Bull of Africa
Merrell/Wigwam Adventure and Mazda Salomon, together after 76hrs
Lisa de Speville / 27.06.2005
When the 18h00 darkzone began on Sunday night, no team had reached the take-out at the Aussenkehr, a table grape farm in Namibia. Race leaders Merrell/Wigwam Adventure (US/NZ) were evidently frustratingly close to the take-out when the darkzone started as they checked in only 48-minutes after the darkzone lifted at 07h00.
At this point Mazda Salomon (SA) was 2h16 behind. Now 9-hours later and another 105km further along the course we have received exciting information from the race marshals out at Bush Camp, the bike-hike transition within the Richtersveld National Park. Merrell arrived 9-minutes ahead of Mazda at 19h19 and importantly, they left TOGETHER at 20h37 to begin the penultimate stage: a 70km trekking section through the mountains. The race – and pressure – is now on.
Both teams are fully rested as last night (Monday) they had the benefit of the full 13-hour darkzone to rest, eat and sleep. Neither will sleep tonight as they race for the finish.
Behind Merrell and Mazda the two Swedish teams, Cross Sportswear and Halti, are in the running for 3rd and 4th placings. They too slept overnight during the darkzone and will undoubtedly push through. But, with DueSouth only 30-minutes behind Halti at the take-out they will be hard-pressed as they ride through the Park.
Further back the field is so spread out that now, 76hrs into the race, a full 45-hours separates the first and last teams. The Brazilian university team, FAAP Nokia Adventure finally reached relieved marshals at checkpoint 8 this afternoon, departing to start the long river trekking section at 14h28. Merrell and Mazda passed through the same checkpoint at 17h10 on Saturday evening. Nonetheless, even though they are trailing at the back and will definitely not reach the short-course cut-off by 18h00 tomorrow, FAAP are reportedly in good condition and in excellent spirits, singing and laughing as they progress.
Medically there have been no serious injuries on course. Balance Vector’s Lisa Savage injured her shoulder when she fell off her bike on the first biking stage and a number of competitors have suffered flu-like symptoms – fevers, chest infections and nausea. The two most interesting cases were an infected thumb, which had to be lanced, and Andy Tubbs’ dual insect bites.
Tubbs, racing for 180° Adventures, came into checkpoint 12 at Felix Unite, presenting his inflamed ankles to Medical Official Gary Berkowitz from Netcare 911. “The skin above my ankles, here,� he said indicating the visibly red area, “is so painful and sensitive. I can’t even touch the skin.� After locating the bite wounds and assessing Tubbs symptoms, which included a high fever during the previous night, Berkowitz feels that the bites were most likely from a spider and not a scorpion.
Using a black highlighter, Berkowitz drew a line at the highest point of the infection so that they can monitor the upward spread of the infection at CP22, the next medical station. Here Tubbs may receive medical attention, within limits, and will not be penalised. Still in agony Tubbs is determined to continue racing and is thankful for the paddling section and darkzone, both of which will see him off his feet for more than 12-hours.
The Bull of Africa is hotting up as the leaders are stampeding ever closer to the finish. But, for those further back the race is far from over.
ENDS
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