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Team adidas Divas – Taking on the boys!

31.08.2005

The women of Team adidas Divas are set to take on all comers (including the lead Coed and All-Male teams!) once again as they prepare for the Salomon Adventure Challenge Canadian Championships in late September. The Ottawa-based threesome of Leanne Mueller, Nicola Cameron, and Liza Pye surprised many by finishing 4th overall (1st in the women’s category) at the 35-team Salomon AC Long Course in July.

“There were points in the race where we were back and forth with the teams who finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd. I think we may have spurned them on a little as I’m sure they didn’t want to be beaten by a team of women.” said Leanne Mueller, team captain.

Mueller is a veteran in the sport, having raced her first event in 1999 and achieving top finishes since then with teams Running Free, Jimmy’s Night Out and HolisticClinic.ca.

Cameron first entered the sport on the race organization side as Frontier Adventure Racing’s Volunteer Coordinator in 2002. Her first race was a 4th place finish with Team Canadian Hardcorps at a Subaru 24-hour AR in Fort Coulonge, QC and has also competed at Sea to Summit.

Pye is the secret weapon on a top Canadian AR team, Simon River Sports. She has only raced for two years but has amassed a bevy of 1st and 2nd place finishes at many top races – Beast of the East, Raid the North, Appalachian Extreme, and Salomon Adventure Challenge.

“We all love racing in the more traditional, Coed composition of an AR team but an all-women’s team is exceptionally different”, remarks Pye. “Decisions are made efficiently, nothing is taken personally when adversity strikes, and we really support one another. It is a very special experience.”

Taking Pye’s spot on the team for this season’s Salomon AC Champs, as she is racing the Raid the North Canadian Championships, is Carolyn Connell. Like Pye, Connell is relatively new to AR but she has an endurance background through triathlon racing.

“I can’t wait to race with Lee and Nick! We have so much fun training together in the Gatineau so racing with these two will be awesome.”, said Connell.

How do the adidas Divas plan on doing at the Salomon AC Champs?

“We’ll be easily recognizable out there with flowers in our hair and streamers on our bike handlebars. Pretty cheesy but it’s fun. Of course we race to have fun but there is no doubt that a top five finish is our goal, and we know that winning is always a possibility. Once we see a team in front of us, we just want to pass them.”

If history bears any prediction of the future, other competing teams in the Salomon Champs should look out for the women of Team adidas Divas!