Spilauer Has Transcontinental Bicycle Race Lead

After 3 days, 8 hours and 855 miles, Michael Secrest of Flint, Mich. passed through Provo, Utah, with the lead in the Race Across America (RAAM) transcontinental cycling race. A difficulty in breathing had caused Secrest to take a four-hour rest stop early Monday morning and four cyclists passed him.

But Secrest, a 34-year-old professional cyclist, regained the lead at 4:30 p.m., riding 17 minutes ahead of second-place Paul Solon, 33, of Albuquerque. Franz Spilauer, 32, of Vienna, Austria, was in third and Rob Templon of San Diego was fourth.

But Secrest’s lead was not to last.

Spilauer, a three-time Olympian road racer, passed Secrest around 7:30 p.m., gaining a 52-minute lead by the time he reached Fruitland, Utah, the 928-mile mark. After Fruitland, cyclists have 2,188.5 miles to ride before finishing in Wash., DC.

James Penseyres, 40, of San Clemente, who wears a prosthetic from the knee down because of an injury, is in 12th place.