The 2007 Adventure Race World Championship

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Across Loch Ness

Rob Howard / 29.05.2007

At the start of day 3 the leading teams were arriving at Transition 3 at Borlum Farm on the hillside above Loch Ness, but it took longer to get there than they’d hoped. As they pushed on through the night on their bikes the minutes ticked away, and so did the hours, and as dawn approached they knew they would not make T3 in darkness … so they would have to make the cold swim in Loch Ness. It started to rain steadily as they arrived too, the first wet weather on the race.

Wilsa Sport Helly Hansen arrived and opted to sleep in the big tent which offers the teams shelter and a place to prepare and repack. They were also kit checked for a strobe light and a group shelter – none failed this time! Nike, Balance Vector and Orion Health slept too, as did the short coursed team Mitsubishi Quasar Lontra. Nike put up their own inflatable tents and it took an age to erect them!

Bjurfors Adventure Racing pushed on, moving into 3rd place at this point, passing through transition quickly as did later arrivals Buff Coolmax and Team SOLE.

Leaders Wilsa Sport Helly Hansen were also very slick on this long transition, working out of their huge and very well organised kit boxes (by far the biggest on the race). The boxes are not popular with the marshals who have to move them around, but the team cleverly made them from stiffened, flat pack plastic and they are within the 40 kilo weight limit …

Shortly after Buff Coolmax arrived Team SOLE limped in with a shattered rear disk on Tom Zidek’s bike. It was completely destroyed and Paul Romero commented, “A lot of teams will have bike problems by the time they get here!� He added, “We did a lot better on the paddle than I expected in the boats we had, coming in 3rd behind the two kiwi teams, but then for that huge trek we found we had no food in our boxes. We were so hungry!� The team had to get ready to go, then wait while a bike mechanic took the shattered brake off. (Their penalty for receiving his help.)See All Event Posts