In 2001, Team RAAM witnessed a changing of the guard. In years past, the four-person competition had always been the mainstay of team RAAM. This year, however, the two-person team dominated the Team RAAM division, with a total of eight teams entered.

The appeal of the two-person event is obvious, as it combines the speed and tactics of the four-person race with an endurance factor that more closely approaches the spirit of RAAM. Thus, riders can expect to spend an average of 12 hours per day in the saddle (as compared to only six hours for the four-person event), riding more than a double-century per day as they help their team move across the country. With the immensely positive outcome from the 2001 race, both in terms of the level of competition, and the comments of the competitors (many have vowed to return for 2002), the two-person event is poised to grow significantly in the next few years. Indeed, RAAM race director Lon Haldeman has noted on several occasions that he sees the two-person race as the wave of the future for RAAM.

The two-person race is still in its infancy. Although a two-person team first entered RAAM in 1997, last year's race was the first time that more than one team entered in the same year. Thus, most who will take part in the two-person RAAM race in the future will be new to the format, coming to the event from either solo experiences or other team events. As such, the learning curve is still pretty steep regarding the best approaches riders should take in preparing for and racing in two-person RAAM.

With this in mind, I recently polled riders who have taken part in the two-person RAAM to get their thoughts on how best to approach the race, and what advice they might have for other riders new to, and preparing for, two-person RAAM qualifiers and two-person RAAM. Their comments are insightful, and highlight that the two-person race is indeed a bona fide race unto itself, containing elements that clearly set it apart from either the solo race or other team events. This article will cover two-person training and logistics, while the next will detail racing tactics.

Training
Almost all riders recognized that this is a unique race, that taxes the mind and body in different ways than solo ultra events. As such, they tailored their training to focus upon elements that would most help them for the two-person event. At the top of the list for almost all riders was speed work. Most had calculated that, depending upon race conditions and specific tactics, they would typically be on the bike for no more than a few hours at a time before resting. Their goal during the race was, in the words of one rider, "to maintain a fast pace for as long as possible", which required "consistently bringing myself to the brink of going anaerobic without actually crossing the barrier".

To prepare for this type of focused racing, riders employed different training regimens, though each had a similar goal in mind: to increase power and aerobic capacity for a given sustained effort. The typical peak training month of these cyclists resembled quite closely the "speed work" phase of the average solo RAAM racer's training. From the Field: How RAAM Riders Train. Thus, most of these cyclists used some sort of interval-type training at least once per week. Most often this took the form of a 25-mile time trial, a series of 10-minute hill climbs, or just plain interval training (about 10 minutes each). Other rides during the week included ones of about 50-60 miles, as well as one long ride. The long ride was typically 10-12 hours in duration (about 200 miles). Most riders reasoned that even though they would never have to ride this long for one stretch during the race, their daily total would approach this duration/distance, so it was necessary to "train the body" to adapt to riding 200 miles per day. Indeed, some riders, during their peaking phase of training, rode consecutive 200-mile per day rides every other weekend in order to physically (and mentally) prepare themselves for being on the bike 12 hours per day during RAAM. As one rider put it, "this is still RAAM; we may not be riding 24-hours a day, but you still need to be prepared to be in the saddle for long periods of time, and to be in the saddle while you're physically and mentally exhausted".

As we might expect, the monthly mileage of the these riders, though impressive, did not approach the peaking phase of the solo RAAM riders, whose main long rides were often 24 hours or more. Riders preparing for the two-person event typically averaged about 1,500 miles per month (compared to 2,500 miles for the solo RAAM rider). While it was clear that "the long rides are key" for solo RAAM riders, it was equally obvious that the fast, "shorter" rides seemed to be key in preparing for the two-person event. A common training ride for these riders, as the race approached, was an 80- or 100-mile time trial. One rider, in fact, to better simulate race conditions, would ride a 100-mile time trial in the morning, rest for six hours, and then ride another 100-mile time trial. The rider felt that these rides in particular allowed him to combine intensity with duration, and effectively prepare himself physically as well as mentally for the stresses of RAAM

Logistics
The logistical approach to two-person RAAM is also different from solo RAAM. With two racers involved, more "stuff" will be necessary, though not necessarily twice as much for all aspects of the race. Most racers commented that what they found to be the most effective (and efficient) approach was to regard each racer (and their respective stuff) as a separate, fully functioning unit. Thus, each rider would be responsible for bringing to the race the bikes s/he would use, all the spare parts and tools necessary to repair the bikes during the race, all clothing, race nutrition, etc. for him/her, and a support vehicle fully set up to follow that rider during the race. Most teams found it best to assign one pace vehicle to each rider, and stock that vehicle to support that particular rider. Each vehicle would carry the necessary equipment for that rider, and there would be no need to exchange equipment between vans, thus eliminating the risk of losing or forgetting something that a rider needs. Each of the teams usually had a third vehicle as well. Typically, this was an RV, to be shared between the two riders, which functioned to house the resting rider and/or crew (the specifics of rider exchanges and resting patterns will be covered in the next article when we discuss general tactics and strategies).

With three vehicles, most two-person teams required no more crew members than solo racers. Typically, this amounted to eight crew: three for each pace vehicle, and two for the motor home. Most teams found it most effective to assign specific crew members to a specific vehicle for the duration of the race. Thus, the same three crew members would be assigned to support one rider throughout the race. As one rider explained, "if you have the same crew for the entire race, they get to know your quirks much better, and they can anticipate your needs and wants, and you can work much better as a team". Splitting the crew into distinct units also allowed the riders and crew to become inventive in addressing any potential boredom they might encounter in the latter part of the race, when teams often go for long stretches without seeing any of their competitors. As this rider explained, "by the end of the race, we were actually competing with the other rider [his teammate] and his crew, to see who could cover the most distance for each pull. My crew really got into it. It really helped to keep us focused, and provided some specific goals for us." It also, as the rider pointed out, allowed for "some within-team friendly competition in an otherwise very stressful (and sometimes boring) race".

With essentially the same number of crew and vehicles as solo riders, but now split between two racers, those racers who had attempted solo RAAM reported that the two-person event was much less expensive per rider than solo RAAM, and therefore much less stressful for them to attempt. Indeed, the riders reported that preparing for the two-person race was "a breeze" compared to solo RAAM, in that "you don't have to train as many miles (you can still have a life), you don't have to find as many crew or vehicles, so it's much less expensive, and you get to share the pain with somebody else!". This rider says he's become hooked on the two-person RAAM, and that you can expect him back in the near future.

"You don't have to train as many miles (you can still have a life), you don't have to find as many crew or vehicles, so it's much less expensive, and you get to share the pain with somebody else!".

These sorts of comments were typical of all those who competed in the 2001 two-person RAAM. It is clear that the racers, regardless of where they finished, thoroughly enjoyed this format of RAAM, and if their post-race remarks are any indication, we should see much from this race in the future.