alan@mtxinu.UUCP (Alan Tobey) (07/22/85)
The Race Across America began Sunday, July 21, from Huntington Beach, California, south of LA. We have not yet been able to confirm a list of official starters, but approximately 30 riders were expected, including 3 women. Some of the major male contenders are: --Lon Haldeman, a previous winner and dominant rider in this race, who withdrew from an apparent second-place finish in last year's race after acknowledging more help from his crew than officially allowed during a period of disorientation and double vision near the finish. This year he's out to prove himself again. --Jonathan Boyer, who's done well in European racing including the Tour de France. It's unclear how well he'll adapt to the multi-day little-sleep pace of RAAM, and he'll be watched closely. --Mike Secrest, a finisher in last year's race with great determination and strength; last year led early but fell back from about the halfway point. --Michael Schermer, holder of various ultra-marathon cycling records including Seattle to San Diego. --Last year's winner Pete Pensayres is not riding; he's crewing for his brother Jim instead. The women are: --Shelby Hayden-Clifton, holder of the current women's cross-country record. She totally blitzed the field in the qualifying John Marino Open and would have qualified for RAAM under the MEN'S timing. --Sue Notorangelo-Haldeman, Lon's wife. Dropped out of last year's race because of some crew & physical difficulties and in order to assist Lon. Very strong rider, used to RAAM distance and pace. --Elaine Mariolle, the last of the 9 riders who finished last year. Has trained hard, is much faster, holds the women's Seattle to San Diego record. Strong rider on the hills, should pick up time when not in the desert. A few notes on the rules for those not familiar with the race: Unlike the Tour de France, the clock is always running. Winning riders sleep only 2-3 hours a day. Men's and women's divisions are being run separately this year. To remain officially in the race, riders must be within 48 hours of the male or female leader beginning at the Mississippi (Memphis); last year only four riders (or three subtracting Haldeman) made the cutoff, and five more (including all three women) finished unofficially. Last year's winning time was about 9.5 days, but the route this year is different and slightly longer at 3088 miles. =================== DAY ONE =================== The route led from Huntington Beach east to Riverside and across the desert, crossing into Arizona at Blythe. From there it diverges northeast to Flagstaff before heading due east again to Gallup and Albuquerque. As of noon local time on Monday, July 22, our contact Vance Vaughan (crew chief for Elaine Mariolle) reports: The riders are beginning to string out along a stretch from just past Blythe and nearly to Flagstaff. As expected, Secrest and Boyer are sharing the lead at a very strong pace. Lon Haldeman is shadowing them about an hour back, and Michael Shermer is just behind Lon. Shelby Hayden-Clifton is leading a blistering pace for the women; she's in about 6th place overall. Sue Notorangelo is about an hour behind Shelby, and Elaine is another hour back. All of these riders did 350 miles + in the first 24 hours, and none has yet stopped for sleep. The major difficulty yesterday and today has been heat -- temperatures over over 100 and very dry air have been punishing the riders. As Vance says, "It's starting to cook down here again, and it's gonna be a hot day in the desert."