Live tracking: The Race Across America in the live tracker
Thanks to live tracking, participants in the RAAM can be followed live. Dotwatching is the name of the fun, which involves tracking dots on a map.
Dotwatching is the tracking of long-distance cycling races or events via the internet using GPS tracking. Participants are equipped with GPS trackers that transmit their position in real time. This information is displayed on a map on which the points representing the participants are visible as coloured dots (often referred to as "dots"). Spectators can follow the races online by tracking the progress of the participants on the map and observing their position in the race. Dotwatching allows fans to cheer on the riders, analyse the strategies and follow the race from anywhere.
What is the Race Across America (RAAM)?
The Race Across America - RAAM for short - is one of the most famous ultra-long-distance races that takes cyclists from the west to the east coast of the USA. The race is famous and notorious for its extreme conditions and challenges.
Each participant is accompanied by a support crew. The team serves food and drinks, puts the riders on their bikes or carries them into the campervan for a break to sleep. There are many rules to follow.
What will the RAAM 2023 route look like?
From the start in Oceanside in California to the finish in Annapolis in Maryland, around 4800 kilometres and almost 55,000 metres in altitude await the cyclists. This makes the RAAM longer than, for example, the Grand Tours in professional cycling (Giro d'Italia, Tour de France or Vuelta a Espana).
When does the Race Accross America 2023 start?
The individual starters will set off on Tuesday 13 June, the relay teams (teams of two, four or eight) on Saturday 17 June. In the live tracker here you can see where the individual athletes and teams are currently located.
Is there a time limit for the RAAM?
Individual starters have a maximum of twelve days to reach the finish. The fastest should take less than eight days. The teams have a maximum of nine days, with the fastest teams expected to arrive in Annapolis in just over five days.
Who can take part in the RAAM?
As a team, you can register for the RAAM without a qualification event. If you want to start solo, you have to qualify beforehand. There are several ways to do this, some of which are
- Participation as a team of two or four in the RAAM
- Successful participation in a RAAM-like RAAM qualification event
- Successful participation in a time-trial qualification event
How long has the Race Across America existed?
In 1982, the Race Across America celebrated its premiere as the Great American Bike Race. In the first edition, four participants set off, cycling from Los Angeles to the Empire State Building in New York City. The event quickly became famous thanks to nationwide television coverage. Since 1992, there have been relay teams at the RAAM.
Record victories
Individual record for men: Christoph Strasser cycled the 4860.2 kilometres in 7 days, 15 hours and 56 minutes in 2014. This results in an average speed of 26.42 km/h
Women's individual record: Seana Hogan set the fastest women's time to date in 1995. She covered 4686 kilometres in 9 days, 4 hours and 2 minutes at an average speed of 21.30 km/h.
Many of the participants are repeat offenders. This also results in repeat winners. Seana Hogan is the record winner, she was the first woman to finish the RAAM six times (most recently in 1998). She is followed by Nicole Reist with three victories.
In the men's category, the aforementioned Austrian Christoph Strasser has also taken six victories so far. He is now travelling new paths and has been trying his hand at long-distance cycling races without a support team since 2022. In his debut, the Transcontinental Race 2022, he won straight away - We spoke to him afterwards.
Also worth mentioning: In 2021, a woman, Leah Goldstein, took first place in the overall starting field - with a small number of participants due to the pandemic. Many were not allowed to enter the USA due to coronavirus.
Sandra Schuberth
Editor
