Bryce passed TS 43 in London OH about an hour ago, and remains in 4th place. Souza is catching him, but slowly, only gaining 15 minutes on Walsh. Their average speeds were very similar through the last leg.

The leg to TS 43 is pretty much all downhill, and if the race up to this point is any indication, this favors Souza. Souza has struggled each other time there was any elevation change of significance: in the rockies, where he almost dropped out; and in the Missouri Ozarks, where Walsh overtook him to claim the fourth position.

Behind this overt excitement, there’s also a subtle strategic battle taking place. Bryce still has 7 hours of rest to take, but the other top riders (including Souza) have already taken their minimum 40 hours of rest. So while initially, the “save your rest for the end” strategy seemed like a darn good idea, now it appears to be a strategic disadvantage for Bryce. The other riders can rest if they must, but they aren’t required to if they mustn’t. Bryce, on the other hand, still has 6.5 hours of rest that he must take no matter what.

At this point, it doesn’t appear that getting rid of this 6.5 hours will be a problem strategically. Where this strategy has hurt Bryce, it hurt him long ago: earlier in the race, he could have spent more time resting, which would have increased his average speed.

One more note on Souza’s brief “disappearing act”: it turns out Bryce’s crew was warned not to take the posted detour at TS 42, and instead follow the original route. It appears likely that this valuable information was not passed to Souza or his crew.

Thanks for all your comments! They are being relayed directly to the crew chief and from there to Bryce. He’s lucky to have all of you to support him. Keep up the good work!

Here’s the latest map:

Click for bigger image

As always, email carter@pundo.com with questions, comments, or any changes to the race that you know about, that haven’t been captured here.