Wulong Mountain Quest
The Teams
Rob Howard / 18.09.2009
Some of the names are instantly recognisable to anyone following the top level of international racing such as World Champions Orion Health, US teams Nike/Beaver Creek and Salomon Crested Butte, and Explore Sweden. Orion Health have one change to their regular line up, with Gordon Blythen replacing Brent Edwards and they may still be a bit jaded after their recent win at Primal Quest in the USA. They have competed here before and its one of the races they've not yet added to their impressive list of wins, perhaps because the faster stage format is not their strength, though they are always competitive.
Nike/Beaver Creek are a US team but have former Coast to Coast winner George Cristenson joining them as the (almost compulsory) team Kiwi. Nike teams have won this race before and know it well, and the race will see Mike Kloser returning to competition after the bad bike accident he had in July. He broke several ribs and his collarbone, and punctured a lung, but has made a rapid and full recovery.
Explore Sweden are led, as ever, by Mikael Lindnord and are all experienced campaigners. They are likely to lead the Scandinavian challenge, which includes Team Sweden/Worldofmultisport.com, who are captained by Martin Flinta, one of Sweden's top multisport racers, who has spent the last few years racing with experienced AR teams.
Salomon Crested Butte are always among the top contenders. Their regular male athletes are racing with Rebecca Dessault this time around and their track record at stage races is a good one, so they will want a podium finish.
The French challenge is led by Garmin Scientific Nutrution AR Team and WinterXtrem5.com. The later have experienced racers Myriam Guillot and Jacky Boisset, who have often raced under the Lafuma banner and are joined by their countryman Steve Laurent and Ian Edmond of New Zealand, who brings years of extra experience to the team. They too will be strong contenders for a top 3 finish. GSNART have the reputation as a strong and well prepared team and will be hoping to avoid the injury misfortune which ended their race at XPD in Portugal last year.
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