Raid Ukatak
Poles Take the Lead as 14 Teams Continue
Leslie Quinton / 20.01.2003
Monday January 20 - 15:00A little over 24 hours after the racers left Pointe-au-Pic, not unexpectedly, the scene on the race course has dramatically changed. Team 1 from Poland managed to overtake the leading Swedish team at Checkpoint 4 by leaving only minutes earlier and by following a different path over the woods and across a series of frozen lakes on foot, ski and snowshoe. Team Hellmann/Salomon Adventure checked out of Checkpoint 5, known as “the Teepee CP� because of its unique tent shelters, more than 40 minutes ahead of the previous leaders. The team was observed to have no trouble maintaining the level of energy that has propelled them into first place after starting an hour later than the rest of the pack!
Team 11,VSD Catalan, were expected to be early leaders, but ended up dropping out early at the first transition area where a “conflict of interests� (read racing approaches) saw the team enjoying instead a warm breakfast in the luxurious dining room of the Auberge du Ravage, a five-star resort deep in the heart of the Charlevoix backcountry. Team captain Marc Louboutin was philosophical, “We’re not sure why the communications broke down but we realized it was better to stop now.� No doubt the 90-km bike portion through snow-covered hills with kilometre-long ascents did not help. (They do good beaver pate at that auberge! – Ed.)
Despite the fact that they were the leading local team, Team 3, Le Genevrier /Baie St-Paul, was forced to pull out of the course when Jean-Francois Cimon reported frostbite in his feet arriving at CP 5. This is a big disappointment to local supporters, since this team had been the fifth to arrive at the checkpoint and was otherwise in good shape. “That’s the risk of a race in temperatures like these,� said co-organizer Natalie Pelland. One other team has also had to withdraw due to frostbite: Team 17, Big Fish, were hoping to get at least halfway through but a member of the Ukatak medical staff judged the condition of Russel Bamford’s feet too serious to continue.
The overcast conditions have actually improved the conditions for racers, in least in terms of snowfall. The leading teams took less time to cover the bike portion than expected, due to the fact that there has been no new snow in the area in five weeks (very unusual conditions), so the routes were dry and firm packed. However, it’s taken them longer to complete the trekking section of the course, so the teams are arriving at checkpoints at approximately the original expected times.See All Event Posts
