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Tuesday Morning Update

Rob Howard / 28.06.2011

As the race moves into its 4th day all but two of the teams have left Whitehaven and there has been further retirement overnight. This was the withdrawal of Predator due an equipment failure (they didn’t say what), who are now heading back home to Wales.

The two teams still in Whitehaven with runners on the mountain stage, are Flemish Lowlanders, the Belgian team, and Kasuju – the leaking boat. The two Belgian runners set off last night at 22.13, so may have had to go up Scafell Pike in the dark, however this is a very relaxed team so it wouldn’t surprise me if they chose to rest and wait for some light. They do have a support crew of two here, so they’ll be met at Wasdale Head, and since the support crew have been seen drinking red wine at 10.00am at the foot of Snowdon and one of the races has a large J&B Whiskey panel on his bike frame, it’s not unlikely they will stop at the Wasdale Inn! (This used to be a common occurrence in the past, when teams were more ‘amateur’ and one year there was even a special Tilman Trophy when drinking a pint at the Inn won teams extra points!)

The leading 3 boats are still a tide ahead and in the same race position, with Danu Technologies staying ahead of White Clouds and then Team Whistler. At present (09.00 Tuesday) they are in the Sound of Jura, which notorious for becalming boats and forcing them to row, and there are several tidal gates ahead for them to negotiate as they make their way through the Inner Hebrides up to Fort William. It is hard to predict but a finish tonight is likely, and with the runners from the leading two evenly matched, there be a repeat of last year when the runners decided the race on final Ben Nevis run.

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