Red Bull Northern Exposure
The Teams to Watch
Rob / 11.04.2002
The race has attracted a hard core of experienced competitors, which has pleased race organiser Steve Duffy. “Rather like last year’s first UKATAK race in Canada, Red Bull Northern Exposure has attracted only top class athletes; even the non-racers have got amazing outdoor and sporting pedigree. We’ve got mountain rescue guys and international class enduro mountain bikers and skiers, competing against the likes of Team Parrot-Lythgoe and Go-Lite/Gore-Tex, and we’re anticipating a hard, fast race.�
He added; “The competitors have already been trying to second-guess the course and disciplines, but we’ve got so many surprises up our sleeves that even locally based teams won’t know what hit them. We’re all excited about the course…it’s going to really, really hurt!�
It’s no surprise he picked out Parrot/Lythgoe and Go-Lite/Goretex, they include some of the most experienced and successful UK racers of the last few years.
Parrot/Lythgoe won the first Adrenalin Rush in 2000 and have gone on to win a whole string of races, including Hi-Tecs, the last Salomon X-adventure national event and the recent National Indoor race. They were one of only 9 teams to finish the gruelling World Championship race in Switzerland last year and lead the Southern Traverse until injury forced them to pull out. They were “going comfortably� at the time. The team is built around the Davies family (Jim, Andrew, Phil and Nicky), and 3 of them are competing here. The’4th man’ who has to keep up with them is John Lowther.
Go-Lite/Gortex are 3 quarters of the team who won the last Adrenalin Rush as Team 9feet.com – Anna McCormack, Pete James and Ski Sharp. They are joined by just about the most accomplished winter racer it’s possible to find - the Finn Pasi Ikonen. He has been on the winning team of the last 2 Raid Ukatak’s so shouldn’t be phased by anything in the Cairngorms. Pete was in the team which placed 7th in the last Eco-Challenge, though he’s been 2nd before, and Ski completed the Southern Traverse.
They are unlikely to have it all their own way though as all the teams look strong, and the race is likely to be very unpredictable. Perhaps the strongest challenges will come from Team Seven Days or Team Bridgedale Ireland.
Seven Days includes Sean Curtis, a former British Downhill skier, Matt Carr (a Canondale sponsored 24hr/enduro mountain biker), hill runner Helen Jackson and Colin Roberts, a Team Wales squad member. (Team Wales are competing in the British Championship qualifying race which is also on the weekend RBNE starts.)
Bridgedale Ireland are led by Gary Robertson. He’s an Adrenalin Rush ‘veteran’ but will probably leave the navigation to Steve Birkinshaw, a former GB orienteer who was with Parrot/Lythgoe at the World Champs last year. The other members of this strong team are Astrid Wheatcroft and Andy Elwood.
The only real disappointment is that top Spanish team Red Bull/Playstation couldn’t make the race as planned. After their recent race in Mexico they were suffering too badly with ‘Montezuma’s Revenge’.
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