Raid in France
New-Zealand team Seagate winners of Raid in France 2016
Press Release / 08.09.2016
On this fifth day of race, The New-Zealanders of Seagate team, defending world champions, crossed the finish line of this 8th edition on the beach of Saint-Pierre la Mer as winners. Since they left Font-Romeu last Sunday at midnight, they travelled across 430 kilometers: 131km of trek, 218km in mountain bike, 12km in raft and 69km in kayak. They completed this route in 100 hours and 28 minutes, in complete autonomy and orienteering.
“Raid in France is an amazing race, where the diversified stages are technical and demanding. Regarding the landscapes that we discovered, they were very different from those we progressed in during the 2012 World Championship. Being at the heart of the Pyrenees, the other great French mountain chain, was a chance, we really enjoyed it”, said Nathan Fa’avae, the emblematic captain of the team, few minutes after their victory on Saint-Pierre la Mer’s beach.
Second in the general ranking, French team 400 Team Naturex ended this expedition which accounts for the Adventure Racing World Series 1 hour and a half later. “For us, it is a victory… We are not so far from Seagate, declared Sébastien Raichon, captain of the team and winner in 2014 and 2015. We really loved the mountain trekking and the canyon and caving section in the Galamus gorges was impressive. This kind of activities are only possible through Raid in France. Then, at sunrise, we discovered the zip-line arranged by the organisers in the Peyrepertuse castle cliffs. A mythical section, one of the better I experienced on Raid in France”.
Third of this edition: the surprising RaidsAventure.fr, conducted by Rudy Gouy, a racer used to adventure racing who stopped during a few years, but did not lost his orienteering qualities and leading spirit. “Along the road, the good relationship and complementarity of the team helped us to progress calmly and to overcome difficult moments. We raced without pressure and without thinking about other teams, and it worked!”. Fanny Fréchinet congratulated the organisation for this route through the Pyrénées Orientales, Ariège and Aude departments via multiples natural and historical sites: from the Carlit peak to the Carança and Galamus gorges though the Agly valley, the Fenouillet forest and the Corbières.
Behind, the race is running at full speed. 12 teams are still in full race and 8 were affected by cuts-off. Next night, 4 teams should cross the finish line. The others will arrive on Friday from 7am and during the whole day, on the beach in Saint-Pierre-la-Mer.
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