Adventure Racing World Championship Portugal 2009
Team Accelerate - First British Team to Arrive.
Stu Hale (Team teamaker) / 05.11.2009
Team Accelerate are the 8th team to arrive and the first of the British contingent. Based close to the event HQ the Team is preparing well in advance of last years preparations. Alasdair Bruce, who is head of Team logistics said, "We knew from experience that the earlier we arrived in Portugal to get our kit together then the better it would be. We choose an early flight out of Heathrow and have comfortably missed the rush of the vast number of teams arriving, much to our relief". The Team may well have put pressure on themselves to get away from the UK but now that they are comfortably ensconced in their very own 'Event HQ', things have calmed down and the atmosphere is relaxed and jovial.
Bikes are currently being assembled to ensure that all is well following British Airways hospitality. So far so good, with Caroline and Adam up to their usual antics as the fun begins and the music gets louder.
Sitting down and talking to the Team over a cup of tea is was Caz who commented on, "How far we have come on in a year in respect of both racing as a team (including Julia Baron and Dave Spence who are fit and ready to race in case of injury), logistics and organisation. It is a far cry from my day job of fixing horses in Newbury (she is an equine veterinary surgeon), and at the moment I think I will leave the bikes to boys as they clearly know what they are doing!"
The full Team for this year's race is Kev Honeysett, Caroline Bullard, Adam Marcinowicz and Alasdair Bruce. Also part of the Team is Debs Smith and Stuart Hale who are here as the Support Crew, responsible for the racers welfare at each transition and especially the 'Assistance Zones' where they can interact fully with the athletes. One of the key aspects for the support crew is ensuring the Team stay on their planned race time, nutrition and also sleeping plan. Between each transition Debs and Stu will be sharing the driving covering many more miles than the racers and, by the looks of it, racing ahead of the athletes in attempts to set up the next transition before they arrive. Debs only comment was to say, "It's going to be hectic". Something of an understatement I think!
The Team will be looking to finish unpacking tonight, before heading out for a gentle team jog around the local area. This will be followed by an evening meal and a review of the race and an early night.
In 2008 Team Accelerate raced Portugal XPD, completed the full course and finished a very creditable 8th place. One thing is for certain this World Series Final is a different prospect altogether. They are here to compete with most of the World's top racers, to see how they fair and to learn from the experience as they consider future World Series racing. Team spirit and the mix of experience and knowledge among the four racers will ensure they will help and cajole each other to the finish line and no doubt with many a tale to tell.
Team Accelerate updates can be found on their main Team Partners Face Book page: http://www.facebook.com/accelerateuk or you can visit their website at: www.teamaccelerate.co.uk
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