocock has apparently overcome her sickness she had since the start and looking for some big days ahead. Thomas is wrapping up the 300 portion of the 800 this morning, our last rider to Picketpost.

The Canyon and Beyond

Alex Schultz has powered on through and is now resting just outside the Grand Canyon prior to the crossing. He's currently there with Southbound rider, Ian Quigley, who has just finished his crossing.

Alex has now pushed on and is ahead of Nate Ginzton's record and may be able to take the course record. However, the Grand Canyon is a key section so keep an eye on Alex as he crosses.

Philippe has recovered from his previous issues and is now in second place after a big push, the gap between himself and Alex is still wide but closing down.

[Katya](https://www.instagram.com/kat__yea/) remains high in the runnings, not far behind Philippe at all and she has just passed the Men's Single Speed Record. She is easily in place to take the women's record if all continues to run smoothly. She was able to get a longer sleep yesterday and is feeling fresher. Make sure you catch up on her daily updates via her [instagram story](https://www.instagram.com/kat__yea/).

Alexandera is easily ahead of her SS record, she's riding in 4th behind Johnny Price and ahead of Hannah Simon and Miron Golfman. We've seen Miron take a late lead in races previously and as he's moved up the rankings in the tail end of a race so keep an eye out. He also had a bit of a time loss looking for a lost wallet!


The cooler temperatures are ideal for riding today, at a lower 85'F (30'C) they'll be more comfortable as they push on into the second half of the race.

## Halfway

At Sycamore Creek, the halfway point of the AZTR, Katya caught the record dot at Sycamore Creek near Sunflower and Alex Schultz caught her, he is now in the lead. Philippe passed Johnny Fitzgerald and passed Alexandera shortly after. Lots of excitement at the 400 mile mark! Since then, Alexandera has also passed the women's FKT. As I type, Philippe has pushed on and caught Katya only for her to overtake again, make sure to look at the refresh time to see how long ago the riders were at that position on the map! Race flow can give an idea of how they are moving compared to one another.

The riders are moving fast, Katya is moving faster than the FKT, especially with the freshly rerouted Highline trail after Pine. An astonishing feat in the oppressive heat (a poem for our commentary!).

## The Portage

There is now a southbound ITT rider, Ian Quigley, he started over the last few days and he's currently on the Grand Canyon Portage, this brings us the perfect moment to introduce a bit of context to this gruelling section.

The Grand Canyon National Park is what it says on the tin, the National Park designated to protecting the massive Grand Canyon, a geological feature surrounding the Colorado River. To boat down the Canyon, tour operators must recieve a permit. Riders cannot allow their wheels to touch the ground, they cannot sleep (napping is strictly off the cards!) and if they want to camp they must obtain a permit at the Backcountry office on the South Rim - they are of limited availability at the 2 campsites along the crossing. 

There's a designated group site at each for AZT through users. Many riders, especially the ones in front, often do the hike in one big push. It's an incredible feat of strength & determination. That's 21 miles, carrying your gear with your bike on your back - almost a marathon after 700 miles of riding! Factoring in kit, bikes, water etc you could be looking at carrying upwards of 30kg. 

Due to this incredible weight, the biggest issue is the shoulders, so many riders carry walking poles for just this section, they help stabilize the load and release a bit of pressure on the knees. Plus, it's good for hand position, helps avoid the 'sausage finger's feeling. Josh Tucker lost his trekking poles on Mt. Lemmon and a trail angel has been out to find them

__It's the most difficult, yet amazing and dumb thing I've ever done with my bike!! - John Schilling__


Yesterday Alex Schultz rolled through Picketpost trailhead, first rider to complete the 300 mile portion. Meanwhile, Alexandera Houchin moved into 2nd overall. However, there was a big shuffle!

Katya is now in the lead, Alex, Johnny F, Johnny P and Philippe all had extended stops at the 300 mile mark allowing Katya to pull through and Alexandera. This was an exciting point in the race as the shuffle up front was dependent mainly on stopping time at this key phase of the race. Johnny F stopped a couple of times at the ~330 mile mark after he pushed into second briefly, this opened up the space for Alex to hop back into second. Johnny Price is now in third with Alexandera in 4th. So, why did this happen?

Philippe had some tyre trouble before reaching Picketpost. He forgot to turn his SPOT on after leaving Superior, coming back online at Junction Bike Co in Apache Junction whilst with Johnny Fitzgerald.

Katya finally got some sleep last night, however, with an inflatable sleeping pad that has holes in it she's been sleeping on the ground. You can see her here at Picketpost as shot by John Schilling.

Katya is maintaining her lead on Alex Schultz, but Johnny Price & Alexandera Houchin are close behind. It's a little cooler today, 87⁰ in Gold Canyon now. A quick reminder that with the high temperatures riders could be carrying up to 4 kilograms more weight in extra water!

Record pace dots are now on Trackleaders, may have to reload the page. Both geared & singlespeed for men & women. Alexandera is currently way ahead of her SS record!

__UPDATE__:
An on the road DotWatcher, Laura, has emailed us to let us know that Philippe's tracker isn't playing ball so his tracking is a little off. Keep an eye out for any abnormalities. 

## The 300 Mile Race

__First 3 riders of the 300 are in, with Ryan Sigsbey taking the win. Currently a 24% finish rate for the 300.__


__Philippe Vulliod__ has regained the lead approaching Kelvin. __Katya__ isn't far behind as she enjoys the long downhill off the famed Ripsey Ridgeline. 

Today should be the last hot day, but even the forecast high of 90⁰ in Kelvin may actually feel cool compared to the first two days.

Only 5 riders remain for the 300. Last year's 300 finish rate was 24%.

__Pete Schuster__ dropped his SPOT yesterday along the Bellota Ranch section of AZT. Josh Tucker found it on trail and a Tucson friend of the organiser now has the SPOT and is currently heading up to Summerhaven to return it to Pete. Pete messaged from the top of Mt. Bigelow a short while ago. We have a fantastic biking community here, always someone willing to lend a hand when needed.

__Karin Pocock__ is back on route after trying to sleep off a nasty cold she picked up on her way to the start. She said she's feeling a bit better, but if it doesn't go well, she'll turn around. Wish her luck, she's a very determined strong rider.

__Miron & Tyson__ again put in a huge overnight ride, finishing the famed Lemmon Pusch a bit ago. Hopefully with the incoming cooler weather, they can ride more during the day.

All of the Triple Crown riders are still at it with the four ladies leading the way!!

AZTR - A Changing of the Guard

Arizona Trail Race AZTR 2023 Tracking + Commentary: A stalwart of the MTB bikepacking calendar along the Arizona Trail known for its rough nature, heat and long stretches without resupply, including a 21 mile hike of the Grand Canyon. the AZTR regularly attracts some of the strongest off-road racers and has remained true to its original self-supported ethos.

Arizona Trail Race AZTR 2023 Tracking

A stalwart of the MTB bikepacking calendar: the Arizona Trail Race is known for its rough nature, extreme temperatures, long stretches without resupply and an arduous 23 mile hike-a-bike through the Grand Canyon. The AZTR regularly attracts some of the strongest off-road racers and has remained true to its original self-supported ethos.

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Arizona Trail Race 2023

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