The Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge
The Course; Islands, an Ocean, Desert and a Mountain
Rob Howard / 11.12.2008
The race begins tomorrow with a mini-urban triathlon in downtown Abu Dhabi. This is a short section, quick opener to make the most of the cityscape and all 3 stages will be timed as together was the opening stage. Mountain biking comes first and the main road along the seafront of Abu Dhabi city has been closed for the occasion. This is known as the Corniche and closing it, even on the quiet of a Friday morning, is a big deal and indicative of the importance to which the local authorities here attach to the race.
After the ride comes a short paddle around an offshore island, with a stop off to run around the island on the way, then it is back to the shore to finish. The race is not a continuous route, it’s a series of separate stages allowing the planners to make the most of the terrain here, and after this opening stage teams make the first transfer, by road and ferry to Sir Bani Yas Island. This has been used for many years as a remarkable nature reserve, stocked with hundreds of rare animal species including Arabian Oryx, and is now being developed as a tourist attraction. It is one of the group of islands in the Arabian Sea off the Abu Dhabi shore known as The Desert Islands and will be the venue for Section B of the race.
After an overnight beach camp the teams will ride 45.5km around the rocky, volcanic tracks of the island and are may encounter some of the wildlife. Section C also takes place on day 2 when team leave in a mass start from the beach to begin kayaking. They start with about 10km through mangroves then cross a further 23km of open water to the deserted Kurkum Island at high tide where they bivouac for the night. Section D continues the kayaking, with the long, 82km stage to the mainland. There is the hope teams will see dolphins and that the wind will be favourable. Teams have been warned that navigation is vital as visual landmarks are few.
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