The World Adventure Racing Championships (XPD Australia)
6,7 and 8 – Sweden Again and a South African Race to the Line
Rob Howard / 07.11.2011
Once again teams have been racing to the line, and finishing close together. Team FJS raced in at 11.29, having moved right up through the field in the later part of the race. They are the only team so far to have timed it right, and been strong enough, to complete the Arthur River paddle without an overnight stop in the dark zone. So they missed out on the camping, but they achieved a great result and completed Sweden’s domination of this championship – 4 Swedish teams in the top 6 is an amazing achievement for a country with such a small population.Next to arrive were Merrell Adventure Addicts, and like many teams they have had an up and down race, with some real high and low points. In the night they were looking along the cliffs in the wrong place for a CP and caught out it the thunderstorm, so they finished up camping for the night, or bivouacking to be more accurate. They were the only team so far not to take the inland track, and instead moved along the rocky and difficult coastline the whole way for the final trek. They were shocked to hear there was a track just inland! “It was coasteering section, so that’s what we did!� said captain and navigator Graham Bird. Then he added, “I guess I should have looked at the map a bit better!�
This team had been trading places with their countrymen, Cyanosis and caught them again 10 minutes before the final transition. “We saw them and thought, ‘we’ve got to move ... now!� said Tatum Prins. Bird added, “We ran right past them. It wasn’t a nice thing to do, but it’s a race. They wanted to beat us and we wanted to beat them!� Prins said the course was “so varied and beautiful� and Bird too praised the course. “It was a good course for a World Champs� he said. Hano Smit added that it was, “a bit too cold for us as we don’t go so well in the cold. We are not used to wearing our jackets all the time!�
Merrell had been one of a group camped together on the river last night, along with Cyanosis, who came in just 15 minutes later to push Merrell out of the comfort of the lounge seats. So it was a good day for both Sweden and South Africa (and the UK).
Cyanosis were pleased with their top 10 finish, which had been their objective at the start. “It’s good to have objectives,� said John Collins, “though when I saw who was racing I’d have been happy with top 20! It’s a good result as we’ve never really raced before as a team. The course was tough, very tough, and some of the stages were long. They just seemed to go on and on, but we really felt like we were out in the wilderness.�
Both teams enjoyed their pizza slices, then ordered another whole pizza each and sat around chatting in HQ, which will now be quiet until later tonight when the first two Australian teams are expected.See All Event Posts
