XPD Australia

Mountain Designs Forge Ahead at a Blistering XPD Australia

News Release (Geocentric Outdoors) / 06.09.2013

Hot weather continues to play havoc on day three of the 7th World Adventure Racing Series in the Flinders Ranges, with blisters and heat exhaustion taking their toll on athletes. Four of the thirty teams that started XPD have now retired from the race.

Team Outer Limits, who had been in second place, retired after almost 48 hours of non-stop racing. Team members developed severe blisters during the long trek across the dry salt bed of Lake Frome. Team SA Ambulance has also retired, blogging that they had "suffered the effects of heat exhaustion, vomiting and lethargy... only taking 4 litres of water [on stage 1] was costly".

Team Mountain Designs is still in the lead, with almost 80 km separating them from the next two teams, Juggernauts and CYCO Girls On Top from New Zealand.

Most teams are now on leg 5 - a 36 km bush trek across Angorichina Station, crossing The Bunkers then Careys Hill before finishing in the small town of Blinman. Leo Theoharis from team Mountain Designs described the trek as "a technical trek, especially the night navigation. We took six hours longer than we anticipated. We stopped for a two hour sleep in a sandy creek bed in howling winds".

Mountain Designs team member, Kim Beckinsale added "our plan now is to keep moving... manage the [weather] conditions and look after ourselves".

When asked about the highlights of the race thus far, Mountain Designs replied, the mountain biking along the Mawson Trail from Blinman to Wilpena Pound, and the bacon'n'egg roll from the Blinman Hotel!

To follow the race go to www.live.xpd.com.au  

XPD 2013 - As Much an Expedition as a Race

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