Touted as one of the toughest mountain bike races in the world, and with a distance of over 2700 miles from Canada to Mexico, we’re inclined to agree: the Tour Divide sounds epic beyond comparison.

The race kicks off this Friday at Banff, Alberta where the largest field yet to assemble for this mad race will gather. The 48 racers will face a 2700 mile trek down the spine of the Rocky Mountains along Adventure Cycling’s Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Banff to Antelope Wells, New Mexico.

Taking the riders on mostly dirt roads, the route packs in 200,000 ft (60 960m) of climbing and, without outside assistance allowed, racers carry everything they need — food, water, shelter — on their bikes and backs, with refueling stops in small-town stores along the way.

“This year’s line-up is colorful and packed with rookies — out of 48 racers, only 14 are veterans — so wide-eyed newbies providing fresh accounts of the racing and route are sure to dominate the call-ins,” said Matthew Lee, race organiser. “Nineteen states and six different countries are represented. Four women will take the start and a record five single-speeders. The oldest racer is 55 and the youngest is 26.”

This year’s Tour Divide has been unofficially dedicated to the preservation of the Flathead Valley in British Columbia, which was recently integrated into the Canadian portion of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. The valley is by all accounts stunning, remote, and home to countless species of plants and animals.

“This scenic area is called the ‘Serengeti of North America’ by biologists for its unrivaled wildlife populations; it is the last major valley in southern Canada to be completely uninhabited,” said Carla Majernik, Adventure Cycling’s routes and mapping director.

Tour Divide organizers are encouraging cyclists to become “Friends of the Flathead”, which they can do through Flathead Wild’s website at www.flathead.ca. Flathead Wild is a Canadian non-governmental organization working to preserve the valley.

Follow the race live

Fans, family, and the curious can follow the Tour Divide online. Each racer will carry a SPOT tracker (an automated GPS beacon) that will update their position every ten minutes as they wend their way south to Mexico.

Racer positions can be followed at www.tourdivide.org/leaderboard.

More info on this event at www.TourDivide.org.