Jure Robič
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Jure Robič |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Ultramarathon |
| Major wins | |
| 5 times RAAM winner (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010) 24h time world record 2 times winner Le Tour Direct/Ultime | |
Jure Robič (10 April 1965, Jesenice, Slovenia – 24 September 2010, Plavški Rovt[1]) was a Slovenian cyclist and a soldier in the Slovenian Army.
Robič won the Race Across America 5 times (a record in the men's solo category): in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010.[2] He was in second place at the final time station in 2009 when he dropped out to protest time penalties he had received.[3] Robič swore never to enter RAAM again, but changed his mind and came back and won again in 2010.
On 19 September 2004, Robič broke the world 24-hour road record by cycling 834.77 km (518.70 miles).[4] In 2005 he won Le Tour Direct, a 4023 km (2500 mile) race on a course derived from classic Tour de France routes.[5]
Robič was renowned for pushing himself to extreme mental breakdown during endurance races. He has been laboratory tested, and his abilities to produce power and transport oxygen were found to be parallel to those of other top ultra-endurance athletes worldwide. During the 2004 Race Across America, he was reported to have had only eight hours of sleep during his eight-day, 2958.5-mile (4761.2 km) ride across the United States.
He died on 24 September 2010 in a traffic accident when he was hit by a car on a forest road in Plavški Rovt near Jesenice.[6]
His brother, Sašo Robič, was a professional skier with limited success in the 1989 and 1990 seasons of the Alpine Skiing World Cup. He committed suicide about six weeks prior to Jure's fatal accident.
References
- ^ RTV Slovenija – Na gozdni cesti nad Jesenicami umrl kolesar Jure Robič
- ^ http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/raam/rcrank.php?s_N_Year_ID=33
- ^ Wyss Wins RAAM, Robic Drops Out!
- ^ Cycling New article, September 21, 2004
- ^ http://www.ultracycling.com/results/letourdirect2005.html
- ^ http://www.rtvslo.si/crna-kronika/na-gozdni-cesti-nad-jesenicami-umrl-kolesar-jure-robic/240068
External links
- Official website
- "Bicycle Dreams" Award Winning Documentary Film starring Jure Robic
- "Race Across America" NBC-TV Film detailing Jure Robic's First RAAM victory
- NY Times article
- Bikeradar.com article
- MSNBC article
- Radiolab episode featuring Robič
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