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Race Across America - NE
USA, June 11-23, 2006
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Day 5 - June 15
Toto, this IS Kansas... you can tell by the wind...
A day of hot, powerful crosswinds for riders leaving the Rocky Mountains left most of the RAAM Solo field feeling that their descent into the more humid climes of Kansas was a distinctly mixed blessing.
Jock Boyer ended the day with a slim, 16-minute, lead over Marko Baloh in the Endurance division. To boot Boyer has 19 hours of sleep logged compared to Baloh's 16. Approaching the halfway point, these two look poised for a struggle of epic proportions.
Fabio Biasiolo, the Italian who broke female RAAM fans's hearts by cutting his flowing locks, leads the Traditional category by around four hours from Daniel Wyss of Germany, who has apparently recovered after slipping several places in eastern Colorado.
In accident news, Jean-Marc Velez crashed and went to the hospital but is not dropping out. (see Report from the Field, 2006-06-15, 21:15 EDT)
More teams and riders have been getting blown around throughout the western states and some teams were held up around Flagstaff due to brush fires.
Leading the team charge, is defending champion Vail/Beaver Creek in the four-person category, approximately 75 minutes ahead of the eight-person rookie Team Type 1, a team of diabetic cyclists which is aiming to set a new eight-person team record and at an average speed of 22.7 mph are looking well on course.
The two-person category, predictably, is led by Team BodyXchange/Garden Pathways the crack outfit from Bakersfield, Calif. Comprising Joe Peterson and Kevin McNulty of the Kern Wheelmen team. These two are aiming for a new record in the Two-Person division, and are well ahead of record pace.
Looking at some individual stories from the day...
When rookie Rob Lucas arrived in Trinidad, CO at TS #20 with his all rookie crew on Thursday morning, he was the 4th place Enduro rider. Close to his Colorado Springs home, Rob's parents and his one and three year old daughters came out to cheer him along. Lucas rode his way from the middle of the field to the front half upon leaving the Rocky Mountains. The IT band on his left knee was bothering him, but he has yet to take any painkillers. He said he likes to know where the other riders are so that he can gauge his own progress. Thus far has logged over 17 hours off bike time 1,102 miles into the race.
The only woman left in the field, Shanna "Banana" Armstrong arrived in Trinidad the 11th place Solo Traditional rider. Near the time station, one of her bikes got run over by her crew vehicle. Fortunately the damage was only minimal and fellow Solo competitor David Haase is having a new chainring for her shipped to a bike shop in Mt. Vernon (TS #27), KS from his Attitude Sports shop in Wisconsin. In what other sporting event would competitors be so willing to help out their competition? Shanna's father Brent is on her crew. She has been 90 minutes of sleep per night. Entering the Eastern Plains of Colorado after Trinidad, 35 mph crosswinds made it very difficult for the lightweight UltraMan world champion to stay on the road. She much prefers straight on headwinds over crosswinds. Her cycling shoes had the whole front toe section cut out to alleviate pressure.
Bryce Walsh Crew Learning the Ropes of RAAM
The next Enduro rider to Trinidad was rookie Bryce Walsh with his all rookie crew. The 5th solo Enduro rider, Walsh missed the right turn out of Trinidad on US Route 160 East, and had ridden 7 miles off route before his crew picked him up and drove him back to the right turn. All in all about 30 minutes lost, but since finishing times in Atlantic City are usually separated by hours, he shouldn't lose a place over it.
Souza Works to Remain in RAAM, Has Son on Crew
Kenny Souza had major problems with his lungs and breathing the first few days at altitude. At TS #18 in Alamosa, CO 977 miles into the race, Kenny took an 11 hour sleep break to allow himself to recover. The break dropped him from 4th to 7th place in the solo Enduro race. He woke up behind Shanna Armstrong, but refreshed from his sleep soon started pegging her back.
His 14 year old son Dalton is a crew member. Dalton helped his father win the Furnace Creek 508 mile RAAM qualifier last fall, and plans on riding it himself this or next year. Dalton remarked that he can beat his father in any distance running race, but not on the bicycle. Is Ben Couturier's 18 year old youngest RAAM finisher record safe? Could they become the first father/son duo to ever finish solo RAAM?
Results
Men's Solo - Traditional 1 Fabio Biasiolo 1557.2 4.12.34 (14.34mph) 2 Daniel Wyss 1496.8 4.12.57 (13.74mph) 3 David Haase 1443.5 4.10.02 (13.61mph) 4 Kevin Wallace 1443.5 4.12.30 (13.30mph) 5 Guus Moonen 1443.5 4.13.57 (13.13mph) 6 Dino Nico Valsesia 1443.5 4.14.33 (13.06mph) 7 Attila Kaldy 1345.6 4.14.38 (12.16mph) 8 Gerhard Gulewicz 1345.6 4.14.23 (12.19mph) 9 Tony O'Keeffe 1295.3 4.14.33 (11.72mph) 10 David Jones 1101.9 4.05.42 (10.83mph) DNF Marcel Knaus 1295.3 4.00.44 (13.39mph) 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 Jonathan Boyer 1557.2 4.13.40 (14.20mph) 2 Marko Baloh 1557.2 4.13.58 (14.16mph) 3 David Tinker Juarez 1401.4 4.13.15 (12.83mph) 4 Bryce Walsh 1295.3 4.15.06 (11.66mph) 5 Rob Lucas 1295.3 4.15.20 (11.63mph) 6 Kenny Souza 1222.7 4.10.42 (11.46mph) 7 Mitchell Lesack 1173.1 4.12.47 (10.78mph) 8 Fred Boethling 1101.9 4.08.28 (10.55mph) 9 Guido Kunze 1101.9 4.12.21 (10.17mph) 10 Jean - Marc Velez 1037.1 4.01.54 (10.59mph) 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 1222.7 4.10.29 (11.48mph) DNF Patty Jo Struv 771.2 3.00.03 (10.70mph) Two Person Male 1 Team BodyXchange / Garden Pathways 1222.7 2.08.33 (21.62mph) 2 Team Race for Wishes 931.7 2.07.41 (16.73mph) 3 Cheniere's Making Cancer History Team 931.7 2.08.02 (16.63mph) 4 Team eXtreme 885.5 2.07.47 (15.87mph) Two Person Mixed 1 Racing Against Diabetes 1222.7 4.13.38 (11.15mph) Two Person Recumbent 1 Volae Wolf Pack 1037.1 2.08.36 (18.32mph) Four Person Male 1 Beaver Creek - Vail 1345.6 2.10.06 (23.16mph) 2 Swiss DAMOVO Team 1222.7 2.09.01 (21.44mph) 3 Athletes Racing for Charity Team 1101.9 2.05.34 (20.57mph) 4 Dreams for Kids 1101.9 2.09.19 (19.22mph) 5 Gearsandtears 1101.9 2.09.58 (19.01mph) 6 Team Heifer International 1037.1 2.07.25 (18.71mph) 7 Team care 4 kids (NICH) 977.0 2.07.47 (17.51mph) 8 Team OC Quattro 977.0 2.08.40 (17.24mph) 9 Vencendo Desafios Team Brazil 885.5 2.06.58 (16.11mph) 10 2CURE - HD 885.5 2.09.06 (15.51mph) 11 Team Nor'easter 815.3 2.07.03 (14.81mph) 12 Team Cyclonauts 815.3 2.07.02 (14.81mph) Four Person Female 1 Vail / Beaver Creek B2B Divas 1037.1 2.07.29 (18.69mph) 2 Team Red Helmets 885.5 2.06.26 (16.27mph) Four Person Mixed 1 Emily's Team 1101.9 2.09.05 (19.30mph) 2 Just Sweat No Tears 1037.1 2.08.48 (18.26mph) 3 Team 4 Gone 931.7 2.08.33 (16.48mph) Four Person Tandem 1 Team JDRF 885.5 2.09.54 (15.29mph) Corporate Challenge 1 Team Type 1 1295.3 2.08.44 (22.83mph) 2 Team ViaSat 1101.9 2.06.41 (20.15mph) 3 Team Donate Life 8 1101.9 2.10.05 (18.97mph) 4 Cycling for Chaffey 977.0 2.07.53 (17.48mph) Corporate Challenge HPV 1 Handcycleteam RC - Enjo Volarlberg 1345.6 4.12.24 (12.41mph) 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)
