Raid Gauloises
Two Brits and Some Finns – A Strong Team
Rob / 27.04.2002
Steve ‘Ski’ Sharp and Anna McCormack are the only 2 British racers in this year’s Raid, though you won’t see the Union Jack on the leaderboard as they are part of Finnish Team ‘Lapin Kulta’. It’s a team packed with experience, and they might just do very well.
Ski and Anna both completed the last Raid which was held in the Himalayas, and have gained a lot of experience since, mainly with Team 9feet.com, winners of Adrenalin Rush last year. They were also on last week’s winning team of the inaugural Red Bull Northern Exposure – a gentle warm up!
Remarkably Anna only started racing when she was called in as a late replacement for the last Raid. “I was told they needed a female team member and if I didn’t go the team would have to pull out,� she said. “What else could I do?� Already an accomplished climber and mountain biker she was working leading river rafting holidays in Nepal, but adjusting to AR didn’t come easy. “We were supposed to be leading a horse across the Tibetan Plateau and were all so ill we had to hang on to it’s tail to stay upright – it was leading us!� Despite this she survived to the end and came to appreciate the exploratory nature of the big expedition races.
Ski is in the army, and is a trained mountaineering instructor and orienteering champion. He is known for his strength and was the powerhouse behind Team 9feet.com. Both are strong UK representatives in the race, but they haven’t always got on amicably and Anna can find the heat hard to cope with. Even in the UK she has to run in a sleeveless top at the first hint of sunshine. She’ll find the heat in the Vietnamese jungle tough.
Their team mates and support crew are all highly experienced racers … and proven winners. Irro Kakko, Eero Jappinen, and team captain Pasi Ikonen are 3 of the team who’ve won the last 2 Raid Ukatak’s and Pasi was with Team Nokia when they dramatically won the last Raid Gauloises in Nepal. You can’t get a higher pedigree than being a defending title holder.
Their assistance crew will also play a vital part. Jarkko Pekkala and Mikko Nikkinen are both racers themselves and Mikko was on the support crew for Team Nokia when they won last time out. He readily admits that some form of collaboration between the two Finnish teams is more than likely at this level …
They may not be among the obvious race favourites but Lapin Kulta are a team to watch and there is a precedent. Last time out it was an Anglo/Finnish winning team as Sarah Odell was with Nokia. Maybe, just maybe, it will be the year of the dark horse in Vietnam.
SleepMonsters
