Posted: August 4, 2004

Adventure Racing: Teams spread out over 200kms of Adventure Racing World Championship course

Adventure Racing World Championship 2004 - Corner Brook, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada

3 August: Day 3 of the Adventure Racing World Championship (ARWC) was a clear hot summer’s day for the racers as they continued around the challenging course in Newfoundland, Canada.

The highlight of the day for the lead teams was a 14km Dory paddle from Flat Bay to Stephenville Harbour. Although the teams found the traditional fishing boats heavy and slow to move, most employed assistance in the form of sails and additional paddles.

Team Merrell Zanfel (USA) was first on to the water, followed an hour later by Cross Sportswear (Swe). Nokia (Fin) arrived in to transition with their female racer, Anu Kopra hobbling and wanting to consult with the medical crew. During the night trek in the Long Range Mountains she stumbled and landed awkwardly on her knee. With ice on her leg to reduce the swelling, the team launched their Dories as Nike ACG Balance Bar (USA) entered transition.

Still two hours behind the leaders, Nike ACG Balance Bar’s rapid transition enabled them to take advantage of the high tide and the possible short cut over a tidal sandbar. The teams just behind may not be so lucky and would have to paddle the full length of the spit to enter George’s Bay.

Aberdeen Asset Management (UK) currently in 5th place completed a quick transition to maintain the gap they hold on Team Mazda (SA). Team Mazda have been charging up the field after some difficult days of racing for the team. A talented member of the team, Martin Dreyer, suffered food poisoning before the race started and this has been taking its toll on his energy levels. He commented on his performance, “I am supposed to be an asset to this team; so far I have been a burden.” However, he is recovering well as the race progresses, getting stronger day by day. The team has climbed to sixth position.

Soon after Team Mazda departed from this TA, GoLite Timberland biked in. It had been a while since this team had checked in to a check point and through investigation it materialized they had missed CP12. A time penalty was given to them for their error, which they are serving at CP 13.

Close behind are two Canadian teams. Initial race leaders Supplier Pipeline (9th) are slightly ahead of Simon Riversports (10th). They will both start their Dory paddle this evening and continue through the night. There is no dark zone on this section of the course.

The bulk of the field is presently in the Long Range Mountains and will continue trekking through the night before biking the old rail trail. Teams at the rear of the field are just completing the paddle in to Rose Blanche.

Team Bridgedale (NZ) has decided to continue unranked as a three person team following a sleep induced bike accident which forced Tim Pearson out of the race. Team Necky is also continuing as a three person unranked team due to a knee injury put David Pinola out of the race.

The race can be followed on www.arworldchampionship.com and also on www.sleepmonsters.com.

Background information
The 2004 ADVENTURE RACING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP is the championship event for the Adventure Racing World Series of eight premier international races, including the Beast of the East (USA), Raid the North Extreme (Canada), Ecomotion /Pro (Brazil), Explore Sweden (Sweden), Appalachian Extreme (USA), Southern Traverse (New Zealand), European Championship Adventure Race (Austria), and Adventure Quest Africa (South Africa). The world's top teams were invited to compete in the 2004 ADVENTURE RACING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP based on winning placements and qualifying criteria of the Adventure Racing World Series races, with the remainder of the 50 teams selected via an application process.

About Frontier Adventure Racing Inc.:
Frontier Adventure Racing Inc. (FAR Inc.) is the leading adventure racing company in Canada, operating the popular Raid the North and Salomon Adventure Challenge series. Now in its seventh year of operation, FAR Inc. has established an international reputation for solid logistics and challenging race courses. Providing traditional wilderness adventure race experiences has been FAR Inc.'s focus since day one. Often building courses around the history and traditions of the regions competitors travel through, FAR Inc. remains true to its slogan: Real Wilderness. Real Navigation. Real Adventure.