Raid International Gaspesie - Chasing Waterfalls

Pyro / 10.09.2015

The Raid International Gaspesie started in fine style this afternoon. After a morning briefing in triplicate (French, English and Spanish), and the usual rounds of questions, the racers and support crews got their last minute kit prepped and headed for the lighthouse at Point Tracadigash, the end of one of the two banks that forms the sheltered lagoon on which the town stands. The main race Raideurs and the youth race participants gathered at the lighthouse and chatted before the off, and a number of the youth racers seemed determined to give the Raideurs a run for their money – unfortunately, they were on a shorter course so the challenge never really played out.

The racers started on foot, with a running and rockhopping leg along the bank, into a CP in a gap in the dunes beyond, then into TA1 to pick up their bikes to work their way north through back roads to TA2. There, back into trail shoes for the short but steep trek up onto Mont St Joseph, the 555m peak which overlooks the town. The route ran to the east of the mountain itself and climbed through some winding trails and jeep track, then onto singletrack up the ridge to the summit and the chapel that sits upon it. Some prayers may have been uttered, but not in the chapel itself, in the first of the 'special activities' which had been promised – a slackline over a steep ravine on the hillside. To prevent any queueing, only one member of each team (whether two or four) had to cross the line, and a safety/handline was positioned above to make things simpler.

After that, the descent began, and a swift singletrack trail took the racers to a bike pickup (the assistants had been told to drive carefully, though time between transitions was tight), and then into steep, technical singletrack – actually a walking trail which had been closed to walkers for the event – down the mountain. Most teams exited the section buzzing about how much fun this had been, but Anna Hecht Neilsen of Merrell Denmark was less happy, having crashed and taken a fall off the side of the trail. Her sore ankle was causing some concern for the team, but they said they were “happy to be here and just going to enjoy the race”.

The next stop on the bikes was another Special Stage, a run up a riverbed, a bushwhacking and canyoning section, then a slide down a 7m weir into a deep pool. Again, levels of confidence varied, some racers going for it, whooping and hollering, other hesitating on the lip and needing a little encouragement from the crew above to motivate them to go. The two medical staff standing at the base are here attending their first ever adventure race, and were wondering just how much wilder the race would get… well, this is only the prologue. Alexandre Provost of team Dynafit/SkimoEast was exhuberant after the slide, his team were pushing hard at the front of the race but having fun with it.

Onwards on the bikes again and on to the final two Special Stages of the race, firstly a zipline just along the sea front from Carleton itself, and then back towards town itself and on to the wharf on the Carleton bank. For some people, jumping off the wharf to swim out to a crab boat would be a horrible thought, but the race direction stated that was what they must do. The boat owner stood, slightly bemusedly, manning the checkpoint on the boat itself, and some confusion arose with teams as to whether all of the team needed to clamber up onto the boat or only the person with the punch card. The instruction was the latter, but not all teams had read the routebook, it seemed.

At the finish, the teams mingled again with the Youth racers, and both groups cheered each other on as they finished. A number of the Youth crew, coming in muddy and wet after their own adventures, seemed less than happy about having a finish line photo taken. The park hosting the finish area was ringing to the sounds of some techno-swing tunes, and a good few members of the public were enjoying the spectacle, which bodes well for the race and it's interaction with the community.

Official results aren't yet released, so we'll get them to you as soon as they are. It appears at least one team is due a penalty as a full pack was left at the summit of Mont St Joseph. We'll let you know when we do!

You can follow the race live at http://yb.tl/rig15#

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