Swiss Team Wenger Grabs Third As Novices Fall By The Way Side

Spanish and British teams move further up the rankings as Kiwis continue to hold top spot

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As the epic, six-day Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge endurance race reaches its halfway point, competition for the top three slots continues to intensify as many amateur teams fall by the wayside, succumbing to the emirate’s vast and demanding terrain.

After six, energy-sapping sections, still leading the pack of 49 squads from 18 countries is the Thule Adventure Team’s Kiwi foursome, spearheaded by triple Abu Dhabi champions Richard and Elina Ussher, who are in eclectic form once again as they look to make it four wins on the bounce.

After registering two consecutive second-best section times, Switzerland’s Wenger team has upped its game to grab third spot from Sweden’s Netcompetence, as it continues to inch even closer to the Thule Adventure Team Europe of France, currently holding fort in second.

Registering times of 57m02s in the 13.8km mountain biking section and 4h15m52s in the punishing 11km mountaineering section across Jebel Hafeet’s ragged terrain, the Swiss team’s time was bested only by the ever-dominant Kiwis, who clocked in at 52m51s and 4h13m52s respectively over the two sections.

“Being from the Alps, we are at home with a lot of climbing,” said Wenger’s team captain, Bernhard Hug, a 37-year old coach and sports scientist. “We are very happy with the result and look forward to pushing even harder to further narrow the gap with the two leading teams in the succeeding days.”

And because of their superb performance, the Swiss foursome was also able to claw back almost five minutes over the second-running French team’s lead, which now stands at just over three minutes, while simultaneously building a more than 11-minute advantage over the resilient Swedes, now in fourth.

In addition, Spain’s Salomon Santiveri Outdoor Team and the Adidas Terex Team from the UK have also made big strides in the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA)-organised event, moving up to 5th and 6th place from 9th and 10th the previous day, following their respective fourth and sixth-best mountaineering section times.
“We finally got into the proper rhythm and had better bikes than yesterday,” said Salomon’s team captain Miguel Angel Torres Lopez. “We wish to thank the organisers for changing our bikes.”

Meanwhile the British squad patiently and methodically improved its standing as it flexed its long-stage credentials on day three.

“We were actually expecting such a positive development in the team’s overall ranking as we know that the longer sections are more suited to us,” said team captain Nick Gracie, a 38-year-old businessman and British Adventure Racing Champion. “We are very much looking forward to the desert biking and hiking sections.”

Testament to why the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge is considered one of the world’s toughest endurance races, 13 teams were given the maximum penalties for either failing to finish or start the third day’s 94km mountain biking section or riding through it with only three of the teams’ four members.

Abu Dhabi Triathlon Team, which boasts some of the world’s top triathletes and Ironman champions, continued to struggle with the long-stage rigours of adventure racing, leading to its withdrawal after the energy sapping climbing stage.

Rounding up the top ten teams are New Zealand’s Orion Adventure in 7th, Guats Adventure from Canada in 8th, Sweden’s Silva Gerber Adventure in 9th and Vibram Lafuma 1 of France in 10th.

The gruelling race started on Sunday with a punishing 94km mountain biking section to the stunning five-star Qasr al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara in Liwa.

After the mountain bike section, the race then takes in 116kms of desert orienteering over two days through the Rub al Khali desert – or Empty Quarter – the world’s largest uninterrupted body of sand, the size of Holland, Belgium and France combined.

The Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge was conceived by ADTA to globally promote the emirate’s burgeoning credentials as a world-class adventure leisure destination and to showcase Abu Dhabi’s vast natural beauty. Following the event’s opening day, racing fans will be also be able to cheer on their country’s teams at the finish, which takes place on Abu Dhabi’s Corniche public beach for the first time, on Wednesday (15th December).

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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