Mild Seven Outdoor Quest
iRule overtakes Nike ACG-Balance Bar to win Stage 2
Lisa de Speville / 29.10.2004
On the final inline skate section, iRule overtook Nike ACG-Balance Bar to win Stage 2 by almost 2-minutes.Stage 2, the second day of competition, has been long – considering that we’ve been up since 02h00. Competitors, media and staff were bussed from the Nexus Resort to the Tip of Borneo, Simpang Mengayau, a bumpy 3-hour drive.
With sunrise at 06h02, it was light and bright for the mass start at 06h30. The first leg was a 3km kayak clock-wise around the Tip to the beach on the other side. Hauling their kayaks out of the water over rocks (it was low tide this morning) they set off on foot on a 1km coasteering section back to the start/transition area.
What is interesting is that an Adventure Skill – in this case a high-speed Tyrolean Traverse – had been setup in this area and the teams were given the option of completing the exercise during any section of the race. They would return later to this transition twice again after the start.
Seagate and AstaFactor decided to complete the task at the start, while the rest of the field started the paddle, some taking on the Tyrolean after the 1km coasteering run, others later in the morning when they returned to the transition. Out on the water we were very surprised to see Seagate and AstaFactor far… very far behind the ‘last’ teams on the paddle.
The bonuses of completing the task early are a) it is done, b) teams in front just don’t quite know where you are and c) you’ve got clear-air on the subsequent coasteering/beach run and mountain biking section. It also means that they would probably have to work their way through the backmarkers – an issue on single track. The strategy is somewhat like that of a Formula 1 pit-stop. Bear in mind too that only 2 teams can be on the activity at the same time so a later rush could induce a time-wasting bottle-neck.See All Event Posts
