X-adventure Raid World Cup 2005

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Zone by Zone

Rob Howard / 23.07.2005

There are 9 qualifying zones spanning the world, and the final places in 6 of them will be decided at this race. Now the full start list has been released it’s possible to look at those teams under pressure, and those who can qualify if they do well here. (You can see the current positions by zone on www.theraid.org.)

Zone 1 – Northern Europe – 6 Places

Five of the top 6 teams are racing and barring a disastrous result should expect to get through. Norwegian team Norrona Multitude are the team missing, and they are currently in 5th place on 40 points, so could come under threat by Tietoenator Adventure, who are on 26 points.

Zone 2 – Western Europe – 10 Places

This is the powerhouse group with all the high points scoring teams and none are taking anything for granted. 13 of the top 14 teams are racing, including the top 10 in the qualifying places. Aveyron Terre d’Aventures are in 10th place on 72 points, and will be watching out for Cotes d’Amor Nike ACG who are just 10 points behind them. It would be a surprise if any of those above them slipped up.

Zone 3 – Eastern Europe – 5 Places

This is a closely fought group, but the current 5th placed team from Estonia are not racing, which will encourage the Austrians of Nike ACG RAW who are just one point behind them. The nearest threat to them are the Russians of International Dimensions, but they have an 18 point deficit to make up.

Zone 4 – Southern Europe – 5 Places

This is the most exciting group. All of the top 7 teams are racing and there are only 4 points between 3rd and 7th places! The only team not from Spain in this group are EOS Acharnon/Salomon Hellas of Greece, who currently hold the 5th qualifying place and will be hard pressed to hold onto it given the Spanish teams will know the Pyrenees well.

Zone 6 – North America – 6 Places

The top 3 teams from this group are not racing, and Chasing Daylight in 3rd could well lose their qualification, as could Nike ACG Beaver Creek who are in 6th spot. Both Montrail Revo (5th) and Mont-Blanc International (4th) are competing to confirm their qualification.

The teams currently outside the top 6 are Newcastle Ltd/Crested Butte, who are currently 7th and only need to score 3 points to move into a qualifying spot. However, the Canadian team Supplierpipeine are only 7 points behind them, so both teams have a good shot at qualifying.

The other Canadian team, RunningFree.ca, are more of a long shot as they’d need to get an extra 20 points on their countrymen to force a way into the qualifying places.

There are no competitors from Zone 8 (Asia & Oceania) taking part in this final qualifier, so those places are already decided, and there were no participating teams from the African and S. American zones.See All Event Posts