Raid World Champs Qualifiers
News Release / 31.07.2006
The three qualifying stages of the Raid World Cup, held in Australia, the United States and France, have now determined the 34 teams for The World Raid Championship from 9th to 16th September in the Saguenay-Lake Saint Jean region (CAN).Throughout the three qualifying stages, a host of top flight adventure racing teams from around the world attempted, vainly or victoriously, to overcome some of the planet’s most challenging outdoor attractions, including the white-sand crucible of the Western Australian beaches, the turbulent cataracts of Idaho’s rivers and the gruelling gradients of the French Alps. 34 of them, distributed across geographical zones, came through this demanding exercise with enough points to earn a place on the starting line of this year’s The Raid World Championship.
It wasn’t until the very last, hard-fought stage that the pecking order for Zone I, reserved for Scandinavian teams, was finally decided. With little inclination to undertake the laborious long hauls to Australia and the United States, all the teams in this zone waited patiently before playing their hands. BUFF SWEDEN, by finishing 10th overall in France, finished at the head of the group, in front of TIETOENATOR ADVENTURE (SWE), MULTITUDE SALOMON (NOR) and LUNDHAGS ADVENTURE (SWE).
In contrast, the Western European Zone, that includes a number of favourites for the title of World Champions, was a heated confrontation from the very start of the season. Aware of the stakes and realizing that the any absence or sloppy performance could well be fatal, these “dreams teamsâ€, for the most part, competed throughout the season. Their persistent appearances in the upper rankings was easily enough to earn their passport to Quebec.
Thus ERTIPS (FRA), SAAB SALOMON (GBR), LES ARCS-QUECHUA (FRA), CLUSAZ TSL RAID (FRA), WILSA SPORT/HELLY HANSEN (FRA), AIGLE SYBELLES ESF (FRA) and SPORT 2000/LAFUMA (FRA) will all be on the start lin. A couple of surprise inclusions in this group are PLANET TONIQUE.COM (FRA), RAID AVENTURE 46 (FRA) and COMPAGNIE DES ALPES RAIDLINKS (FRA), all last minute invitees thanks entirely to their impressive performances during the final stage held between Arc 1950 and Aix-les-Bains.
