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Nike Powerblast\'s commanding victory in Saguenay

Susan McKenzie / 14.09.2006

“I thought for sure this was going to end up a paddling race to the finish,� Nike Powerblast’s Richard Ussher said, sitting in a small café overlooking the Saguenay Fjord. Just an hour before, his team Nike Powerblast paddled onto shore and re-gained the title it lost last year. “We thought Wilsa was right behind us, so we just burned through that last bike section and running section, we didn’t stop.�

Turned out Wilsa was not that close behind, and the American powerhouse’s final 18-kilometres of sea kayaking, along the Saguenay Fjord (home of beluga whales) was smooth sailing - almost.

“Yeah, we were coming into shore and this big ferry was right beside us, and he wasn’t going to move,� laughed Ussher.

“It was making some pretty big waves out there,� Tobin recounted, gesturing at Ussher. “You were in some serious waves there.�

“Yeah, I got the feeling that the ferry wasn’t going to get out of the way for us, so we’d better change direction and get out of the way instead,� Ussher added.

When asked how he was feeling, Michael Tobin paused for a long “Uh…………..� before continuing that he “was feeling a whole lot of things. It’s a little bit of mission accomplished for me. I’ve sort of come to realize that these races are worth it only if you win. I can go on a nice long hiking trip with some friends and have a lot more fun with them, without all this agony.�

Nike Powerblast’s support crew was as fast, if not faster, than the team itself, and Dan and Daws definitely slept less than the team did.

“About ten hours in total, eh, Dan?� Daws said. (The racers slept 27 hours in total, all at night.)

“You guys did such a good job, you were great,� Sari Anderson told the crew.

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