Wyss wins 2009 RAAM as Robic fails to finish

Thursday, July 2, 2009
By Scott Nuzum~Herald-Tribune

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- In a stunning upset, Dani Wyss of Switzerland passed four-time champion Jure Robic at Mount Airy, Md., just a little over 100 miles from the finish, to win the Race Across America cross-country bicycle race June 25.

Competitors passed through the Fort Scott-Nevada area June 22-25 as they passed through on the 3,021-mile course that began in Oceanside, Calif.

Robic, who was going for a three-peat and his fifth title in six years, pulled off the course at Mt. Airy and never resumed riding. He had led the entire race up until the time he stopped. Wyss went on to win the solo male 50-and-under division in 8 days, 5 hours, 23 minutes, the second-fastest time in the race's history.

Robic was finally declared "Did not finish" Monday. He made no statement to race officials.

Gerhard Gulewicz of Austria finished second in 8 days, 22 hours, 54 minutes while Marko Baloh of Slovenia -- Robic's countryman -- was third in 9 days, 21 hours, 44 minutes.

The women's solo division also saw an upset as rookie Daniela Genovesi of Brazil overtook Janet Christiansen of the United States and ended up winning by about 11 hours. Genovesi, the first South American winner in RAAM history, finished the course in 11 days, 17 hours, 8 minutes. Christiansen finished in 12 days, 3 hours, 54 minutes.

Team Type I, each member of which has Type I diabetes, reclaimed their speed record by finishing the eight-man division in 5 days, 9 hours, 5 minutes. Team ViaSat was second in 5 days, 15 hours, 53 minutes.

Team RANS won the four-man under-50 division in 6 days, 3 hours, 40 minutes. Team Strong Heart was second in 6 days, 10 hours, 30 minutes.

Other division winners (not including those in which there was only one competitor):

* Dominique Brand won the solo male 50-59 division in 11 days, 9 hours, 24 minutes. He was the only one in his division to finish the race.

* Great Grand PAC Masters, each of whom was at least 75 years old, finished in 8d, 14:19.

* All Wheels 4 Fibromyalgia won four-person mixed 50-and-under in 6d, 11:16.

* Adventures for the Cure won 2-person make 50-and-under in 7d, 1:33.