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XPD Joins the World Series

Rob Howard / 06.01.2006

In an exciting development for Adventure racing in Australia, the nation’s only expedition adventure race, XPD has been accepted as a member of the growing Adventure Racing World Series.

Scheduled for 20 Feb – 3 Mar 2006, XPD will take local and international competitors to the "End of the World", deep into the rugged wilderness of Tasmania. It promises to be a challenging race in true wilderness.

Teams of four will battle the elements and terrain for up to 10 days of world-class expedition adventure racing. The course is 650km and disciplines will include mountain biking, trekking, whitewater kayaking and rope stages.

Race Director Craig Bycroft, recently returned from Tasmania, said, “The news is tremendous and the spotlight will definitely be on XPD and Tasmania this February”.

“Without a recognised qualifier until now, Australian teams have had a tough job qualifying to compete in the AR World Series. This will give some of the truly world class Aussie teams a better chance to compete at an international level”.

The race was extended to 50 teams from the original 30, and most of the entries are from Australia, including defending champions from 2004, AROC Mountain Designs. There are also teams from USA, Singapore, S.Africa and Papua New Guinea entered, and as a result of recent withdrawals there are now a few places free - but they are likely to fill fast!

The winning team in Tasmania will qualify to race at the Adventure Racing World Championships in Sweden this August.

The Adventure Racing World Series also stops at other destinations around the globe including the Southern Traverse in New Zealand, Raid the North Extreme in Canada, Bull of Africa in South Africa, Wilderness ARC in Scotland, EcoMotion Pro in Brazil, Bergson Winter Challenge in Poland and the Bimbache Extreme in Spain.

Detailed race information and the progress of teams can be followed throughout the race at www.xpd.com.au and right here on SleepMonsters, the exclusive World Series web partner.

[The race organisers have received great support from Events Tasmania, Telstra Countywide, Sevylor Kayaks, Mountain Designs and the Hobart City Council.]