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Race Across America - NE
USA, June 11-23, 2006
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Day 4 - June 14
Robic Withdraws
Race leader Jure Robic withdrew from the race at 6:45am EDT on June 14, suffering from pneumonia. According to a crew member – who last year had been on the team of Marko Baloh when he coincidentally suffered the same fate – said that Robic had not been feeling as good in the first days as he had in the past two years, and that he had been uncharacteristically worried about the looming Rocky Mountain passes.
After stopping in Pagosa Springs around midnight for about an hour’s rest, Robic headed east towards Wolf Creek Pass, at 10,857 feet the highest point on the RAAM course. 28 minutes later he returned to Pagosa Springs with labored breathing, and feeling very weak, and an ambulance was called.
He was diagnosed at the Pagosa Springs time station with pneumonia and transported to hospital in Durango for treatment.
Robic's crew reported to Head Quarters at 2006-14-06 00:14 that they were taking him to the hospital and that he was most likely going to DNF. At that time there was no definitive decision to DNF and the DNF protocol was not completed. As time passed and there was no communication from the team, Head Quarters was concerned but reluctant to DNF Robic without making sure that was what he wanted to do. Meanwhile Robic and team were understandably occupied with his health. Robic and his team were eventually tracked down in Durango by a RAAM official and Robic’s official withdrawal was confirmed at 6:45 am.
Robic's withdrawal left Marko Baloh in the lead in the Enduro division at that time. Robic is a two time winner and defending champion of Solo RAAM.
Traditional/Enduro Combination Breeds Unprecented Competitiveness
The leader board has changed at each of the last four time stations in Colorado, between Enduro riders Marko Baloh and Jonathan Boyer, and Traditional Soloists Marcel Knaus, Daniel Wyss and Fabio Biasiolo. Such changes this early in the race are an exceptional display of the competitive nature of the incredible athletes at the front of the pack.
Another groundbreaking ride is taking place in the Traditional Solo Women’s category. While Patty Jo Struve pulled out of the race in Cortez, CO, Shanna “Banana” Armstrong is now 18th overall and ahead of many of the Male Solo riders! Earlier Wednesday night she was just 18 hours, 49 minutes behind the lead male solo rider. One must wonder what the Solo riders are thinking as she passes by…
The Race Across America is, in itself, an amazing feat. And it’s how the cyclists ride it and adapt to the conditions that make it so much fun to watch. Tinker Juarez has been riding the ENTIRE race in his big chain ring, that is he has been in a higher gear throughout the Rockies! Asked about this, Tinker says “It just feels right” and he’ll stay in the big ring as long as it feels good. He admits he will most likely have to gear down to his smaller ring when he gets to West Virginia, where he’ll face the steeper but shorter climbs of the Appalachians.
Behind these superstars, many of the racers are suffering from breathing difficulties, including Kenny Souza, Dino Nico Valsesia, and Guus Moonen. This is most likely due to the sharp contrast between the incredibly hot air of the daytime and the colder air of the long nights on the bike.
Moonen has only slept for 30 minutes so far, but is still feeling OK, and is currently in 6th place in the Traditional race.
We have seen seven riders drop out now, an attrition rate of slightly less than 25%. Historically, the total percentage at the end of the race is about 50%, so we will probably see a few more DNFs. The Solo riders are almost to Kansas, the midpoint of the race.
The Team Race
The teams are moving along very well. The Handcycle team from Austria started well behind the field but have now by-passed many of the Solo riders.
Leading the 8-person Corporate Challenge category is Team Type I, comprised of 8 riders with diabetes, out to prove to fellow diabetics that with a healthy lifestyle, anything is possible. Also riding for an extremely personal cause is Team Donate Life, some of whose members are organ donors or recipients, and one a double transplant recipient.
Another very exciting category to watch is the Four-person Women’s category. This race is far from over, but Team Red Helmets, with three teammates over 60, is now in the lead. They are hoping to break the 4-person 50+ women’s record set by two of them 10 years ago. Whether or not they finish first, this team is truly an inspiration to women everywhere.
Results
Men's Solo - Traditional 1 Fabio Biasiolo 1222.7 3.12.17 (14.51mph) 2 Daniel Wyss 1222.7 3.14.56 (14.06mph) 3 David Haase 1222.7 3.14.52 (14.08mph) 4 Marcel Knaus 1101.9 3.10.17 (13.39mph) 5 Dino Nico Valsesia 1101.9 3.10.30 (13.36mph) 6 Guus Moonen 1101.9 3.11.13 (13.24mph) 7 Kevin Wallace 1101.9 3.12.50 (12.99mph) 8 Gerhard Gulewicz 1037.1 3.07.31 (13.04mph) 9 Tony O'Keeffe 1037.1 3.14.48 (11.95mph) 10 Attila Kaldy 1037.1 3.15.00 (11.92mph) 11 David Jones 977.0 3.14.53 (11.24mph) DNF James Kern 721.0 2.01.52 (14.46mph) DNF Orlando Borini 721.0 2.09.43 (12.49mph) DNF Louis Lamoureux 488.9 2.07.12 (8.86mph) Men's Solo - Enduro 1 Marko Baloh 1222.7 3.11.59 (14.56mph) 2 Jonathan Boyer 1222.7 3.12.42 (14.44mph) 3 David Tinker Juarez 1101.9 3.10.47 (13.31mph) 4 Rob Lucas 1037.1 3.14.18 (12.02mph) 5 Bryce Walsh 977.0 3.14.34 (11.29mph) 6 Kenny Souza 931.7 3.05.10 (12.07mph) 7 Jean - Marc Velez 885.5 3.08.12 (11.04mph) 8 Mitchell Lesack 885.5 3.10.35 (10.72mph) 9 Fred Boethling 885.5 3.10.51 (10.69mph) 10 Guido Kunze 885.5 3.15.21 (10.14mph) DNF Jure' Robic 885.5 2.09.20 (15.44mph) DNF Guy Wells 565.1 2.12.20 (9.37mph) DNF Valentin Zeller 488.9 1.10.21 (14.23mph) Women's Solo - Traditional 1 Shanna Armstrong 977.0 3.12.28 (11.57mph) DNF Patty Jo Struv 771.2 3.00.03 (10.70mph) Two Person Male 1 Team BodyXchange / Garden Pathways 771.2 1.10.21 (22.45mph) 2 Team Race for Wishes 565.1 1.06.48 (18.35mph) 3 Cheniere's Making Cancer History Team 565.1 1.07.49 (17.76mph) 4 Team eXtreme 488.9 1.05.20 (16.67mph) Two Person Mixed 1 Racing Against Diabetes 977.0 3.14.56 (11.24mph) Two Person Recumbent 1 Volae Wolf Pack 637.0 1.10.01 (18.73mph) Four Person Male 1 Beaver Creek - Vail 815.3 1.10.12 (23.84mph) 2 Swiss DAMOVO Team 771.2 1.10.34 (22.31mph) 3 Athletes Racing for Charity Team 721.0 1.08.56 (21.89mph) 4 Dreams for Kids 681.6 1.10.12 (19.93mph) 5 Team Heifer International 637.0 1.08.59 (19.31mph) 6 Gearsandtears 637.0 1.08.58 (19.32mph) 7 Team OC Quattro 637.0 1.10.33 (18.44mph) 8 Team care 4 kids (NICH) 565.1 1.08.05 (17.61mph) 9 2CURE - HD 565.1 1.09.14 (17.00mph) 10 Vencendo Desafios Team Brazil 565.1 1.10.08 (16.56mph) 11 Team Cyclonauts 488.9 1.10.20 (14.24mph) 12 Team Nor'easter 452.8 1.08.53 (13.77mph) Four Person Female 1 Team Red Helmets 565.1 1.10.11 (16.53mph) 2 Vail / Beaver Creek B2B Divas 452.8 1.00.04 (18.81mph) Four Person Mixed 1 Emily's Team 681.6 1.09.24 (20.41mph) 2 Just Sweat No Tears 637.0 1.09.57 (18.76mph) 3 Team 4 Gone 488.9 1.04.53 (16.93mph) Four Person Tandem 1 Team JDRF 488.9 1.07.10 (15.69mph) Corporate Challenge 1 Team Type 1 771.2 1.08.57 (23.41mph) 2 Team ViaSat 721.0 1.10.30 (20.90mph) 3 Team Donate Life 8 637.0 1.08.43 (19.47mph) 4 Cycling for Chaffey 565.1 1.07.49 (17.76mph) Corporate Challenge HPV 1 Handcycleteam RC - Enjo Volarlberg 1037.1 3.12.44 (12.24mph) 24 Hour Corporate Challenge 1 Team Beat Cancer 488.9 1.00.24 (20.04mph) 2 The Swami's Team 488.9 1.02.26 (18.50mph) 3 Pam Reed's Badwater Crew 488.9 1.02.36 (18.38mph) 4 Team Illumina 488.9 1.04.28 (17.17mph)
