Posted: August 4, 2004

Adventure Racing: Teams Battle for Lead at AR World Championship in Newfoundland

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

The battle is still on for the leader position as teams race nearer to the finish line in the Adventure Racing World Championship 2004.

Nike ACG/Balance Bar's (USA) excellent navigational skills put them back in the lead yesterday evening, which it has maintained overnigh. The Americans should be the first to reach the ropes section of the course. Just ten minutes behind is team Merrell Zanfel (New Zealand/USA) continually challenging for the leader position. Cross Sportswear is in third place. Team Nokia Adventure (Finn) moved at a slower pace during the night but managed to maintain fourth place, despite Anu Kopra's obviously injured right knee.

Behind them, Team Mazda (SA) and SupplierPipeline (Can) are moving up the rankings. Mazda's Martin Dreyer has virtually recovered from the heat exhaustion that hit him on day one, and the stomach bug all four were hit with the day before the race has worked its way out. They are all eating well and moving even better.

Teams will ascend to check point 16 on top of the Blow Me Downs (so named because the winds are som hard they can quite literally blow you down), then trek 16 kms across the mountain top to the rappel. If the skies are clear, the rappel will offer athletes a stunning view over the Bay of Islands. If not, plenty of fog.

At the back of the pack, teams are not so fortunate with the conditions they are racing in. Thick fog has descended on the South Coast and race oganisers are being assisted by Search & Rescue to pick up the last few teams still on the first paddle. Among those is Infiterra (USA). It is now unfortunately out of the race.

The foggy conditions are also making it hard work for the few teams that are still trekking through the Long Range Mountains. The bulk of the field will be completing their Dory paddle today across Flat Bay.

The winners are expected to bike across the finish line at Marble Mountain at approximately 17.00.

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.