After dropping out of last year's race, Rainer Klaus vowed to return and challenge Rob Morlock's record of 35H 15M. True to his word, he did just that with a time of 32H 58M in the second annual Adirondack 540, which was held September 22nd - 24th. Arend-Jan Koning (The Netherlands) was second in a time of 38H 13M. Koning qualified for the Race Across America.

The race was held on a 136-mile loop that had to be ridden four times. The loop had 7,600 feet of climbing including several steep climbs in the 2 - 4 mile range, three screaming downhills and the rest of the route consisted of short rollers. The flat sections were short and few and far between. Finishers climbed over 30,000 feet.

The entire route was held within the Adirondack State Park, which at 6,000,000 acres (roughly the size of Vermont) is the largest park in the nation (outside of Alaska). Riders started in Ticonderoga, NY near Fort Ticonderoga, the site of the first American victory in the Revolutionary War.

The course requires climbing ability, a good sense of pacing, and persistence to repeat the circuit four times. Last year's two finishers, Rob Morlock and Rich Kondzielaski, both completed RAAM 2000.

Mike Seager, a strong climber from Rochester, NY was third solo finisher in 46H 27M. He finished ahead of the two-person relay Team Cyclone (Thomas Ryan and Stephen Schwartz, Elmont, NY) who finished in 48H 28M.

We also offered riders the option to ride 1, 2, or 3 laps, to test conditioning and preview the course for a future attempt to qualify for RAAM. Peter Dusel (Ontario, NY) finished the Bronze Blast (1 Lap) in 10H 45M.

Results

Rider / Hometown	Hours:Minutes
Solo Riders
Rainer Klaus (Germany)	32:58, New Course Record
Arend-Jan Koning (The Netherlands)	38:13, RAAM Qualified
Mike Seager (Rochester, New York)	46:27
Bronze Blast (136 miles)
Peter Dusel (Ontario, NY)	10:45
Teams
Team Cyclone (Thomas Ryan and Stephen Schwartz, Elmont, NY)	48:28