St. Louis team to tackle Race Across America this month

Jure Robic, winner of the 2005 Race Across America, rides near the Marthasville time station. Photo by Ranj the Obscure; click for more photos.

According to a Kathleen Nelson column today in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a team of four riders from the St. Louis area will participate in this years Race Across America:

Three decades ago, long before non-traditional sports became eXtreme, they were goofy or oddball to outsiders. Only participants viewed offbeat, grueling endurance tests as a badge of honor for the fittest of the fit.

Ironman triathlons came along first, with cycling's Race Across America, or RAAM, not far behind. The latter never garnered the romance or cachet of the former but it has survived, and the 27th annual RAAM will start for solo riders June 8 in Oceanside, Calif.

From four cyclists in 1982, the 3,000-mile race has grown to 250 competitors, some of them on two-, four- or eight-person teams. Among them will be a quartet from St. Louis departing from Oceanside with the other relay teams June 11.

The solo division of RAAM starts June 8th, 2008.

According to the route published RAAM's web site, riders will pass through Missouri with time stations at Collins, Camendenton, Jefferson City, Marthasville, and West Alton.