---

Rush Hour at TA3

Rob Howard / 18.08.2006

It was a long rush hour at TA3 – all through the night! The flow of teams coming in and going out was constant through the hours of darkness and into the morning of day 3 of ARWC2007 and there was constant coming and going in the barns and bunkrooms as teams prepared for the trek, got up or slept.

Early in the night the first news came of the leaders at CP17, up on the mountain at the start of the glacier section, where Lundhags, Team Finland and Nike Powerblast all left to cross the glacier together at 02.09. The route across the ice is marked on this section and they set off around first light, but the forecast improvement in the weather has not happened. There is still heavy low cloud and rain showers with a strong breeze which will chill the teams when they stop.

Just after 8am TA3 saw it’s first retirment when Bjurfors Adventure walked back down off the mountain, the first of the race favourites to pull out. Nathasha Westling had been struggling with a chest infection since the start, and although they had tried to race with the leaders she couldn’t keep going.

Gorden Blythen (the kiwi on the team) knew it had hit his Swedish team mates hard. “They had high expectations, especially in their own country ,� he said. “For me, I’m just stoked to be here at all, so its not so bad.� (Of the 33 starters two other teams have also withdrawn, 199 Vaude of Sweden and Nike ACG of Austria.)

See All Stories On This Race