Raid Stage II in Idaho

06.06.2006

The 2006 X-adventure Raid World Cup heads to the state of Idaho this coming weekend as the cream of North Americaâ€™s adventure racing elite enters the fray for the first time this season.

The region around McCall and Cascade is replete with a wealth of outdoor attractions that include majestic peaks, towering forests, crystal-clear lakes and rapid-strewn rivers. This mighty wilderness will provide the natural arena in which the 14 â€œawayâ€ teams from around the world will compete with 25 top-notch contenders from the USA and Canada for the much coveted points on this 2nd and penultimate qualifying stage of the Adventure Racing World Cup.

Competing for the first time this year is a group of powerhouse squads from Europe: 2005 Raid victors LES ARCS QUECHUA (FRA), along with WILSA (FRA), ADIDAS NATVENTURE (GER) and UKA-X-TEAM LLEIDA (ESP), will need a convincing performance to avoid a possible points scramble during the final qualifying stage next month in France.

Lining up against this formidable opposition is a horde of teams almost all of whom are compelled, thanks to a pervasive â€œone bite at the cherryâ€ philosophy, to outperform zone favourites like AR giants NIKE (USA), NIKE/BEAVER CREEK (USA) and SUPPLIERPIPELINE (CAN).