Kiwi prepares to tackle world’s toughest bike race

New Zealand road cyclist Craig Harper is in the final 100 days of training for an endurance solo bike race billed as the toughest in the world.

The Race Across America (RAAM) takes place from 11 June 2019 (US Pacific time) – a gruelling non-stop bike race that pits the world’s top solo endurance cyclists against each other, crossing 12 states along a non-stop 3,000 mile (4,828km) route from America’s west to east coasts.

Together with distance, the cyclists expect to face extreme weather conditions in desert sections, and will climb a total height of 175,000 feet (53km) over the route – the height of the upper level of the Earth’s stratosphere, four times the cruising altitude of a long-haul commercial aircraft, or the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest six times. To add to the challenge, they have a maximum time limit of 12 days to complete the race.

Blenheim-based builder and amateur cyclist, Craig is no stranger to extreme challenges – last year he set the fastest amateur time ever in the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge 640km Maxi Enduro, winning it for the second time in three years.

In 2017 he set a new world record for cycling the 2,170km length of New Zealand solo. He completed the challenge in under four-and-a-half days, which included switching to a mountain bike and crossing the South Island’s high-country Rainbow Station due to the closure of earthquake-damaged State Highway 1.

“The Race Across America is more than twice the distance, and it’s not just a race against the clock – this time I’m racing alongside the best endurance riders in the world,” Craig says.

Unlike the Tour de France which races in daily sections, RAAM is one continual stage – it’s the world’s longest time trial. Moreover the race is about 30% longer than the Tour de France, and racers must complete the distance in roughly half the time… with no rest days.

The logistical support and training required for a feat of this scale is enormous, and Craig will have a crew of nine on-hand to ensure he stays safe on the road and in racing condition throughout the event. Together with physical exhaustion, he will face extensive sleep deprivation, desert temperatures and sections of low oxygen, with a section of the race sitting at over 10,000 feet.

His training includes intensive 24-hour monitored sessions in a heat chamber at the University of Waikato’s Adams Centre for High Performance, where he is acclimatising to the anticipated 40-degree desert conditions of Arizona’s Sonoran Desert.

The race route travels west to east, traversing three major mountain ranges (Sierra, Rocky and Appalachian), and crosses four of America’s longest rivers (Colorado, Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio). The route travels through iconic American landmarks including the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts, Monument Valley, Great Plains and Gettysburg.

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