Accident eliminates solo contender

Mark Pattinson of the United Kingdom is escorted by his support vehicle as he approaches Mexican Hat, Utah, Tuesday morning. Pattinson was in second place in the Solo Male division of the Race Across America, trailing three-time winner Jure Robic of Slovenia and Julian Sanz Garcia of Spain as they approached Colorado Tuesday evening. The competitors are expected to begin passing through Fort Scott late Thursday night or early Friday morning. (Race Across America photo/used with permission)

Gherhard Gulewicz of Austria, a third-place finisher in the Male Solo division of the Race Across America (RAAM) last year, was one of a small pack of riders hoping to unseat Slovenian Jure Robic as the defending champion. Instead, Gulewicz was eliminated early Tuesday morning when he was injured in an accident between time stations at Kayenta, Ariz., and Mexican Hat, Utah.

According to reports on the RAAM Web site, Gulewicz, who had just reclaimed second place from Julian Sanz Garcia of Spain, was trying to remove a jacket. The jacket was said to become tangled in the front wheel of his bicycle, and he went down, injuring his face and head. His injuries were severe enough that he had to withdraw from the race.

Robic, averaging nearly 17 miles an hour earlier in the day, made his check in at Pagosa Springs, Colo., at 7:40 p.m. CDT. Pagosa Springs is 884 miles into the race and 2,130 miles from the finish at Annapolis, Md. He was en route to Chama, N.M. as of Tuesday evening's deadline time.

Mark Pattinson of the United Kingdom and Julian Sanz Garcia traded second place as they rode through southeastern Utah early this morning after Gulewicz was injured. They passed through the time station at Durango, Colo., within 36 minutes of each other with Pattinson arriving at 9:07 CDT.

Janet Christiansen of the United States was still leading the Solo Female Division as she had passed through Pagosa Springs at about 8:55 p.m. CDT. Canadian Caroline van den Bulk, the only other competitor in this division, had passed through Durango at 6:31 p.m. CDT. The Durango and Pagosa Springs stations are 71 miles apart and van den Bulk had allowed to around 9 MPH in the mountains of southwest Colorado.

American David Holt reclaimed the lead in the Male Solo 50-59 age division this morning and passed through the time station at Cortez at 9:52 p.m. CDT. Doug Levy was in second place, passing through Montezuma Creek, Utah at 8:55 p.m. CDT. Beny Furrer of Switzerland, the one-armed rider who fought his way from third to take the lead Monday afternoon, had slipped back to third place. He passed through Montezuma Creek at 9:10 CDT.

American Richard Rupp, competing in Male Solo 60-69, appears to have run into problems in southwestern Colorado. He passed through Cortez at 2:26 p.m. CDT but had not yet checked into the next station at Durango, 44 miles east, as of 10:30. American David Jones passed through Cortez at 10:21. Because Jones started six hours later than Rupp, he is the division leader even though he hasn't actually caught Rupp on the road.

The Tribune also needs to correct an error it has made in previous editions that stated team competition was to begin Tuesday. In fact, that portion of RAAM began this morning. The Tribune regrets any confusion this may have caused.