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Tactics Take Centre Stage As Mammoth Empty Quarter Looms |
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Top Teams Risk Day Heat To Trailblaze Ahead in Adventure Challenge Fourth DayTactics came into play on the fourth day of the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge - the gruelling, six-day multi-discipline endurance race - as the remaining 48 teams from 18 countries came up against the sprawling Rub al Khali desert. Faced with a daunting 116km trek across the world’s largest uninterrupted body of sand, comparable in size to Holland, Belgium and France combined, the fatigued squads had to make a choice – run in the blistering daytime heat and open up the gap or wait for the cooler night temperatures and lose ground. For triple Kiwi champions, Thule Adventure - led by powerhouse endurance couple, Richard and Elina Ussher – the decision to battle through in the 25 degree day temperatures was worth it to ensure trailing teams could not ‘slipstream’ in its hardened tracks and make up precious time – a key decision given the Empty Quarter boasts rolling dunes similar in size to a 45 storey-building. “While it may have been cooler to run at night, it presented a lot challenges in orienteering and finding the way across the desert. This would just slow you down,” Ussher said. “And in the daytime, it is very hot, but there are advantages attached to trailblazing, such as not letting others follow in your footsteps,” said Richard Ussher, who is joined by endurance stalwarts, Nathan Fa’avae and Marcel Hagener, as he looks to make it a jaw-dropping four wins in a row. Only two other teams followed suit after checkpoint three - China 1 and Adidas Terrex from the UK – hoping their bravery would see them perfectly positioned for the assault on Switzerland’s Wenger team and Sweden’s Netcompetence, in third and fourth. Thule Adventure Team Europe from France, opting for a rest in the day, is looking to shore up second spot with a heavy night time push. Tactics also take centre-stage as teams have certain checkpoints which are not mandatory over the two days. They have the choice to save energy by only going through required points, and face stiff penalties, or go through them all, but suffer during the final two-day sea kayak back to Abu Dhabi city. Marc Pschebizin of the Swiss team Wenger said they really pushed themselves to the limit this time at the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA)-organised event. “This was the hardest race ever,” said Pschebizin, Wenger’s team member from Germany. “In the last six hours, we only had five litres of water left. The only tactic left was simply to survive. And to make the hike a bit more motivating, we tried to run with Thule Adventure Team Europe.” As the rest of the teams complete the fourth day, five teams including two from the UAE – the 4 Empty Quarters Team and the GRM Loggerheads – were forced to retire from the desert orienteering section due to lack of time. The other three were the French D-MEC et 1 Fille team; the SART ECORACE team from Singapore; and the Sleepmonster team from Australia. The first UAE team to finish the desert orienteering section was the ECO-RACERS squad led by Yasmin Wadhai, an HR Administrator and Fitness Personal Trainer from Iraq. “It wasn’t as hard as the first day although I have a lot of blisters on my feet,” said Wahdai. “And even if it hurts, I won’t be using them that much anyway for the final two days of sea-kayaking section. “We’re really happy to have been the first UAE team to finish this section,” she added. After the lead group, spearheaded by the dominating three teams, two more teams in the top 10 also finished the stage, towing along two French teams – the Nouvelle Caledonie and the Vibram Lafuma 2 team. The Guats Adventure Team from Canada and the Adidas Terex Team from the UK also concluded their fourth day of racing. In the overall standings prior to the two-day desert orienteering section, the French squad of Vibram Lafuma 1 jumped from 10th to 5th overall in the standings as a result of a fifth-best time of 4h57m01s at the 94km mountain biking section. Quite noticeably, the Danish Skandia Reelight squad is now knocking at the door of the top ten teams having leapfrogged from 14th to 11th overall with their impressive sixth-best mountain biking section time of 5h08m49s. Rounding up the top ten teams after the mountain biking section are the Kiwis Thule Adventure Team at 1st; the French Thule Adventure Team Europe at 2nd; the Swiss Wenger Team at 3rd; the Swedish Netcompetence team at 4th; and the second Kiwi squad Orion Adventure at 6th. The previous day stars Salomon Santeveri Outdoor Team from Spain and the Adidas Terex Team from the UK both dropped two notches from 5th and 6th to 7th and 8th, The Silva Gerber Adventure team from Sweden retained their 9th ranking, while the Guats Adventure Team from Canada also dropped two places from 8th to 10th. As the race enters the homestretch, days five and six will see teams paddle a 129km sea-kayaking section along the emirate’s stunning coastline to end back in Abu Dhabi city. ADTA works closely with a number of governmental and commercial bodies to successfully stage the Challenge, including General Head Quarters of the Armed Forces (GHQ); Critical National Infrastructure Authority (CNIA); Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO); Abu Dhabi Police; Al Ain Traffic Police; Abu Dhabi Customs; Ministry of Health; Abu Dhabi Beaches; Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Mirfa municipalities; and Emirates Palace. To find out more about Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge 2010, please log on to: www.abudhabi-adventure.com. |
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