X-adventure Raid World Cup 2006
The winners won't be....
Jon Brooke / 15.07.2006
The third round of the SAAB Salomon X-Adventure qualifying series for the Raid World Cup has started in Les Arcs in the Savoy region of France. For some of the teams taking part this is a last-ditch attempt to gain a place at the World Cup in Quebec in September, for others, either already qualified or with no hope of qualification, this 2 day race is an end in itself.Before the race, looking at the team list, it seemed like this might be a battle between two of the top teams in the world; Nike and Les Arcs Quechua, with Les Arcs on home turf. But now just an hour into the race both of them can be discounted from the results, for very different reasons. Nike - understandably just two weeks after winning Primal Quest and with their entry to the World Cup secure after a home win in the X-Adventure in Idaho earlier in the year - didn’t show. For Les Arcs the reasons are more unfortunate. On the first MTB section of the day, a big descent of around 1,000 meters over 18 km from the mountain to the valley floor, their female member, Florence Marguet, took a fall and is now on her way to hospital for X-rays on a suspected broken arm. The rest of the team are going to try to continue with the race, but will almost certainly be unranked once they complete the maximum number of sections allowed by the remaining male-only members. Team mate Yves Billodeau was most concerned that she would now be unable to take part in the World Cup, for which they have already qualified. “We need her� he said.
Team SAAB Salomon from the UK placed in the first half dozen or so on the first stage and seem in good spirits for the rest of the race on a course that should suit them – lots of descending on foot, climbing by bike, and no in-line skating. Though new-boy Rob Hope only joined the team this week (after Chris Near spilled boiling water on his foot!) for his first ever adventure race. As an English fell running international he should have the engine to do well, but these races are pretty technical with stops and starts, complicated logistics and lots of tricks-of-the-trade to shave vital seconds, so the more experienced team members will need to guide him through.See All Event Posts
