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Day One sees Canadian/Italian team drop out.

10.11.2007

5:00 in the morning signalled the departure for the authentic adventure, as 18 teams set out from Hienghène in the north of New Caledonia. The first part was kayak! This first section to PC 1 was magic: in windless conditions, they paddled to Tao Waterfall followed by a group of dolphins.
Passing the first point of control the Australian team Le Surf was in the lead. This team, a favourite in this raid, consists of some of the best competitors from the Australian scene: Matt Blundell (winner of the Dream Raid 2005), Imojen Pearce (winner of the Freycinet Lodge Challenge in 2006), Mike Snell (Winner of the Maximum Adventure Kayak in 2007) and Matt Acheson (Winner of 12 hours Sydney time in Mountain Bike 2006).

The French team Socafer NC following them closely. The team Socafer NC is the one which took away 1st place in the Dream Raid in 2002. Its strong man, the metropolitan Sylvain Mougin, is competing with New Caledonian team-mates, Martine and Olivier Limozin and with his racing companion, the robust Gael Hansen, excellent cyclist.

The teams J’aime le Nord, 100% Caledonian, and Le Froid are tied in 4th position.

Not long into the competition, team Pedini-Iret Adventure Endurance unfortunately had to declare Time Out due to exhaustion. This team is comprised of one of the winners of a previous Dream Raid competition, and his team-mates are also some of the best in the world of the trekking. Could the jet lag have been the cause for the Italic-Canadian team to stop?

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