Adamson – Leaving on a High

Rob Howard / 15.01.2007

Ian Adamson is the most iconic figure in the sport of adventure racing, and the most successful racer in its history. In a 20 year racing career he has competed all over the world and won every major title in the sport.

After wins in the 3 biggest international races last year with Team Nike Powerblast, and two more World Titles to add to his list of honours, he has announced his retirement from competitive racing.

In an exclusive interview for SleepMonsters Ian spoke about his memories of great races he has competed in and his plans for the future.

Why did you choose this moment to retire?
I have always wanted to leave the sport of adventure racing on my own terms. This means retiring without any external influences like injury, poor performance, age, sponsorship challenges, etc.

We (Team Nike) have been at the top of our sport for over 10 years, as Eco-Internet, Salomon, Vail, GoLite (in ‘02) etc. and had another spectacular season in ‘06 with wins at Primal Quest, the AR World\'s and Raid World\'s. I\'m 43 this year and still passionate about the sport. This is how I want to remember it, not as an injured, sick, or destitute athlete forced out of competition.

There will be no Raid Series this year, and there is no news on Primal Quest either. How do you see the future of International AR and the sport in general?
The high profile and TV events have taken a down turn this year, which will affect the money coming into the sport. Sponsors need media exposure to continue supporting events and races since they are essentially buying airtime and print impressions. The cross over for an advertiser (sponsor) is when it is more effective to place advertisements than to sponsor a team who might achieve the same thing. Fortunately participant and event numbers continue to climb, so like triathlon in the early 90\'s this ground swell should carry the sport forward.