The third annual Bern-Bodensee-Bern 600 km and RAAM qualifier was held July 4 in Switzerland. The course is 614 km with about 4,400 meters of climbing. The RAAM qualifying standard is to finish in 21 hours 15 minutes. This is equivalent the 24 hour qualifying standard of 425 miles; however, the Swiss course has three times the climbing of the UMCA 24 Hour course in Iowa! Four events were held simultaneously:

• RAAM Qualifier Division (non-drafting), 9 riders
• Elite Open Division (drafting), 26 riders
• Randonneur Open Division (drafting), 86 riders
• Randonneur Open 300 km Division (drafting), 77 riders

The randonneurs started at 6 a.m. in the rain, with a temperature of 9 degrees C / 48 F. The Elite field and the RAAM field started at 1.00 p.m. and the rain resumed one hour later. During the night it was very cold (5 degrees C / 41F).

Despite the conditions,. Geri Felberge (CH) set a new (drafting) course record of 19h 03m. Four riders finished in 19:17, also breaking the old record of 19:29.

In the RAAM qualifier, three riders finished and qualified for RAAM:

Rider, Country	Hrs:Min
Christian Burri (CH)	20:51
Peter Holy (GER)	21:04
Rainer Kiworra (FL)	21:04

Despite the conditions, 91% of the 600K randonneurs finished and 71% of the elite riders finished the 600K.

More information


[ To Top of Page  | Home   | Calendar  | Current Results  | Standings  | Year-Rounder  | Records  | Training  | Equipment  | Nutrition  | About the UMCA  | Site Index ]