RAAM racers continued to arrive in Savannah GA throughout the day, the culmination of over 2900 miles of cycling from Irvine CA. Solo and Relay Team riders alike crossed the finish line, earning the highly-coveted RAAM ring for their efforts.

The Finish Line is in Rousakis Plaza, which adjoins historic River Street. Savannah is a lot like a miniature New Orleans, with an eclectic blend of night spots, restaurants, and souvenir shops lining the cobblestone street.

The first rider in during daylight was RAAM's most accomplished racer, Rob Kish (8d 20h 22m). This was Kish's 13th RAAM, and he has finished every one. Like a fine wine, Kish continues to improve with age. The veteran ultra cyclist almost makes RAAM look easy as he seemingly glides through the miles. Kish gave Tatrai a scare back in Texas when he nearly caught the Australian, coming within 8 minutes as the duo battled the incessant Texas heat. That was as close as Kish would get to Tatrai, though, for soon after the Aussie's lead rebounded to several hours. Kish and Wolf gang Fasching later dueled for second place, with Fasching winning that battle as well.

Danny Chew finished his fifth RAAM in as many efforts, but had to settle for fourth place with a time of 8d 23h 14m. Chew road a strong race, but could never quite catch up to Kish and Fasching.

Italy's Fabio Biasiolo became the first new "ringer" in RAAM history by notching his first RAAM finish. The coveted gold RAAM ring has only gone to 109 riders tghrough 1997. Fabio came here determined to finish, and did it one better by landing in the top five finishers. His final time was 9d 6h 59m.

Andreas Clavedetscher was the Rookie of the Year with an impressive 9d 7h 53m finish, sixth overall, and first among RAAM rookies this year. Andreas was being compared to one of 1996's rookies, one who wenty on to do great things in RAAM: Wolfgang Fasching. History will tell if he will go on to duplicate Fasching's efforts.

Tom Buckley scored his second RAAM finish, improving significantly on his 1996 time. He crossed the finish line in 9d 11h 27m, well over a half day faster than his previous attempt. Buckley rode a strong, smart race, and enjoyed being at the front of the pack early on.

In the Relay Team division, Team Austria (above) rolled into town at 5d 23h 12m, becoming one of the elite teams to break into the sub-6 category. While they were unable to challenge Action Sports or Pacificare, Team Austria quite handily kept the remainder of the teams at bay throughout the race. Team Colorado was the fourth relay team to be official finishers, with a time of 6d 5h 14m. RAAM rules allow only 24 hours to pass beyond the divisional winner's time to be an official finisher in the relay race (and 48 hours in the solo race). Team Coast Guard (below) came in just before the cut-off, with a time of 6d 8h 12m, the fifth and final team to be official finishers. The foursome was a last-minute entry in the race, and should be admired for assembling a top-notch team in such short order.

Statistics as of late Saturday night:
Teams
Action Sports 5d 11h 2m
Pacificare 5d 11h 24m
Austria 5d 23h 12m
Colorado 6d 5h 14m
Coast Guard 6d 8h 12m
Gustavo RMO Franca 7d 9h 56m
Secure Horizons 8d 9h 11m
70+ 9d 1h 2m

Solo Riders
Gerry Tatrai 8d 12h 22m
Wolfgang Fasching 8d 17h 26m
Rob Kish 8d 20h 22m
Daniel Chew 8d 23h 14m
Fabio Biasiolo 9d 6h 59m
Andreas Clavedetscher 9d 7h 53m
Tom Buckley 9d 11h 27m

Check back tomorrow for stats on Sunday's finishers!

Use the menu below to check the updates posted each night during the race!