AR World Championship 2005
The Magnificent Seven
Rob Howard / 19.11.2005
After a blisteringly hot day Merrell Wigwam Adventure walked along the beach trying to beat the 18.00 course closure time ... and they just squeezed in, crossing the finish line at 17.56 and taking 6th place behind Halti. Next to finish were Swedish team Cross Sportswear, who did not make the cut off, finishing at 18.47, but they completed the whole route and will still be ranked.
They are not the last teams on the course though. While most teams and officials gathered for the party and prize giving, there are still some teams out there ....
Sierra International managed to complete the ropes stage before the 18.00 cut-off and are now walking along the beach towards the finish so they should be ranked 8th. Norsewear also finished the ropes section, but it’s not clear if they are walking back along the beach or withdrew at that point.
Powered by Velvet.org.nz, who were second during the middle part of the race, failed to get to the ropes before the shut down and their race ended there. They were one of several kiwi teams who raced strongly for a while, but found the course too long for them and fell away badly at the end.
Another was Sierra International, who were chasing Nike Balance Bar at the start of that trek last night, but took a long time on trek and missed the cut-off at the ropes section. However, they stuck with it and are now walking back along the beach to the finish.
Bridgedale socks completed the kayaking the stage on the Buller River to finish their race and Team Orion are still out on the final trek over the Paparoa mountains making their way back meet up with their support crew.
The final results are and cash prizes sponsored by the West Coast Development Trust are as follows:
1. Balance Vector – NZ$50,000 and Adventure Racing World Championship Trophy
2. Nike Balance Bar – NZ$25,000
3. Golite Timberland – NZ$10,000
4. Port Nelson – NZ$8,500
5. Halti – NZ$6500
Equipment prizes were given to teams ranked in 6th to 10th places.
Individual achievement awards were given to Sarah Wallen of Halti for outstanding navigation and to Neil Jones for towing for 3 days! The Team Merit Prize went to Bridgedale for keeping going even when they knew there was no chance of them completing the course.
SleepMonsters
