Lael Wilcox

Lael Wilcox is an ultra-endurance bicycle racer who has won both the Trans Am Bike Race[1] and the Tour Divide.[2] She was the first American to win the Trans Am and the first woman to win the Tour Divide.[3][4] She also set world records for her time on the Baja Divide route.

Personal

Wilcox grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. She started biking in 2008, at age 20, when she and her boyfriend, Nicholas Carman, decided to tour the world. Working stints to collect money, the two set out on a bicycle tour of over thirty countries. They started in North America, then traveled in Eastern Europe, the middle east, and Africa, logging over 100,000 miles. In their spare time, the two, along with Lael's mother, Dawn, teach biking skills and repair bicycles for elementary school children in Anchorage. They also have a program to collect and provide donated bikes to schoolchildren.[5] Wilcox graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 2008 with degrees in natural science and French literature.[4]

Racing

Lael first became interested in racing in 2014 when she and Carman were in Israel. The pair heard about and entered the Holyland Challenge, a 1000-mile unsupported race across the country. She was both the youngest rider and the only woman. She led the race by 25 miles the first day, and although she did not win the race, she was firmly focused on endurance racing.[2]

Trans Am

In 2016, Wilcox participated in the 4,400 mile Trans Am Bike Race that crosses the United States from west to east. As a small woman dressed in non-cycling clothes and with very little road-racing experience, she was not expected to compete, much less win. She averaged 235 miles per day for 18 days, averaging less than 5 hours of sleep per night. On the final morning, she trailed Greek Steffen Streich by 20 miles. That morning, Streich awoke and mistakenly started riding west. Wilcox met Streich in Bumpass, Virginia. Streich offered to ride to the finish together, saved Wilcox from making a navigational mistake and offered to ride to the finish together. Wilcox responded "This is a race"[6] and sprinted the final 130 miles to the coast to become the first woman to win the race. Wilcox sprinted the final hours to win the race in 18 days and ten minutes.[3]

Tour Divide

In 2015, Wilcox, still considered relatively inexperienced at road racing, broke the women's record on the tour divide by more than two days. She covered the 2,745 mile race in 17 days, 1 hour and 51 minutes in spite of stopping off for an emergency room visit due to a respiratory infection.[7]

Baja Divide

In 2015, Wilcox set the women's record for the fastest time on the Baja Divide route, which runs from San Diego, California through San Jose del Cabo and on to La Paz, Mexico. In 2017, she broke the men's record as well.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Shilton, AC (1 February 2018). "6 Myths About Women's Cycling That Need to Die". Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  2. 1 2 Huntsberry, Will (5 January 2018). "High Miles And Heartbreak: A Story Of Ultra Endurance Cycling". Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  3. 1 2 Watts, Logan (24 June 2016). "LAEL WILCOX: A TRANS AM GEAR LIST AND POST-RACE Q&A". Bikepacking.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Grit". University of Puget Sound. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "What dozens of cyclists did for these 3rd-graders". 26 April 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  6. ↑ Townsend, Lori (23 June 2016). "Anchorage woman wins Trans Am bike race; first woman, first American to do so". Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  7. ↑ Gulley, Aaron (8 July 2015). "How Lael Wilcox Crushed the Tour Divide". Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  8. ↑ "Lael Wilcox Establishes Baja Divide FKT in 11:13:02". 15 March 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
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