RAAM - Robic repeats as champion

Wed June 29 2005
Posted Jun 29, 2005
7,972

Just one week after pedaling through Durango, Slovenia's Jure Robic cruised across the finish line on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J., on Tuesday to win his second consecutive Race Across America solo title. Robic finished the San Diego to Atlantic City transcontinental race in 9 days, 8 hours and 48 minutes. Rookie rider Chris MacDonald of Denmark remained in second place in the 3,052-mile race, some 210 miles behind Robic. Of the 26 solo riders who started more than a week ago in Southern California, 13 remained on the course as Robic crossed the finish line. The solo field included the lone female rider, Anna Catharina Berge of Visalia, Calif. The solo field also included the lone teenager, 18-year-old Benjamin Couturier of Eagle River, Alaska. Couturier was in seventh place, about 500 miles from the finish as of Tuesday afternoon. The top American rider, Mike Trevino of San Diego, was forced to pull out of the race on Sunday when he fell and suffered a separated shoulder. He was in second place at the time of his fall. On Monday, Team Beaver Creek-Vail crossed the finish line to win the four-man team competition. The foursome of Mike Janelle, Toph Leonard, Jimi Mortenson and Brian Smith finished the 2005 RAAM in 5 days, 18 hours and 15 minutes. The team pedaled at a record pace until record heat in the Midwest slowed the crew of four cyclists known more as mountain bikers than endurance riders. Two of the Vail-area cyclists, Leonard and Smith, were riding in their first Race Across American. Mortenson had ridden in three previous cross country races. Team Beaver Creek-Vail maintained an average speed of 22 mph for the race. In the corporate category, Team Insight finished first in the race sponsored by Insight.com. The 2005 Race Across America also was marked by the death of veteran endurance cyclist Bob Breedlove, a 53-year-old orthopedic surgeon from Des Moines, Iowa. Breedlove was struck by a pickup on a two-lane road 28 miles west of Trinidad just one day after he pedaled through Durango. The course this year included a timing station in Durango's Santa Rita Park as the route featured long sections of Highway 160. Two years earlier a cyclist with Team Beaver Creek-Vail also was killed on the Race Across America. Brett Malin of Vail died after he was hit by an 18-wheeler on Highway 60 in western New Mexico. For race reports and final results, visit the race Web site at www.raceacrossamerica.org.