Cuomo bests lawmakers in raft race, says Bloomberg is next

NORTHVILLE, N.Y., July 22 (UPI) -- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo left state lawmakers in his wake at the Adirondack Challenge whitewater race and said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is next.

Officials overseeing the Sunday challenge, which Cuomo announced in January as a whitewater race between teams comprised of state and local officials, said Cuomo's team came in first with a time of 18 minutes, 56 seconds, while the state Senate came in at 19 minutes, 58 seconds and the state Assembly had a time of 20 minutes, 26 seconds, The Glen Falls Post Star reported Monday.

Cuomo said Bloomberg will be the next to taste his wake when the governor and his team go head to the head with the mayor and his team Monday, the New York Daily News reported.

"Winning isn't everything, but it's very nice," the governor said.

Cuomo joked Bloomberg was hiring strong rowers as members of his staff "just to put together a good rafting team."

Bloomberg spokesman Marc LaVorgna said the mayor's team faces a stiff competition.

"We are definitely the underdog. They have home-stream advantage," LaVorgna said. "What we learned, shockingly, was that when your entire staff resides in New York City, you don't have many people who raft," he said.