Christoph Strasser reached the dock in Annapolis on 19 June 2013 and became the first solo rider to cross the United States in under eight days. His winning time of 7 days, 22 hours and 11 minutes cut almost five hours from a record that had stood since 1986.
A record that waited nearly three decades
Strasser had set his sights on the old mark of 8 days and 3 hours before the start in Oceanside, California. That record, set by Pete Penseyres, had not been touched in 27 years. The clock never stops in the Race Across America, and the route climbs more than 170,000 feet.
Dominance from coast to coast
Strasser rode away from what many called the most stacked field the race had ever seen. Every winner of the previous decade was on the start line, including two-time champion Dani Wyss and the 2012 victor Reto Schoch. By the finish, Strasser had put 245 miles between himself and Wyss, who crossed the line a full 22 hours later.
His average speed of 15.56 miles per hour broke Penseyres' 1986 mark of 15.4 mph. An 11-person crew across three vehicles managed his nutrition and sleep breaks, though rest remained rare on a schedule that demanded over 22 hours of daily pedalling.
The Austrian had already won RAAM in 2011, in 8 days and 8 hours, and finished second in 2012. This was his second victory and a rewrite of what a solo rider could achieve across a continent.
A three-year-old when the standard was set
"It's so great I can't even realize it, because the record—it was from back in 1986 when I was just 3 years old," Strasser told reporters at the finish. Penseyres himself called the young Austrian and gave his own verdict: "That was the most incredible cross country ride ever."
The 2013 crossing was the moment the eight-day barrier fell. A rider who had been beaten in this race returned not to avenge a single loss, but to overturn a mark that had outlasted a generation of ultra-distance athletes.
