Raid International Gaspesie
Raid International Gaspesie - Up Hill, Down Vallee
Pyro / 11.09.2015
Day 1 dawned grey, wet and not at all like the constant sunshine of the prologue, and the overcast sky reflected the mood of a couple of the teams. Both Brou Kailash from Brazil and Painted Wolf from South Africa had been given two hour penalties for missing the final checkpoint – within 100m of the finish line – and started the day in 26th and 27th place. Doubly annoying for both as they'd been the second and third place team over the line. Team Sport Olympe had also been awarded a penalty for leaving a pack on the summit of Mont St Joseph, as we reported yesterday. After a picture of it was posted on the race Facebook page they owned up to their mistake.
The start of the race was from a farm near St Alexis de Matapedia, where the farm owner proudly displayed his collection of classic John Deere tractors, antique carriages and the barns he had built himself while the racers assembled bikes, fettled brakes and chatted over the previous day's racing. Andre Gie of Painted Wolf was sanguine about some of their mistakes but visibly disappointed about the penalty. “It was like amateur hour out there. We haven't raced in about a year and we were moving really fast, but we overshot one CP up on Mont St Joseph. We went back for it and worked real hard to get back up to second place”. The penalty has put them in a hard position, but they were working hard to make the time back up, snapping at the heals of Dynafit/SkimoEast for a large portion of the first day.
The race route today involved a lot of biking, and some steep, sinuous climbs as the teams descended into and climbed back out of the Matapedia river valley. The first CP, high on a gorge-top viewpoint, afforded them a qick glance at the river section they'd be paddling a short while after, and following a blazingly fast descent on a good gravel road down to the shore, they began the tortuous climb back up to TA1, to trade their bikes for running shoes and canoeing gear, and a bushwhack and gorge walk back down into the valley once more.
The first canoe stage was long but not overly arduous. The flow level in the river was low enough that in some places, if you chose your line poorly, wet feet and walking were the best option. Those who chose their lines well got down with only a minor amount of scraping on the boats. The 150km race had an earlier takeout, but the 300km race ran the full 20km of river down to Matapedia itself. Dynafit were the first of the 300km teams out of their boats, with Painted Wolf close behind despite having paddled with rental C1 blades rather than the kayak paddles most other teams used. “We felt like we were probably the most Canadian team out there” was Mark Collin's considered reply.
Out of the boats the teams headed upwards on foot, trekking up the steep valley side along the SIA walking trail towards their next challenge at TR4, the abseil descent of the Chutes de Picot waterfall. The trail into the base of the fall was steep and slippery, with an old wooden bridge over a side creek, and the spectators and photographers were quick to warn racers of the slide hazard after more than one racer nearly lost their footing on the weathered planks. This goodwill continued when the Brazilian Team Enigma arrived at the abseil well before their support crew arrived with their harnesses (the crew had a short trek in from a different direction). Faced with the possibility of having to take a penalty through no fault of their own, the team were overjoyed when Intersport Bonaventure's support crew said “Our guys are late, possibly lost. Use their harnesses, as long as we get them back as soon as our team arrives”, saving the day for the Brazilians. They promised to be quick, and were up to the start and down the abseil in double time, handing the kit back over with big high-fives and thanks.
The next high point of the day was Saint Andre de Restigouche, where the local community co-op store was a special checkpoint. A small crowd had gathered outside and inside, cheering the racers as they rode up, and the CP punch was inside the store itself, where the teams could also grab a free coffee, soft drink and cake if they wanted it. Some declined politely, and made a fast turnaround, including Merrell Denmark who were trying to make up time on the bikes after moving cautiously on foot to protect Anna Hecht Neilsen's damaged ankle. The team from Get Out There Magazine went the other way and stopped, grabbed a Coke and a macaroon and took their time over it, clearly savouring the sugar after a hard climb “We're a little surprised at our own pace, especially on the bikes. We're both trail runners, not bikers, so we're going pretty well”. They seemed to have settled in onto the bikes well, and flew through the last section of gravel road, descending into the river valley for the final time down Chemin McDavid at a fantastic pace.
Just to provide a sting in the tail there was one final short special stage before the finish line. Having ridden back into town, they dropped their bikes and had to cross the river, not by the large, nearby, convenient bridge, but wading and swimming via the final CP on an island in the middle. With wet feet (and everything else for the few who slipped or swam sections), they then ran the final few hundred yards to the camp ground finish, where their support team, evening meal and a some local delicacies, including smoked salmon and home-made maple syrup were being served as a fantastic way to end the day.
The 150km results have been released for the day, with the Four team GalopeauXtreme leading by 25 minutes over the Pair of Les Beaux Freres and the second Four, Les Extraordinaires.
The 300km have not yet been released, we believe there are some protests in place about penalties from the Prologue, and they are under discussion.
Speaking of the Prologue, see our gallery over on the SleepMonsters Facebook page, and check out the official race video of the fast blast here on Vimeo.
SleepMonsters
