Lycian Challenge Adventure Race LC 2014 - AREC
Over the Mountains to the Coast
Rob Howard / 02.05.2014
On Day 3 of the Lycian Challenge the teams are all beginning to make their way over the mountains to the coast, where the final stages take place before the finish in the resort of Oludeniz. Those at the front (whether they’ve done the full or a partial course) were on the last cycling stage today, which followed a gruelling and very hilly trek.
The race leaders adidas TERREX and Estonian ACE Adventure were on the trek overnight and took a long time making progress and collecting all of the controls, including one right on the shore line which required a very steep descent and ascent to reach. A group of teams behind wisely opted to miss this and other sections of the trek, taking a shorter, direct line route with fewer checkpoints.
The trek finished at a mosque in a small village where the teams picked up their bikes for the last time and adidas TERREX had to take time out here to patch the hole in Tom Gibb’s tyre with what they had available. They used a cut Liptons ice tea bottle and gaffer tape to make the repair, taking their time to do it as well as they could ... and it worked, surviving without incident for the ride. They were not the first team to arrive at TA2 however, Team Delta of Denmark made it just a few minutes before them, though they have cut parts of the course.
Adidas TERREX arrived at 14.20 and left on the first sea paddle half an hour later, estimating they would be back to the TA in around 9 hours. In that time they have to paddle around the bay at Oludeniz, then down the coastline to a deep inlet where they leave the kayaks for the final trek stage, which includes canyoning and a waterfall descent. Once that is complete they paddle back to the TA and the finish is then a 1Km sea swim away.
There are a group of Danish teams who are racing each other as behind Delta, came the Multiatleten Racing Team and Merrell Denmark. I met both these teams high in the mountains on the cycle stage at CP35. This was set in one of the meadows in the forest in an area with a small lake and many natural wells. It looked like a summer pasture camp and was full of wild flowers, bees (there are hives all over the hills) and tortoises.
When he arrived Lars Bukkehave of Merrell Denmark said, “Isn’t this an amazing country, it’s so beautiful. That’s what I love about adventure racing!” They hadn’t loved the 3 hour climb with the bikes before that so much, but were still feeling competitive and chasing down the Multiatleten team. As they raced off along the rough forest trails again Bukkehave shouted out. “Time to go – we have some Danes to catch!”
The Multiatleten team were looking forward to the sea paddling and to be sure to enjoy it in daylight they had missed out the whole previous trek and just ridden down the road instead. They want to make the most of the parts of the course they will most enjoy, and the scenery on the coast and for the canyon stage is some of the best in the race, so it’s a good decision and one which others further back on the course may also take.
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