RAAM 2024 Day 5 - LUKAS Kaufmann (RACE ACROSS AMERICA)

#RAAM2024 Day 5
Kaufmann reaches halfway point in second place
The fifth day of the Race Across America has begun. Lukas Kaufmann has over 2,700 kilometers in his legs and in Kansas he reached the halfway point of the 4,923-kilometer route from the west to the east coast of the United States. The Upper Austrian is currently in second place in the exciting race.
The RAAM, the longest and toughest cycling race in the world, writes its own laws and stories. Lukas Kaufmann had to experience this painfully over the last day and a half. He was caught in a storm front with heavy rain and hail - which cost him a lot of energy. "Today we rode through Kansas with a strong crosswind and a humid 34 degrees Celsius through flat and slightly undulating terrain. Lukas is definitely feeling tired, so far he has only slept for just over three hours in the entire race. We want and have to increase this workload in the last few days," says team boss Thomas Hölzl, who organized a small "party" for the 30-year-old from Kronstorf at the halfway point together with his team colleagues. As a reward for his performance, there was also a 10-minute power nap. The Lukas team is currently on its way to Missouri, where a longer sleep break of one to two hours is planned for the first time after the following night.
Exciting duel at the top
In the last two days or so, the RAAM has been more exciting than it has been for a long time. After Lukas was overtaken by the Swede Jimmy Ronn on day four, they rode many kilometers - often separated by only a few minutes - over the roads of the USA. The Swede was only able to pull away before the penultimate time trial in Yates Center. The strong time trialist is currently around 1:45 hours ahead of Kaufmann. Third-placed Dominik Meierhofer is still eight hours behind Kaufmann, but the man from Salzburg is catching up threateningly fast. "You can tell Lukas is sleep deprived. But we are still going great and are aiming for a finish time of under nine days - that was his big goal. Everything is still possible for all three top riders at the front. Lukas is a very good climber and he has recently lost time on the flat roads. But the steep Appalachians are still to come," concludes Hölzl.
ARAGON is supporting Lukas so that he can realize his challenges/dreams. #aragonrobotics
On June 11, the Race Across America, a 5.000 km long cycling marathon from the west to the east coast of the USA, which leads through three deserts, starts.
ARAGON will be reporting daily on the RAAM and especially on LUKAS Kaufmann's race from June 11.
We wish Lukas every success.
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