Expedition Africa

Day 3 – Haglofs Silva Extend Their Lead

Rob Howard / 08.05.2013

The lead teams reached the mid camp at Transition 4 through the hours of darkness on the 3^rd night.  Camp was set up at an old airfield beside a camping and chalet resort, so there was plenty of space and buildings to house gear, lots of dormitories and showers and a big kitchen to provide the teams with a meal.

First to arrive were Haglofs Silva, extending their lead to more than 2 hours over Team Raidlight after the 89km ride on stage 4.  The rest of the lead group of teams came in through the night and from their reports route choice on the ride had played a key part once again. (CP21 had been taken out to increase the route choice options to the teams and it seems to have worked.)

Merrell Adventure Addicts who arrived in 3^rd place had taken a long detour to avoid a rough hike-a-bike stage and it seemed to have paid off as they gained time on Cyanosis, who arrived 5^th, after being passed by Tecnu Adventure.

Clinton Mackintosh said, “There was a lot pushing and it was slow going, we were not going too well. I think we took the route as intended – it did not seem right to double back, but it was hard going. “I asked how Susan Carter-Brown as getting on as it was her first expedition race. “She is doing amazingly well,” he said. “She had never stayed up for more than 24 hours before and we had her racing for 39 to get here!”  Like many others Carter-Brown was getting medical attention before leaving, strapping up for the tough trek on the next stage.  (Her brother is racing on the Merrell Adventure Addicts team who are just ahead of them, so there is plenty of friendly team rivalry.)

The big winners overnight were Tecnu Adventure who left at 07.31 and another bright sunny morning in 4^th place.  The team were looking in good spirits when they left, heading directly up the hillside beside the airfield and Kyle Peter said he was coping OK with his cold. “It was hard at altitude on that first stage,” he said in a husky voice, “the only problem is I can’t shout at the team so much as my throat is sore!”  Despite that he still looked to be carrying the biggest pack of the team as they left. (They had their gear with them for the abseil section.)

The Race Director expected this second mountain trek to take 9 hours for the leaders, but it took much longer and so Haglofs Silva only arrived at the abseil at 5pm, with just enough time to get down in daylight.  (They had been expected closer to mid-day.)  The team looked very weary and footsore as they set off down a series of waterfalls though 5 abseils, but will have known their rivals will all have to do the same in the dark, which will take much longer.

More good news awaited them too, as several of the CP’S on the long bike stage they will tackle next have been stolen, so they have been replaced with a shorter, easier route including cycling on roads.  So Haglofs Silva will be speed forward tonight while the chasing teams struggle with the abseil stage in the dark.

[There are more photos of the leaders on the live race website and Facebook page.]