Forget about Lance and Landis. Let’s not talk about the Tour. The world’s toughest bicycle race—the Race Across America (RAAM)—kicked off June 10, and most solo riders are still going strong—now a week and two days later.
Indeed, the coast-to-coast course follows a 3,043-mile route on highways and county roads from Oceanside, Calif., to Atlantic City, N.J., and riders pedal around the clock, some forgoing sleep for days on end.
This year’s solo winner has just come in: Congrats to Jure Robic, who’s won the solo field handily with a time of 8 days, 19 hours, and 33 minutes, averaging 14.38mph from the start line to the finish.
Top solo riders average 350 miles per day and finish after more than a week of near-constant motion. Relay teams of two, four, or eight racers average 500 miles a day.
About 200 competitors—including soloists and team riders—are competing this year, giving the 26th iteration of the RAAM its biggest showing to date.
As of today, many of the teams have finished and solo riders like Wolfgang Fasching, Gerhard Gulewicz, and last year’s winner Daniel Wyss, are within spitting distance of the end.
Go to www.raceacrossamerica.org for race reports, videos and photos from the race updated every 30 minutes.
