Three cyclists racing the 2015 Tour Divide starting tomorrow have ties to Tucson.

The race, which starts in Banff, Canada, traverses the Continental Divide for 2,745 miles and ends in Antelope Wells in New Mexico.

The first Tucson cyclist is Elliot DuMont who owns Roadrunner Bicycles with his family. He said he is hoping to complete the route in about 25 days. This will be the first time DuMont will have attempted the race.

The second racer from Tucson is Mike Ingram who is doing the race from south to north. Mike has completed cross-country rides in summers before this.

The third racer with Tucson ties is Larry Bennett. He started his quest to complete the Tour Divide in Tucson after spending a lot of time road riding in Tucson and eventually racing for Summit Velo. He moved to the east coast last year, but has continued to train for the race.

Unfortunately, Bennett had a mechanical issue that may delay his start by a day.

All of the racers can be followed on the Tour Divide race tracker here.

Here’s a bit of information about the route:

The Great Divide Route is the world’s longest off-pavement cycling route. It was tirelessly mapped over a 4 year span, and published in 1998 by Adventure Cycling Association, North America’s premiere bicycle travel organization. The route is highlighted by long dirt roads and jeep trails that wend their way through forgotten passes of the Continental Divide. It travels through Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, and the United States of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico (map). By route’s end a thru-rider will climb nearly 200,000 feet of vertical (equivalent to summiting Mount Everest from sea-level 7 times).

Learn more about the Tour Divide here.

We will keep an eye on the local racers and update you throughout the month.