X-adventure Raid Series Grand Final
Saab Salomon Peak for the Final
Raid Series Media / 20.10.2003
POE BEACH/NEW-CALEDONIA - SAAB-SALOMON were victorious in the final stage of the World Cup X-adventure Raid Series held in New-Caledonia. Often well placed, but never before winners, the British team finally managed to get the better of arch rivals LES ARCS-QUECHUA in the series final in the Southern Hemisphere.Perseverance paid off. After finishing second on several occasions in Raid Series, in which they have shone for two seasons now, the blistering Brits of SAAB-SALOMON (GB) finally won their first stage in torrential rain and very violent winds. "We‘ve waited a very long time for this one," admitted Ben Bardsley one of the team’s stalwarts. "But the best part is that we finally won on one of the most competitive stages of the season, with the best European teams and two very strong Australian teams in the race. The course was also very typical of a region that none of us is familiar with and very different from what we’ve seen on the preceding stages.�
“We never gave any thought to the final result,� he continued. In particular Saturday evening at the campsite we were worried at how LES ARCS-QUECHUA (FR) were getting closer and closer to us". Memories of the first stage in May, held in Scotland, where they lost by a mere 4 seconds were surely haunting the Brits. Even the prayers of the village elders in Pwasa - where the campsite was located - and the gifts offered to every newcomer, according to a New-Caledonian tradition weren’t enough to dispel the doubts and fears of the British team. This time around though they held out all the way to end of the 190 kilometres, 9 sections and 9 disciplines following one after the other throughout the weekend.
The Brits made very few mistakes this time around and those that did occur had only a minor impact, like the orienteering errors during the two MTB sections of the weekend. But nothing would imperil a lead that began about a third into the race, at the end of the first trek through the primeval New-Caledonian forest replete with giant ferns. See All Event Posts
