Adventure Racing World Championship Portugal 2009
A-Z of XPD
Rob Howard / 04.11.2009
Adventure Racing in Portugal is organised by APCA, the Portuguese adventure racing association, which is affiliated under the national orienteering federation. This is for the purposes of insurance and permits (of which a vast number are needed in Portugal!). The orienteering influence will be reflected in race sections offering navigational and route choice, and in the excellent quality of the maps and CP placement, which are overseen by a controller.
The Race Directors are Alexandre Guedes da Silva and Ana Gabriel, a husband and wife team who have both visited and taken part in many World Series races and organised other races in Portugal.
XPD traditionally features several stages, each with multiple sections/disciplines, and with controlled opening and closing times for the stage. Sections within a stage may follow a mandatory route or have navigational choice.
The race route will have 61 checkpoints and an additional 12 'Bonus Checkpoints', five of which will be on the final stage. The final rankings are based on the number of CP's collected, then the number of bonus CP's, then the race time. So the decision whether or not to go for bonus CP's will be critical to the race outcome. The organisers believe it should be possible for the fastest teams to collect all of the CP's and bonus CP's, but this will depend on very accurate navigation and good sleep strategy.
Between the stages there are 4 Assistance Areas, where there will be a camping area or sports pavilion with toilets and showers, and the opportunity for hot food. The transition areas between disciplines will just be gear pick up and drop zones.
The race is supported, though there is the option for teams to race without support and have the organisation move their gear. Some teams who have raced XPD before will have the advantage of local drivers/translators to help them.
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