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Ultra cyclist Strasser tests for RAAM and rides around Austria

Austrian ultra marathon cyclist Christoph Strasser did an awesome ride along the borders of his homecountry. After 100 hours and 30 minutes he had covered 2500 kilometres and 31000 metres of climbing with just 3 hours of sleep. 20 years ago the same route was done in more than 9 days, Strasser took less than half of the time to cycle around Austria.

Strasser’s plan was to ride on streets, which were next to the borders. The track was more mountainous than hilly with a lot of steep ascents. The highest point of the route was Austria’s highest mountain street “Großglockner”, 2507 metres above sea level. The cyclist was supported by a crew of eight and two support cars.
Bad weather and a lot of rain made the ride very difficult for the young cyclist. Especially the wet descents were very dangerous and forced him to slow down. Strasser caught a cold and lost his voice, which caused some further problems. Sleep deprivation and the inability to speak were very hard for him: "Talking to my crew keeps me up at night. The last night of my race was extremely tough because I could hardly stay awake. I had the chance to learn a lot about how my body works under that circumstances. I could gain much experience for the Race Across America 2009 and I am looking forward to it!"

In spite of these problems Strasser was successful and raised money for charity. He is going to sell his Specialized road bike and give the proceeds of the sale to the "Red Cross", a first-aid and welfare service in Austria.

Taking part in the world’s hardest bicycle race is the ultimate goal of the Austrian ultra cyclist Christoph Strasser. At the age of 25 he can still be considered a newcomer in a discipline usually dominated by more “experienced” athletes. Despite his young age, Strasser has already become one of the big players in the top league of endurance bicycle racing. He is topping his efforts with the second place in Race Around Slovenia, the UMCA European Championship (winner: Jure Robic, third: Marko Baloh), and with winning the "Glocknerman (1010km and 16000 vertical metres) in 2007. Strasser is a two time winner of 24h drafting races and the youngest finisher in the Race Across The Alps 2005.

Christoph Strasser has already set his targets for the up-coming season making the title of the RAAM “Rookie of the Year” his top priority.