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The Field of Play is Spread Thin

Corey Rosen / 08.09.2005

As morning arrives in Croatia, the Terra Incognita is well underway. Since the beginning of the first trekking leg, after the first kayak, teams have been switching off the lead position. Some of this was due to the trekking terrain, but most was due to working through the night. Since CP 5 and CP 7 are in the same place, it has been easier to judge how fast teams are going.

As Team 1 - CCC Toyota Salomon arrived at CP 9 on their bikes, it was clear, they had a considerable lead. Even with no sleep, Maciek Olesinski was able to answer a few questions. He said that trekking through the night was no problem, but going to Zrinscak with a "hike-a-bike"(when the path taken with the bikes cannot be biked on) was not fun. For two hours, and approximately 4 kilometers, Team 1 carried their bikes. At the end of the kayaking leg, CCC Toyota Salomon was in about tenth place, but with the help of the returning champions from last year, Team 3 - Osiguranje Zagreb, they were able to manuver through the first part of the trek with little or no problems. According to Team 1, going uphill during the trek, one of the team members of Osiguranje Zagreb seemed to struggle so they had to push forward. As of this morning, Team 3 is a few hours behind Team 1.

At this point in the race, some teams have not reached CP 5, while others have powered on through the canyon. The field of teams is spread out over all of Istria. From the first place team to the last place team, there is a gap of about six or seven hours. This gap is sure to get bigger as the race progresses. The next leg of the race is Mountaineering, which the teams with have a hard time with if they do not follow the marked paths. Even if teams are careful, with the pending storm approaching, this leg of the race is sure to be harder than expected.

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