Helena Weckworth
Member since
6/25/2009 9:28:29 PM |
 MALE SOLO WINNER
6/26/2009 5:58:10 PM
06/26/09
08:46:05 pm, by Andy
RAAM Daily Wrap-Up: Day 10
Dani Wyss wins the solo male RAAM.
The solo male Race Across America has a new winner. Dani Wyss crossed the finish line in Annapolis, MD after eight days, five hours and forty-five minutes of racing for his second title. The Swiss man enjoyed the ride of his life, one of both great tactical finesse and impressive staying power, mercilessly tracking Jure Robic before turning the tables in his own favour in the closing 500 miles.
However, it was not quite the grandstand finish envisaged by fans and media.
Unexpectedly, Wyss’s rival Jure Robic stopped riding at TS #51 in Mt. Airy, with the two effectively equal on time. To reiterate, he has not officially DNFed and could ride to the finish at any point. However, at this point, he has lost second place to Gerhard Gulewicz, who is fifteen miles from the finish.
One winner, two champions
This incident should not detract from the thrilling dogfight we have witnessed over the last week; both Wyss and Robic rode with great courage, skill and pluck. We have one RAAM winner, but two champions, irrespective of today’s events.
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Helena Weckworth
Member since
6/25/2009 9:28:29 PM |
MALE SOLO WINNER
6/26/2009 1:28:00 AM
Annapolis MD 25.6.2009 ob 21.20EST
I thought something had happened to Jure because he did not show up in Annapolis right after Dani Wyss. This statement was on his website. What do you think?
Jure was the fastest cyclist on this years RAAM. On the last time check TS51, he came few minutes before Dani Wyss. Because of the penalties, issued controversially, because of the rules not aplied always in the same manner and because of not issuing penalties to others, Jure and his crew decided not to finish the race as 2nd, but step out of it on TS51.
Today it was written the history of RAAM. Jure and Dani staged the toughest fight ever and on the end the fastest didn't won.
Expect more in next days when we will be relaxing before traveling back home.
za JRteam, Matjaž
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Helena Weckworth
Member since
6/25/2009 9:28:29 PM |
MALE SOLO WINNER
6/25/2009 9:28:29 PM
6/25/2009 9:24:10 PM
06:36:15 pm, Article by Andy [earlier today]
Wyss vs. Robic
This one hardly needs sensationalising. It beggars belief that after 2,900 miles of racing, four-time winner Jure Robic and 2006 champion Dani Wyss, are just five minutes apart in this year’s edition of the Race Across America.
Eight days ago, they were the world’s fittest ultra-cycling athletes. Now, they are like two punch-drunk boxers. Mentally dazed by the plodding, repetitive effort of 22 hours cycling a day, they are dragging their sorry asses through the last round, trading final blows, both praying for their opponent to hit the canvas, KO’ed. Yet, there is an innate knowledge that this may not happen. Neither Wyss nor Robic has wilted under pressure in the last eight days; so, it will take a huge effort for it to happen now.
Their bodies and senses have been deadened by eight days of cycling, pushing to the brink of physical and mental capacities. But still, something cries out inside them to keep pushing, to grit their teeth, to embrace and master the pain and pursue victory. They will be bolstered by the fact that it is the final 200 miles - the closing day’s racing is a metaphorical finishing straight. Even the weariest legs or most jaded mind will get a lift when an end to the torture is in sight.
What started out as a 3,000-mile epic - the world’s toughest bicycle race – is now a 100 mile time-trial for the leading pair. Wyss’ aim: to keep Robic at arm’s length as the race drops to its finish in Annapolis. Robic’s: to put the hour that he absent-mindedly lost due to time penalties into his Swiss peer. Insiders are saying that Wyss has the advantage, but Robic will come out fighting with every weapon in his armoury, now that he is cornered. In past years, his winning margin has been hours. He hasn’t been in this position for years – now he must work out how to win by the narrowest of margins.
If pedal stroke after pedal stroke, mile after mile in vast, open spaces, has ever been monotonous for either rider, it now becomes of the utmost importance to them. For the fan too, this is a finish of scarcely-believable closeness and excitement. The Race Across America and its defining mano-a-mano battle of 2009, Wyss vs. Robic, comes down to the last mile, the very last minute, in Annapolis, Maryland.
AND THE WINNER IS DANI WYSS!
RACER TIME STATION DATA
Timestation : #53 - Annapolis, MD
Arrived : 2009-06-25 21:25:00
Average Speed : 21.86
Distance From Start : 3021.30
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