The Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge
A four a.m. start
Anne-Marie Dunhill / 12.12.2010
The racers had to leave the homey oasis of the bivouac near Um as Zummel even earlier this morning then yesterday as todays’ start was at 04:00. At three thirty this morning the PA system kicked into action and last minute reminders were made.
The race started promptly at 04:00 and they were off for 94km mountain biking section. The first part of the stage, before sunrise, was extremely fast for those teams which didn’t experience technical difficulties with their bikes (as several did) as they were racing on asphalt. Perhaps asphalt is an optimistic description of the road and there were potholes galore, let’s just say that there was little sand...yet.
As the sun was rising teams hit parts of the road that were completely covered in drifting sands and they had to dismount quickly and either push or carry their bikes. To the left was the border with Saudi Arabia and to the right endless expanses of golden dunes. Several slow motions falls were seen as tired racers feeling the effects of the third day of racing were slow to unclick their shoes from their pedals.
The first team, Thule, ate up the section in just four and half hours,followed two minutes later at 08:32 by Thule Europe, with Wenger following at 08:49. The transition was on the grounds of the Qasr Al Sarab, a luxurious five star desert resort with traditional architecture that seems to appear as a mirage in the desert. The transition was incredibly fast from the mountain bikes to the desert orienteering.
Teams had a mandatory stop of a half hour during which they had to sort out their bike drop off, snack, and prepare themselves for the 116 km desert orienteering section. This preparation included liberal amounts of sunscreen and the tops of gaiters were seen being taped to their legs in an optimistic attempt to keep sand out.
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