Raid Gauloises
Lapin Kulta beat Buff for 5th
Raid Gauloises / 05.05.2002
Anna McCormack and ‘Ski’ Sharp finished today as Anglo/Finnish team Lapin Kulta cruised to 5th place after grappling with the 1000 kilometre course.
After a day which saw the top 4 teams finish one after the other, Cat Ba town had to wait over 24 hours for the next wave of valiant raiders to paddle their kayaks between the fluttering banners that mark the finish of this 11th Raid Gauloises. Team Lapin Kulta, number 5 in the series, steered its three kayaks into Cat Ba harbour and crossed the finishing line to a cacophony of klaxons at precisely 14h29, today the 5th May.
“It was the last possible place for us� explained team-member Eero. Almost addicted to the delights of victory after wins in the Raid Ukatak held in the frozen wilderness of Quebec, the Finns held the race lead only once over the entire course at CP1. Though, the individual members that constitute this team are second to none in the world of adventure racing, the overall team cohesion, this time around at least, leaves a little to be desired. Communications within the team were difficult as the 2 English-speaking members found themselves on the edge of tactical conversations and debates carried out primarily in Finnish, the team’s dominant language. In the middle of the race, the sturdy Finns seemed to lack any compassion at all for the stalwart Anna McCormack, whose feet, after suffering severe blistering, had been described, at the time, by the medical staff as the “worst in the race“.
Taking medication to alleviate the pain and with an unwavering resolve, it was Anna’s turn later to berate her team-mates when she complained that the pace was too slow: “We’re going very slowly. It’s more like an adventure-holiday than an adventure-race�, she mentioned at Assistance Point 3 before bringing it up again at the finish, “It’s really been never ending. In the climb during the last trek it didn’t feel like a race. In fact we didn’t push ourselves at all on this section�. However, once in the kayaks, the exertion and effects of the heat seemed to drain her of all energy and she began to display signs of dizziness and severe fatigue even as she spoke. At her own request, a medical team examined her and she is now getting some well-earned rest.
Her compatriot and regular race-partner, “Ski� Sharpe, was towed nearly the entire length of the race. “Anna and I raced in Scotland about two weeks before coming on the Raid Gauloises. Three of us, excluding Anna, drank some “bad� water and fell ill with vomiting and though I had fully recovered and felt well by the time I got to Vietnam, the moment I began to race I just couldn’t respond to the extra demands made of me. There was no spark�, he confided. “I was so weak, I couldn’t even carry my own pack but I was gradually improving and, by the time we started the final paddle, I felt good at last.
The team managed to retain 5th place even after an epic struggle with nearest rivals Buff that lasted almost the complete 1000kms of the race. At one point, the astonishing Spanish team caught and passed Lapin Kulta during the final trekking section, as they took the time to sleep and recuperate before attacking the last kayaking section. This strategy paid dividends as they swept past Buff in the night and pulled ahead to finish a good hour in front.
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