The 2007 Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge
To the Summit of Cradle Mountain
18.11.2007
The action wasn’t limited to injuries only. After being a close second behind the day’s leaders All Aerobic, Pure Tasmania’s Mark Webber and James Tomkins missed a crucial checkpoint which cost them up to six places in the overall field coming into the last leg of the day – a 47km mountain bike from Cradle Mountain Chateau to the Lake Barrington Camp. Tomkins was still smiling when the pair arrived into the Chateau for the transition but admitted, “We’ve had a frustrating morning.� After cruising through the morning’s kayak, the pair made up considerable time from yesterday’s Prologue stage and were well placed to finish in the top four.
“It was a longer day than we expected, we’re very tired and sore. Checkpoint 12 on the trek cost us the entire field,� lamented Webber after they’d crossed the finish line.
Six time Olympic rower James Tomkins finds himself on familiar grounds at the Lake Barrington International Rowing Camp. It was here back in 1990 that the Awesome Foursome competed and went on to win the World Championship. “The Europeans have these man-made dams that we compete in over there and when they got there they were amazed at the natural setting of Lake Barrington, the smell of eucalyptus and pristine environment. It’s an inspiring venue to compete at,� says Tomkins.
Schweppes pair Richard and Elina Ussher continued their impressive form coming into the transition a close second. When asked how they faired on the trip to the summit Richard joked that Elina wasn’t expecting so much off-road running and they both had the scratches and blood on their legs to prove how hard that section of the race had been. They completed today’s race in the fastest time of just over seven hours.
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