Testing Times

Rob Howard / 14.09.2012

It has been a busy day for the teams preparing for Raid in France, the 2012 Adventure Racing World Championships at L’Argentierre’-le-Besse.  This small town it the gathering point and race HQ for the best adventure racing teams from around the world, looking to complete, or perhaps even to win, the title of World Champions in the toughest of team sports.

The race hosts this year are Raid in France, a member of the AR World Series for several years and the premier expedition length race in France, the country which began adventure racing with the Raid Gauloises back in 1988.  That race established the  classic adventure racing format of non-stop, multi-sport, team racing in remote and challenging locations around the world, and despite the dynamic change in the perception of ‘adventure racing’ in recent years, expedition racing remains the pinnacle of the sport and holds true to the original ideals of Raid Gauloises.

Race Director Pascal Bahuaud, who opened proceedings at the race briefing this evening, was a Raid Gauloises competitor himself and his race has the tag line of ‘Back to Nature’, supporting a strong belief in the spirit of teamwork and respect for the environment.  (Teams were explicitly warned that any infringement of the national park rules would lead to instant disqualification, with no warning or appeal.)

The teams could either camp on the municipal campsite near the HQ (where most of the race staff are as well), or find accommodation in the town or along the valley.  In the lead up to the race the weather has been mixed, with rain and high winds at times plus cold nights and mornings, but it was sunny today so teams could spread out their kit in the town square where the kit checks were taking place. 

They would be there for some time ... 5 hours on average as the gear checks were exhaustive and detailed – much more so than at other races. Every item of equipment was inspected, weighed, measured and its use assessed for every discipline.  Teams were warned there would be on-course gear checks, heavy penalties for infringements, and that if bags were overweight they would have to carry the excess themselves on the course.  Not everyone was a fan of this thoroughness, but those familiar with French expedition races know this is part of the race culture.  “It is exactly what I expected,” said Tom Gibbs of the adidas Terrex team (UK).

This team has had the most the difficult lead up to the race, with Warren Bates breaking his leg whilst out training on his own.  He was assisted to hospital by some hunters while his team mates, due to meet him at Nice airport,wondered where he had got to.  The team managed to find a last minute replacement in Chris Hope, who raced with them a month ago at The Sting in Stirling’, and he arrived today (Thursday).

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