Helly Hansen Adventure Race Series 3
The Weavers Down Autumn Assault
Rob Howard / 24.10.2007
Once again the Helly Hansen Adventure Challenge at Longmoor Army Camp came up trumps with the weather. It was a repeat performance of last year with brilliant autumn sunshine throughout the race, but when arriving in the early morning it was time for the woolly hats and gloves as the frost was still set hard on the ground and the surrounding forests harboured some lingering mist.This time the car parking was further away from the start, in a field alongside the A3, mainly as there were more cars and competitors to accommodate. Some patient waiting was required to register and collect the orange Helly Hansen race bibs, each with its team number, and as a result the starts were put back 15 minutes to allow everyone time to get their bikes and kit into the transition area.
With a record entry of 699 racers (233 teams on the day) this was the biggest Helly Hansen race to date, and the biggest one-day AR race ever held in the UK as well, eclipsing the recent London Rat Race. The numbers necessitated two mass starts 10 minutes apart and each of these set off across the open sands of the tank testing area, setting teams off on a short run designed to spread them out a little before arrival at transition to collect their bikes.
In this 3rd race of 2007 the pecking order at this series is now well established and it was no surprise that two Votwo teams and Aberdeen Asset Management were among the lead pack, along with Thames Turbo and the Helly Hansen UK. After a fast transition they set off on the first of two 12km bike laps to the south of the start/finish, crossing a Bailey Bridge and following the track of a disused railway line to begin with. The surface was open heath or hard pack mud, with some deep water splashes left from mid-week rains and plenty of singletrack, climbs and descents.
The route was challenging for the novice racers, some with little or no mountain biking experience. One was heard to say, “Maybe we should have done some bike riding before doing this – I’ve not been on a bike for years!� Though perhaps not as scary for the elite teams it was still an enjoyable route. “It was a good ride with plenty of technical sections,� said Nick Gracie of Aberdeen Asset Management.See All Event Posts
