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May 11, 2003
AVIEMORE/SCOTLAND, 11 May 2003
AVIEMORE/SCOTLAND - 11/05 - In a thrilling duel that went all the way to the wire, two giants of the adventure racing world, LES ARCS-QUECHUA from France and Britain's own SAAB SALOMON battled each other, and the elements, for top dog on this 2003 X-adventure Raid Series opener in the rugged Highlands of Scotland.
As the teams came to the starting line early on Saturday morning, a feeling of "déjà vu" was in the air, along with freezing cold, driving rain that gave no possibility of catching sight of the snow-capped Ben Nevis. After consultation with the mountain guides posted at the summit, a concerned race director, Sylvain Thualt, decided to move the race start and modify the opening portion of the course. Ben Nevis had foiled the X-adventure Raid Series once more. Strong runners, like British favourites SAAB SALOMON (GB), looked disappointed but all agreed that this was one time to err on the side of caution.
After circumnavigating Britain's tallest peak, the leading teams, with LES ARCS - QUECHUA (FR) marginally ahead, came into assistance point 1 in tight formation. Only 5 minutes separated the first 10. The teams looked strong as they sped off through the Leanachan Forest but the intensity of the incessant rain was already beginning to leech resilience from even the most seasoned competitors. The section was fast and included a relatively sheltered ride long the West shore of Loch Lochy and the Great Caledonian Canal. The fastest top 20 were barely 5mins apart over the section with ERTIPS-SALMOMON (FR) leading the charge. At assistance point 2, as the first of two back-to-back water sections began, the weather conditions were beginning to take a toll. As the canoes slipped into the flint-dark waters of the River Oich, some teams looked physically drained. Most made it through the canoeing section unscathed, putting in fast, competitive times, with ERTIPS-SALOMON coming out on top once more but NOKIA (FI), VSD-EIDER (FR) and HUMAN LINK (SW) were all within 1 minute of the leaders. SAAB SALOMON completed the top 5 teams only moments behind. French team LES ARCS-QUECHUA, after going very strong early in the race, inexplicably struck a rock and capsized into the chilly water. Remarkably enough, they dropped only 7 minutes off the lead but the damage was done and they would pay a higher price on the following sea-kayaking section. As a strong Southwesterly whipped up the surface of Loch Ness and a daunting 1-metre swell began to build, last minute adjustments were made to steering gear. Experienced kayakers, ERTIPS-SALOMON and VSD-EIDER, caught the waves and began to stretch the field. SAAB SALOMON kept the gap down to 5mins while staying just ahead of NOKIA ADVENTURE, also looking strong. LES ARCS-QUECHUA, choosing to keep the same team for both water sections, couldn't stave off the effects of their early dip and were suddenly overcome by the monster of their own fatigue. They dropped 25 minutes off the head of the race and put in the 20th time on the section. But this is a team renowned for it's ability to come back from the dead_ The rough waters drained the teams and around 5 were thrown into the sombre, murky depths of Loch Ness. Though BRIKO ADVENTURE TEAM TIROL (AT) managed to clamber back into their craft, they began to exhibit symptoms of hypothermia and were obliged to abandon the section. Rope works followed where a spectacular flying fox was combined with a relatively technical 100m abseil into the water pool below. Teams crossed a monkey bridge and then continued onto the penultimate section of the day: 28kms on MTBs with a short portage in the middle, across the barren, windswept Monadhlian Mountains to assistance point 6. The rain had at last stopped but the wind continued to deliver powerful headwinds, buffeting the already flagging athletes. LES ARCS-QUECHUA were working hard to catch the race lead and put in the fastest time on the section, though less than 3 minutes separated the first 4 teams. ERTIPS-SALOMON dropped almost 10 minutes over this section and VSD-EIDER were beginning to pull ahead, stretching their lead to 15 minutes. ERTIPS-SALOMON, HUMAN LINK and SAAB SALMON were still hot on their heels with less than a 1 minute spread. LES ARCS-QUECHUA were still moving well and looked poised to pounce, holding 5th place and lying barely 16 minutes off the lead. The final test for the day, 21kms of adventure running took the teams up and over the Southern hump of the Monadhlian Mountains and into Strathspey as night began to fall. The first teams arrived around 23:30 after a long and arduous day's racing with British team SAAB SALOMON holding onto a narrow lead.
Despite being tipped from their canoe early into day 1 and then dropping 25 minutes off the lead during the sea-kayaking section on Loch Ness, Helene Rochas and team were still in high spirits as they switched to overdrive on a final day's dash to the race front. VSD-EIDER beat out the opposition on the first canoeing section of the day (05:30 start) down the River Spey, without managing however to overtake the victory chasing SAAB SALMOMON, who snatched the race lead during the final trek the night before. They held onto it and continued to astound with a valiant inline skates performance, keeping at bay a swift and efficient challenge from LES ARCS-QUECHUA, pushing harder on every section to reduce the gap which stood at 2 minutes behind VSD-EIDER and 9 minutes behind leaders SAAB SALOMON.
SAAB SALOMON, as did VSD-EIDER, made navigational mistakes on a fairly uncomplicated 17km MTB cruise through the Glen More National Forest and up through the gorse and heather to the Cairngorms ski station. Violent winds, coupled with the steep ascent, slowed down the riders over the final kilometres and also caused the cancellation of the rope works section at the summit of Cairn Lochan. The team LES ARCS-QUECHUA, with extraordinary rope skills, expressed disappointment at the change but were determined to hang onto the narrow 2min 30secs lead they now had on SAAB SALOMON. The final 22kms produced an astonishing duel between the two leaders as the "home" team, SAAB SALOMON, drew on every ounce of strength and resilience to close the gap on LES ARCS-QUECHUA. Although 2mins 30secs separated the first and second places at the start of the section, with only one CP to go, the teams were neck and neck and the gripping sprint to the finish line drove both squads to levels of performance hitherto unseen on the adventure racing World Cup. The teams rounded the final bend on each others heels and the two-day tussle was literally decided over a hundred-metre sprint with an elated LES-ARCS QUECHUA (FR) just edging out SAAB SALOMON (GB) in a "photo" finish. Bodies tumbled to the ground as the adrenaline continued to run well after the racers had stopped and the cheering crowd remained almost as breathless as the athletes themselves. "This has got to be our greatest win yet_ we have never had to work so hard for victory. This team is absolutely fantastic!", blurted out ecstatic Helene ROCHAS of LES ARCS-QUECHUA. "I can't thin k of anywhere we could have done better in this race", confided an exhausted Tom GIBBS of SAAB SALOMON. "That was a fantastic race!", affirmed his team mate Nicola DAVIES.
For detailed information, pictures to download and live updates:
 www.raidseries.com
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