The World Adventure Racing Championships (XPD Australia)

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Busy in Burnie

Rob Howard / 30.10.2011

The World Adventure Racing Championships has arrived in Burnie on Tasmania’s Northern coast, and the town has had a busier Sunday than usual as teams start preparing for the race ahead.

There are still a few transport problems and missing bits and pieces of course, with missing bikes to be delivered by the airlines from yesterday, though thankfully the main carrier into Launceston is not Quantas, as they are completely grounded after strike action! (I’m not sure yet if this has affected any teams getting here.) There was also concern the team from Ecuador were having visa problems, but I’m told they are here now.

Those who arrived yesterday were transported from the airport to Burnie on 3 buses, with the bikes in two separate trucks. The tiny airport had never seen anything like it as the teams gathered in the main concourse and then spilled out of the door with their piles of gear. Half way through the 90 minute journey the rain set in and by the time everyone was dropped off at their hotel a deluge was falling and the streets were awash. The rain continued into the night, with hail falling at times, a reminder of how difficult the weather could be in the race. Fortunately, it is also very changeable, so any prolonged storms are not likely to last for days.

Today more teams have made their own way to Burnie while those in town have mostly been supermarket shopping and packing. The local supermarkets open on a Sunday and they quickly got used to groups of logo wearing shoppers buying trolley loads of food. One cashier told me a team had spent almost AUS$1000 ... that is one very hungry team! The bakery was busy too and quartets of runners and riders could be seen all around the town and beachfront, some heading down to the penguin colony near the HQ.

This is based at a sports ground called The Point and was not open to teams today and the race organisation was busy setting up ready for registration tomorrow. The Point is great facility for the race to use, and with so many teams they need some space. It has an oval cricket pitch with a banked bike track around it and the race is using the main stand/office/bar which has a panoramic wall of windows overlooking the sea. Today the bar was turned into a registration desk and computer centre, with tables lined with laptops and rows of race bibs and clothing laid our ready for collection tomorrow.See All Event Posts