Two Indians finish 4,900km cycle race

Eleven days, 18 hours and 45 minutes after setting out from California, Srinivas Gokulnath created history by becoming the first Indian to complete what is considered to be the toughest cycle race in the world — the 4,900-km Race Across America (RAAM) in solo category.

In a feat that marks the Indian arrival on the endurance cycling scene globally, another Maharashtrian, Amit Samarth of Nagpur, followed him at the finish line at Annapolis on American east coast at 12am IST.

Among the nine men who finished, Gokulnath stood seventh while Samarth was right on his heels at number 8. The race was won by Christoph Strasser.

Team Sahyadri Cyclists, from Gokulnath’s hometown of Nashik, completed the race in the four-men category in eight days and 10 hours Monday.

Unlike a stage race like the famed Tour de France, the clock is constantly ticking at RAAM, and the riders have to pedal over 400 km a day to finish the race in the stipulated 12 days. They can rest for only few hours a day at best; extreme fatigue, sleeplessness and hallucinations are not uncommon.

“I am relieved... that is the feeling I am going through right now,” said Lt Colonel Gokulnath at the finish line.

Starting from temperate climes on the Pacific Coast, the race enters the furnacelike Mojave Desert, passes through arid Arizona, cold mountain passes in Colorado, windy plains in central America, and finally the Appalachian Mountains test the riders before they reach the Atlantic coast in the east.

In its over three-decade history, only three Indians had attempted RAAM solo, but no one could finish. Samim Rizvi, the first Indian to attempt, also took part this year but couldn’t finish.