Posted: November 15, 2005

Adventure Racing: Kiwis Continue to Dominate in 2005 World Championships

Kiwi favourites Balance Vector have a commanding lead in the 2005 Adventure Racing World Championship on the West Coast of the Southern Alps but they say there is still a long way to go yet.

The team completed the gruelling 37km trek through the Lyell Range at 9.45am after 18 hours 45 minutes slogging through the tough country.

Team captain Nathan Fa'ave said after the rafting section on the Buller River that while they had a good lead anything could happen.

"Another team could get a break on us or we could make a mistake."

The team slept for a short time following the rafting section before heading off on another gruelling trek this time in the Brunner Range. It is expected to take between 15 and 22 hours to complete.

The second team to emerge from the Lyell Range was fellow Kiwi team, Powered By Velvet.org.nz, just over four hours behind Balance Vector.

Team member Richard Anderson says they were pleased with their position after heading into the trekking section in 28th place.

"We saw a lot of other teams up there but managed to come down another route which gave us the jump on them."

Merrell Wigwam, which is a US/Kiwi team, was third on to the Buller River.

Team captain Robin Benincasa says it had been a tough night and paid tribute to her team members who helped her through it.

Defending world champions Nike Balance Bar of the USA are currently in fourth place followed by Kiwis Port Nelson, Sierra International and the NZ/USA team Montrail.

The Lyell Range trek was punishing for competitors and eight teams have now officially withdrawn.

ARWorld Series director Geoff Hunt says teams have moved slower than he expected apart from Balance Vector which finished close to the estimated time.

"The weather has been good, much warmer temperatures than last year and there's only been a slight bit of rain on the tops."

He says while teams who do not make the Buller River by the curfew at 7.30pm can still continue but will miss that section and move on to the Brunner Range trek.

"They will not be able to move up any positions in the field but they will be officially ranked at the finish."

US/Kiwi team Cranksports was forced to withdraw after team member Dan Abel fell and injured his shoulder last night. He was airlifted to Westport Hospital with a dislocated shoulder and suspected fracture.

The Kiwi team House of Travel, South African team Energy, mixed US/Kiwi/Lithuania Eastern Mountain Sports, Kiwi/French Intersport and Brazilians Try on Landscape and Brasil Telecom Oskalunga and Kiwis Swazi Petzl have all pulled from the field.

Competitors were put through the first of the showers organised by Biosecurity New Zealand as part of the battle against Didymo on the banks of the Buller River following the rafting.

The West Coast Development Trust is the principal sponsor of the 2005 adventure Racing World Championship and $100,000 prize money will be shared amongst the five top placegetters, with $50,000 for the winning team.

For up to date race coverage www.arworldchampionship.com or for alternative coverage www.sleepmonsters.com.

Southern Traverse Ltd is a premier international sports event management company operating elite events around the world, including the Adventure Racing World Championship, the AR World Series and the Southern Traverse.

The Adventure Racing World Series is an international circuit of premiere adventure races representing 10 countries creating a 12-month calendar of professional events around the world. The series events are: Beast of the East-USA, Raid the North Extreme- Canada, Ecomotion/Pro - Brazil, Explore Sweden - Sweden, The Bull of Africa - S.Africa, Terra Incognita - Croatia, Bergson Winter Challenge - Poland, Wilderness ARC - Scotland and Southern Traverse -New Zealand. Adventure Racing World Series events are qualifiers for the Adventure Racing World Championship

Website: www.southerntraverse.com.