Eco-Challenge
The 2 Steves: Team TNF Kona on alarming slide
Nice Steve / 12.10.2002
Something must be wrong with Team The North Face Kona, they have slipped alarmingly down the rankings to 39th overnight and are now over 12 hours behind the leaders, an insurmountable deficit at such an early stage of the race. It is hard to know exactly what is going on with them, they may have had a tough rafting section or perhaps their raft building skills were not as sharp as they hoped. I think w can safely rule out any team dynamics problems as they are all experienced racers and know that no matter how tough things are then you just get your head down and keep pushing. So my guess is either their raft has fallen apart on them, as it did for many other teams, or perhaps one of the team is suffering with an illness or injury. Whatever the reason, they will be gutted to be so far off the pace so early on, after all their preparation and training. From here on it will be a case of trying to keep team morale up, a big ask for Keith in his first Eco as team captain, especially as Pete and Anna are unlikely to be overly enthused about the race when they are so far back. They are used to being in the top ten and surrounded by the buzz of teams racing at their limits. Back in the middle of the field, that buzz is not quite there and makes it even tougher to lift your game. I hope they are all OK though. They can still make good progress up the rankings and in a race as tough as this in the jungle then the drop out rate could be high, maybe as many as 30-40 teams not completing the full course, so a top 15 place is still a real possibility. Come on guys, get it going!
As predicted by both nasty Steve and myself, Team Bridgedale Ireland are starting to make a strong showing, moving up to 24th overnight. They are wily racers who know how to keep spirits high with their inimitable humour and will surely keep picking up places as they move towards CP4. They are 6 hours off the lead, which is probably too much to make up, but a top ten finish is theirs if they keep running. So, we have a bet on…I say Bridgedale Irleand to finish in 8th and Team The North Face Kona to finish in 15th if they get through the rest of today.
It’s gripping stuff at the front of the field with three teams neck and neck, leaving CP3 together. It’s gonna be a humdinger of a race.
SleepMonsters
