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Kisses, Crashes and Checkpoints

Rob / 08.09.2004

There was a touch of deja Vu about the start of this year’s Salomon GB X-adventure. The venue was the same, a muddy campsite just outside Machynlleth, once again Saab Salomon would be the team to beat, and the weather was bad again! While much of country basked in glorious sunshine on Saturday, mid-Wales was under a pall of dense cloud, mist and drizzle. Fortunately, the rain didn’t persist too much, though the cloud never lifted much above ground level.

Some things were different though, starting with the nature of the course. After last year’s epic, which only Saab Salomon managed to complete, Nigel Shepherd set a much more achievable course. For around a third of the teams each of the three 8 hour stages was clearable, so speed was more crucial than points gained for visiting CP’s, provided they got them all. And for those who could not clear the stages there were plenty of options to take short cuts.

Bikes and Bends

Stage one was all mountain biking, a chance to make the most of the extensive network of trails to the south of race HQ, around the Nant-y-Moch reservoir. There was plenty of open country and some forest, and after the heavy rains this year some muddy pits, ditches and overflowing streams to race through ... or fall into!

It wasn’t slow going much of the time though. “The tracks were drier than I expected,� said Ian McNab of CotswoldOutdoor.com, “and were much more rideable than last year.� The marshal at the furthest CP, at Nantyaran, said, “The teams are loving it, they are really buzzing.� This was also a transition point where a substitution could be made as in this race only 3 out of 4 team members race at any one time.

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