With a storming tailwind blowing them across the Kansas border, Ben Couturier and Cat Berge rode mere minutes apart in the closing hours of daylight on day five of the 2005 Insight Race Across America. Couturier trailed Berge by less than a mile as the two riders pushed out of time check 22 in the tiny town of Walsh, Colorado, where they went through in 10th and 9th, respectively.
“Tell Cat to slow down,” yelled the 18-year-old Couturier with a big smile on his face. “I’ve been chasing her all day.”
Descending out of the Rocky Mountains onto the long downhill that runs into Kansas, Berge and Couturier looked to be having much the same RAAM experience, a good one. While it’s easy to put on a happy face with a 35MPH tailwind, both riders said their legs have gotten better in the past two days and physical problems have been minimal-to-nonexistent.
“My massage therapist said my muscles are feeling much better,” said
Berge. “I had some knee problems two days ago but it seems to be getting better. It’s amazing that you can heal all while you’re riding.”
As for Couturier, he has maintained a sleep more/ride fast strategy in order to maintain a physical reserve for the final half of the race. Peter
Lekisch, Couturier’s coach, said that the plan for the race has been to turn the 18-year-old Alaskan loose once the course hits the Mississippi River. Day five will have been Couturier’s longest in the saddle thus far in the race.
