With the pandemic forcing RAAM indoors, Bharat would race his avatar across a digital America.
When COVID-19 cancelled the 2020 Race Across America, organisers partnered with a technology platform to stage a virtual edition on the FulGaz app — riders pedalling home trainers wherever they were, their logged distance appearing on screen as movement across the US. Menon previews Bharat's entry in the solo category.
The article sets the scene with the wider history of Indians at RAAM — from Samim Rizvi's pioneering attempts to the Mahajan brothers' 2015 team finish and the 2017 solo finishes of Gokulnath and Samarth — and explains the V-RAAM format, its roughly 4,500 km distance and 12-day cut-off, and the particular challenges of racing for days on a stationary trainer.
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