Christoph Strasser wins record 6th Race Across America title; Team Backstedt take 8-person win

Austrian ultracyclist Christoph Strasser has won a record sixth solo Race Across America (RAAM) title. Meanwhile, Britain’s Backstedt Racing Project took victory in the eight-person team category.

Strasser crossed the line in Annapolis, Maryland in 8 days 6 hours 16 minutes – well outside his 2014 record of 7 days 15 hours 56 minutes, but more than a day ahead of the second-placed finisher, Denmark’s Jakob Olsen.

Here is Strasser reflecting yesterday on his record-breaking feat.

Strasser’s first victory in the race came in 2011, the year after Jure Robič took his fifth and final win, with the Slovenian killed during a training ride in September 2010 when he was struck by an oncoming car during a descent on a training ride in his native Slovenia.

Backstedt Racing Project 14, led by 2004 Paris-Roubaix champion Magnus Backstedt, won the eight-person open category in 5 days 15 hours 49 minutes, more than 14 hours ahead of runners-up, the US entry Team Oceanside.

Their time was the second-best across all categories in the race, beaten only by Austria’s Team Alpha-Tischlerei Groemmer, which completed the coast-to-coast challenge in 5 days 15 hours 33 minutes.

Backstedt wrote on Instagram: “Well, we made it. Think we missed the team win by a couple of minutes. We did everything we could as a team and I’m really proud to have done this with a bunch of really good friends and made some new ones.”

 

 

 

 

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Well, we made it. Think we missed the team win by a couple of minutes. We did everything we could as a team and I’m really proud to have done this with a bunch of really good friends and made some new ones. @backstedt_racing_project_14 it has been a blast. To all the crew, riders and sponsors, thank you for an unforgettable 5 days of racing across America. Don’t forget you can still donate to support our charities. https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/backstedtracingproject14?utm_term=qpPAPkXVR

A post shared by Magnus Backstedt (@magnusbackstedt) on Jun 21, 2019 at 5:55am PDT