Tinker Juarez would be more competitive in RAAM if he didn't sleep so much.
Right now he's left Time Station 37 with 45.3 hours of rest recorded off
the bike. RAAM rules for Enduro are 5 mandatory rest stops of 2 hours
each at specified locations, plus 30 hours minimum rest at time stations
of the rider's choosing. Tinker's got 2 more mandatory stops left, which
means he will finish with no less than 49.3 hours off the bike -- that's
an astonishing 9.3 hours of extra rest above the mandatory minimum.
Yeah, I know, let's see me try, etc. But I'm not a world class athlete.
Point is, you can't win races sleeping while your competition is out
there riding and piling up the miles.
For 2007, I think we'll see much more fine-tuning of time management in
Enduro. My guess is that the optimum strategy would be to use the 30
hour rest during the middle third of the race, followed by a mad dash
for the final 1,000 miles and hitting the last two mandatory stops for 2
hours each exactly.