Riding On Top of the World

Press Release / 04.10.2016

Taking place over the weekend of September 24 - 26, fourteen teams competed for the prestigious honour of winning Asia’s first adventure race.

For the inaugural Himalayan Challenge four international teams including South Africa, Patagonia, Australia and France competed alongside ten Indian teams made up of military personnel from the army, navy and border controls. Additionally the first all-women Indian team, the Ladakhi Women’s team, competed.

The race spanned 343km and involved trekking, paddling and cycling. After a magnificent opening ceremony at the Leh polo ground where General JJ Singh. President of the Adventure Racing Federation of India (and ex-Army Chief and ex-Governor of Utter Pradesh) welcomed teams and dignitaries, a 43km trek around the Indus Valley enabled participants to acclimatise to the staggering altitude and rocky mountainous terrain.

South Africa came in first with a time of six hours and seven minutes. They were closely followed by the Indian Navy team with a time of just under six and a half hours, and next, the Ladakhi Highlanders, SFF team.

An early start on Day 2 at the top of Khardong La — the world’s highest motoring pass with an altitude of 5,602 m above sea level, and pre-dawn temperatures of -9ºC, saw casualties. Two of the French team and Linda Davis from the Australia team had to sit out due to High Altitude Sickness, a serious condition which if not treated, can be fatal.

This didn’t stop the other teams who flew down the hill on their Hero mountain bikes, before transitioning to a 52km paddle down the mystical Indus river. South Africa maintained their lead, but Patagonia made ground on the 82km bike ride, coming in 6 minutes after the SA team at paddle transition. The Marcos maintained their position of third.

At Secmol village, after Spituk Bridge, teams transitioned again to mountain biking and rode a further 58km before transitioning at Hemis. With nightfall, the gap between teams began to lengthen. Some teams were unprepared for the dark and couldn't continue, while others would skip transition points in order to make up time. Through it all, the competition remained tight with the forerunners.

After a short, but very steep 9.5km trek, the teams transitioned once again to mountain bike, before riding down a spectacular mountain pass. With almost no light pollution and only the occasional village, the competitors cycled under a blanket of bright stars, feeling on top of the world.

South Africa was the first team to reach the Gurudwara Pathar Sahib where they would spend a mandatory six hour rest period. The team were absolutely exhausted and literally slept where they dropped. Patagonia came in two hours later at around 5am, followed by the Indian Marines at 8am, when South Africa was just waking and preparing for the final leg – a 38km orienteering trek, before a transition at Stok palace for one last cycle over the finish line.

Adventure racing is a growing global sport where teams of four compete through multi-disciplines, across great distances, against the clock. This means, there is often no sleep and teams need to support each other through the exercise, maintaining a less than 100m distance between each other.

Chatting ahead of the race, Cobus van Zyl of the South African team said, “If the race is not hard and you don’t suffer and don’t cry and don’t come back with bleeding body parts it’s not a proper race. It’s hell, but when you get across the finish line, it’s the absolute best feeling and you're already making plans for your next race.”

At the prize-giving ceremony he thanked the Adventure Racing Federation on behalf of South Africa and said the experience was “unforgettable”. He added that his team would definitely be back, and giving motivation to the younger, novice teams he said, “I started adventure racing fifteen years ago and was at the back of the pack, but today, through experience and perseverance, look where I am.”

The champion of the race, General JJ Singh said at a press conference in New Delhi, he hoped adventure racing and the Adventure Racing Federation of India would create change in the way Indians view exercise.

“The uniqueness of this event is that it is the first time in the world that a race has been run at this altitude,” he continued. “The highest point on this race is over 5,600 metres, that is almost 1,000m higher than Mont Blanc. It's also the first time there is an all women team, which we hope will inspire future teams.”

General Singh added that he wants to take adventure racing to the Olympic Federation for future inclusion and asserts that next year over forty teams will be competing.

http://www.adventureracingfederationofindia.com/