Raid in France
8th Raid in France in the Pyrenees
Race Release / 19.07.2016
This 8th edition of Raid in France, French stage of the Adventure Racing World Series, will stretch from the top of the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean sea. From 4 to 10 September, the teams, among which the reigning world champions, will face 430 km of wild landscapes in the Occitanie region.
• A non-stop race of 4 to 6 days, completely immersed in nature
• More than 30 teams registered and more than 10 countries represented
• Program: trekking, mountain biking, canyoning, caving, ropes, kayaking, rafting…
From Font-Romeu to Saint-Pierre-la-Mer, 430 km of non-stop race
The start of this 8th edition will be given on Sunday, September 4, at zero hour (midnight) in Font-Romeu, town located in the heart of the Regional Natural Park of the Catalan Pyrenees. Its panoramic views, mountain lakes and dominating peaks turn the station into the perfect playing field for the teams.
After between 4 and 6 days of non-stop progression in total autonomy, racers will complete their journey of 430km and 16 000m of vertical gain (representing 4 times the ascent of the Aconcagua, highest peak of America) on the beach in Saint-Pierre-la-Mer, coastal resort of Fleury d’Aude.
Located in the heart of the Regional Natural Park of Narbonne, the station will offer its protected landscapes and environmental wealth to racers.
Seagate, Reigning World Champions Will Take Part
New Zealand team Seagate will take part in this 8th edition. Currently leader of the world ranking of adventure racing and reigning world champion, the team comes back, four years after their first participation in Raid
in France, when they won the first rank. “Raid in France is one of the best races we have done, we loved spending time discovering France”, said Nathan Fa’avae, New Zealand star of adventure racing, most decorated racer (4 times world champion) and emblematic figure of the discipline at the present time.
More than 30 teams are ready to face these adventure racing giants. Among them, several foreign countries and the best French teams: 400 Team Naturex will be led by Sébastion Raichon, 3 times winner of Raid in France and current title-holder. “Amazing and untouched routes, a well-developed organisation, volunteers each one more welcoming than the other. The more we run outside France, the more we appreciate all facets of Raid in France!”, underlines the French champion.
Two Pentathletes as Patrons of Raid in France 2016
Last May, Valentin Belaud won the gold medal at World Modern Pentathlon Championships, only 24 hours after the silver medal of Elodie Clouvel. Preparing the Olympic Games of Rio, both of them agreed to become patrons of this edition of Raid in France, that will go through their native land: one of them is from the Pyrenees Orientales, the other from the Aude department.
An Environmentally Friendly Race
Orienteering, trekking, mountain biking, canyoning, caving, ropes, kayaking, rafting… Raid in France’s route respects specific features of the landscapes crossed and adapt to their constraints. It is a demanding race that upholds strong values. Participants as well as organisers all sign the “Back to nature” environmental charter committing them to respect the environment throughout the whole race.
No helicopter, a rigorous waste management, the use of recyclable products, printing on recycled paper, raising environmental awareness, the preservation of natural sites (refilling of the anchoring holes) are some of the gestures that make Raid in France an eco-friendly race since its creation.
Raid in France was created in 2007 by Pascal Bahuaud, a rowing finalist in Seoul’s Olympic Games, 13 times French Champion and 6 out of 10 times on the podium of the Raid Gauloise, as the French round of the Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS).
The ARWS circuit, which gathers the world’s long-distance multisport races, is composed of 12 annual races across the globe. Each one of them qualifies the first two teams for the world finale, the Adventure Racing World Championship, which is set to take place this upcoming November in Australia.
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