| Lael Wilcox | |
| Birth Date: | 18 July 1986 |
| Birth Place: | Anchorage, Alaska, US |
| Education: | University of Puget Sound |
| Occupation: | Sport cyclist |
| Spouse: | Rugile "Rue" Kaladyte |
| Father: | --> |
| Country: | United States |
| Sport: | Sport cycling |
Lael Wilcox (born July 18, 1986) is an ultra-endurance bicycle racer who won the Trans Am Bike Race[1] in 2016, and set Tour Divide's women's course record on an individual time trial (ITT) in 2015.[2] She was the first American to win the Trans Am.[3] [4] She also set the overall course record with her time on the Baja Divide route.
Wilcox was born on July 18, 1986, and grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. She graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 2008 with degrees in natural science and French literature.[5]
Wilcox started bicycling in 2008 at age 20, when she and her then 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 100000miles.[6]
Wilcox and Carman separated in 2017. In May 2021, Wilcox married Rugile "Rue" Kaladyte, a photojournalist who has documented many of Wilcox's rides.[7] [8]
In the 2015–2016 winter and spring, Wilcox and Carman co-developed the off-pavement bikepacking Baja Divide route, which runs from San Diego, California through San Jose del Cabo and on to La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico.[9] [10] [11]
As of 2016, Wilcox and Carman, along with Wilcox's mother, Dawn Wilcox, taught biking skills and repair bicycles for elementary school children in Anchorage. They also ran a program to collect bikes to donate to schoolchildren.[6] As of 2018-2019, Lael co-leads Anchorage GRIT[5] [12] to get more local girls on bikes, and talks about it and other programs.[13] [14] In 2018 Wilcox began the Lael Rides Alaska Women's Scholarship.[15]
As of 2018 through 2020, Wilcox has general sponsorships from Specialized and Revelate Designs.[16]
Wilcox 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.[17]
In 2016, Wilcox participated in the 4400miles 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 Steffen Streich by 40 miles. That morning, Streich awoke and mistakenly started riding west. Wilcox met Streich in Bumpass, Virginia. Streich suggested they ride to the finish together, and Wilcox responded, "[t]his is a race,"[18] and sprinted the final 130miles to the coast to become the first woman and the first American to win the race. Wilcox sprinted the final hours to win the race in 18 days and ten minutes.
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 2745miles race in 15 days, 10 hour and 59 minutes in an individual time trial.[19]
In 2015, Wilcox set the women's record for the fastest time on the Baja Divide route. In 2017, she broke the men's record as well.
In 2018, Wilcox became only the second female to complete Switzerland's Navad 1000 bikepacking race, finishing in second place. The race features 627 miles distance and 99,770 feet of climbing.[20] Lael's race was commemorated in the film I'm Not Stopping produced by Rugile Kaladyte.[7] [21]
In June 2022, Wilcox became the inaugural winner of the Westfjords Way Challenge.[22]
On 26 May 2024, Wilcox started an 18020miles journey round the world, starting in Chicago, which she intended to complete in about 110 days, beating Jenny Graham's record by a fortnight.[23] She finished on September 11, 2024, having taken 108 days, 12 hours and 12 minutes to cycle 18,125 miles, beating Graham's record by more than a fortnight.[24]