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World Championship disappointment

Susan McKenzie / 22.11.2005

It was a disappointing finish for the Canadian teams Holofiber, Supplierpipeline and Subaru Canada. One by one, the Canadians withdrew from the race: Subaru Canada missed the rafting cutoff and then skipped the long second trek. Holofiber had safety concerns on the treks and its members knew they would not make the cutoff on Friday. Supplierpipeline withdrew when Dave Corner blew out his knee on the second trek. The others continued as an unranked trio for a while before finally finishing their race on the bike leg.

Subaru Canada continued to race unranked. After the kayakking section, they were asked to remove their bibs and continue on the course more or less like a holiday trip and less like part of the race. That's when they decided to call it quits. It was the first time ever that veteran racer Jim Mandelli did not finish a race. Disappointed yes, but Mandelli is, as always, a practical person. "It's all about perspective," he said.

Next year's ARWC will be held in Sweden and Norway, and hosted by Mikael Nordstrom and Helena Lind of Explore Sweden. Canadians have always had a good showing in the Scandinavian race, and are all looking ahead to 2006.