International Raid Temiscamingue
Raid Temiscamingue: And finally...
Carrick Armer / 09.09.2024
While the weather has been a big topic of conversation, it shouldn't be the sole talking point: Cold, wet conditions are just some something racers have to face when they happen. Chatting to Marek Wozniczka of Polish team Nonstop Adventure, his persepective was that "The weather made the race more memorable. The waves on the canoe, the wind in the face; these are what teams will remember more than if the conditions were easy" - and memorable is one of the things any race really wants to be.
Marek was complimentary about the course planning, with the short, fast stages meaning there was never an opportunity to get bored of any one discipline. While that speed is often a feature of stage races, it's also a feature of the area - with not a lot in the way of significant elevation, and a good network of gravel roads and fairly well surfaced snowmobile tracks, the only way to slow competitors down is to throw in an activity, a bushwhack section, or to make the navigation complex. That latter option wasn't much used, which likely helps with the nearly 100% completion rate - the only retired team I know of was the Team Top Gun, who dropped out after snapping a crank arm on one of their bikes on the second day.
There should also be a lot of talk about Endurance Aventure's continued championing of the Youth Raid concept - there certainly aren't many other races I know of that put so much time and effort into encouraging school kids into Adventure Racing.
Even with a shortened course, Friday's Youth Race was a massive success, with the main racers mentoring the students through a varied and exciting 15km course, pushing them well towards their limits. It was noted on the recap video that Lake Johnson of team 'Those Johnson Kids' is actually still the same age as the oldest of the students, yet happily in the position of mentoring them himself.
And the students join the event not just as racers but as part of the production team, and race announcer Phil also paid tribute at the awards banquet to one of the female students who joined him on the announce team both last year and this, proud of how she'd grown from a slightly shy girl pushed to be in front of the crowd last year, into someone who made their own space and took the lead on MCing to the audience this year.
There should also be significant mention of the wonderful integration with the local communities as well, again a trademark of the event. The Timiskaming First Nation, on whose territory the race took place, were an integral part of the event in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, hosting the second overnight stop, and with fantastic drumming ceremonies bookending Day Two.
Their hospitalty, and that of all of the local communites, was very noticable, whether it was locals warming racers and handing out coffee to spectators at some of the interaction points, the changing of accomodation so both nights racers camps were indoors, or the sheer number of folk out cheering on the Youth Raid racers around Notre-Dam-du-Nord. On top of that, he race had over 150 volunteers in total, predominantly from the local area: No race can go ahead without local support, so it was great to see that in full force here.
Ultimately, the talk should also be about the racing itself. Out for some redemption this year were the two Lauri's, Hollo and Heinaro, of Northern Adventure Team, who had a single-minded goal to win after being second to Patrick Lussier and George Visser of team Def Leoppard last year.
Their mission looked shaky after a fall and some minor injuries on day one, but day two played to their strengths and they went all-out to cut the four minute deficit and pull out over 20 minutes of lead at the finish line. Def Leoppard acknowledged the vistors, with Patrick adding that “I have nothing but admiration for the Finnish team. They ran an amazing race.”. The third step on the Men's podium went to the Polish team of Nonstop Adventure, Marek Wozniczka and Stanisław Odrobka.
In the mixed pairs, Raid Bras du Nord/100B7 used all their collective experience to stay in the small front pack for the entirety of the weekend. Lyne Bessette and Philippe Côté Jacques took a well deserved win, with Lyne commenting on how much conditions had affected the race, saying. "You really had to be tough... being constantly wet is already tough when it's 25 degrees, but at 5 degrees, it's a whole different story". They were trailled by team Du Capitaine (Noémie Julien and Cédric de Marneffe) by just 15mins with third place going to local team Conquérants from Ville-Marie, Chloé Roberge and Marc Gaudet.
And last but very much not least, the Women's category, Team Uterati took the win, with Barbara Neiss May commenting that support crewing for Una and teammate John Price last year and seeing how integrated with local communities the race was was what had driven her to race the event this year - John reversed the roles and acted as their support crew. Una Hall, as we'd said yesterday, paid tribute to the teams who'd "saved their butts" less than two hours into the race when they took a prolonged swim out of the canoe.
The second place team Cath & Au (Catherine Claude and Aurore Varela) were a little disappointed about the changes to the second day as paddling was one of their stronger suits, but were happy pushing on and took a well deserved podium finish because of it. Tamara King and Émilyse Plante-Pelchat of team Bichasaabe rounded out the female podium.
And finally, because we should always finish on a high note, the Raid Temiscamingue will be back next year. Keep an eye out for news, and I'm sure the conversations will continue about the race for a good while.
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