The World Adventure Racing Championships (XPD Australia)
Two Australian Teams Round Out the Top 10
Rob Howard / 08.11.2011
Blackheart.com were the first full Australian team to finish the race, coming into the finish line at dusk on a very misty evening, after what has been a hard race for them. The team were all in good spirits and looking forward to settling down in the finishers lounge, though by this time there was not much champagne to go around.The team said this was a notch up on previous XPD’s and fitting for a World Championships, and certainly one of the hardest races they have done. “There was something really hard on every stage,� said Josh Street. He added that their race has been one big mistake after another, “We made one yesterday ... and the day before ... and the day before that, and probably the day before that!�
“We had a good camp, and had taken two tents and plenty of food,� said Damon Goerke, “we’ve learned from experience and were really prepared for two nights camping out.� They paddled downstream as much as they could until the dark zone fell, and then trekked back to one of the CP’s, which was a good tactic, though it meant they camped alone, while other teams were all together just upstream. Kim Willocks said the tactic didn’t work out. “We overslept a bit and were late getting on the water so the teams we’d passed, came back passed us early in the morning!�
Having missed a couple of checkpoints before mid camp, the team missed another on the river paddle last night which meant trekking back overnight. “We just walked it,â€? said Goerke, “there was no need to run as we knew other teams would be camped out overnight and wouldn’t pass us, we it was a tough night and we just had to get on with it.â€? For some of the way the team were travelling with City Bike Depot Adventure Junkies and as his fiancé Kathryn Ewels is on that team, Rob Preston was asked if the team’s relationship was love or competition. “It was mostly love,â€? he said, “until they left without saying goodbye to us this morning!â€?
It wasn’t long until the Adventure Junkies arrived, and Blackheart were back outside to greet them with a small crowd of supporters and race staff. Preston went over for a quiet personal greeting and kiss with his fiancé who had completed her first expedition race. Her team were very pleased with their result, which means there are two Australian teams in the top 10 of the World Championships.
Chris Thompson who has now completed 3 XPD’s was another fan of the paddle/camp, which is clearly one of the highlights of the race. “My first aim was mid-camp, then it was the river camp as we were looking forward to resting and being more social. I think you should have Dark Zone camps in every race!� Part of the team this year is Russian racer Sergey Kurov, and he paid the race perhaps the best compliment of all saying, “I have completely forgotten everything about my job – perfect!�
[Soon after the two Australian teams the Spanish team Colombia Vidaraid came into the finish in 11th place. This team only just got on the water on the Arthur River before the dark zone and camped just 1km downstream. Then last night they were 1km short of the take out when the dark zone fell again, so the spent two nights camped by the river! This morning they paddled for just 4 minutes!]See All Event Posts
