Raid in France
A Wet Night at Raid in France
Helen Smith / 17.09.2014
On Tuesday at midday those teams who have been shunted (which is half the field) were taken by bus to the beginning of the second canyon stage just north of Lac de Villefort. They were set of at 17:00 in order of when they were ready. They then had to canyon (1.4km) trek (2.9km) and canoe (5km) to Castanet.
I was at the CP which was the start of the 5km canoe. 400team Raidlight (14) left here at 13.08 and Lozere Sport (6) arrived at 17:55 looking really good! I moved onto the end of the canoe section and saw this team make a quick transition to begin their 30km trek at 19:15 to Masmejean through the spectacular Cevennes National Park. Lozere Sport are slowly gaining time on the leaders and all it will take is for Raidlight to stop for a sleep and they'll be caught. It could be a close and exciting finish.
Still at canoe/trek transition, the Swedish team Outnorth Adventure (24) began their 30km trek at 09.50 along with 400team Raidlight2. The Swedes have slowed a bit. The first canyoning section which was supposed to take between 5-8 hours took them 10. They also stopped for a sleep as they were feeling tired.
Lakes Multisport UK arrived in Castanet around 10.30. They are resting and warming up in the public toilets next to a radiator! Catriona isn't feeling very well and is struggling to eat so the team are deciding now whether it is safe for her to continue.
3rd and fourth place are teams RAID74 Maxirace.org 2 (20) and Arverne outdoor (1). They left for the 30km trek fairly close together but it seems Arverne Outdoor have put a bit of distance on them overnight.
Sadly for the teams, it has been raining heavily all night and this morning. Let's hope it stops soon so they can begin to dry out and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Cevennes National Park. It has been decided by the organisers this morning to cancel the caving and the kayaking due to the heavy rain.
Out of those teams that were shunted, AGDE Raid adventure (16), the Swiss R'adys team Switzerland (2) and Cross Contour (25) are leading.
You can follow the race live at http://live.raidinfrance.com/
SleepMonsters
