Competition with German Team Pushing Team PH

From Team PHenomenal Hope's Facebook page:

A photo of the team with the German Frauleins the afternoon prior to race start. The strategy going into planning for the race was for Team PH to ride their race at a particular pace and finish safely. The vastness of the country, fatigue, logistics were all obstacles enough.

Early on in the race, it was apparent that Team PH was pretty closely matched with the German women. The regular lead changes between the racers and the overlapping transition points for crew made them a topic of conversation, bordering on distraction.

Little things have added to the unexpected drama, and there's always the question of pride. When Anne-Marie passed the German racer on the ascent of the highest peak of the entire 3000 mile course and Patty came zipping down the descent at 30 miles an hour to protect the lead, the team was anything but neutral. Stacie and Ryanne battled the cold and feirce gusts overnight with the Frauleins essentially at a dead heat. Early this morning, AM and Patty opened a gap of a few miles coming into transition in Trinidad, Colorado, once again lifting everyone's spirits. As Colorado leveled out this morning, Stacie added a few more miles to the lead.

We're not even at the half way point yet. Ohio and Pennsylvania and West Virginia are familiar cycling territory for our women. Kate is trying to keep everyone level headed but she's got her work cut out for her. This is, after all, a race across America with four strong, very competitive American women. Should be an interesting finish.

Follow Team PH more closely here