Connor's Hope on Course

Media 2 stopped by TS37 in Effingham once again to thank TS Manager Mike for working tirelessly and acting as a fantastic ambassador for the town.  He's been sleeping around two hours a night while keeping things cranking.  The great volunteers ensured every rider felt like a hero and greeted them with a chorus of about fifteen cowbells.


The media covering the media

Team RAF Survitec Epic's team RV was pulled up to the TS and Erin grabbed a quick interview.  The team currently occupies sixth place in this year's RAAM, but is in a four-way knife fight with Team Sharp4Prostate, Team Commerzbank, and Team Icebreaker for possession of fourth place in the under 50 4-male team race.

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The first team we encountered on the road was a very business-like team Austrian Musketeers.  Adam Denton looked over only briefly and then got back to business.  Next up in the 8-man team event was Andy Bestwick for Allegiant Travelers.  Andy was cranking through the Illinois corn fields en route to Indiana.

We bumped into Team Connor's hope just as Connor was taking over to start a short shift at the front.  We stopped roadside and put Brendan in their chase vehicle for an embedded interview and next swapped Erin out (they wouldn't bite on just keeping Brenden until they hit Annapolis) for a quick interview.  Look for more on the RAAM Facebook page and on the video blogs coming soon.

Road construction brought the team to a halt and one rider got to practice her track standing joking that it's "good for your core."  She was back on her way quickly. 

Michele Santilhano continued to soldier on through the oppressive heat and humidity on her way through IL.  Her cadence and speed have slowed significantly and the juxtaposition with the tempo set by the team riders just down the road is striking.  Santilhano is still holding down second place against a surging Sabrina Bianchi.  She's been distanced by France's Barbara Buatois, who has opened up a staggering lead of more than 175 miles.

We just crossed the Indiana state line, into Eastern time.  We are now on RAAM official time!