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High Winds Force Adventure Challenge Course Rethink |
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Sea Kayaking Leg Shortened, City Pure Power Course To End Gruelling Race on Wednesday. Teams Relish Rest Day To Plan Final Day Assault.Uncommon adverse weather conditions on the fifth day of the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge - the gruelling, six-day multi-discipline endurance race - saw organisers today postpone the final 129kms sea-kayaking leg to ensure the safety of the record 48 teams from 18 countries still in contention. The final day, which will still finish on schedule in Abu Dhabi city on Wednesday, will now be staged as a pure power sea-kayaking sprint around the sheltered Lulu Island, just 500 metres off the UAE capital’s sweeping Corniche. “Athlete safety is always our first priority. With the extremely rare weather conditions, which have never been seen in the four years of this event in Abu Dhabi, we felt the responsible option was to postpone the sea-kayaking,” said Faisal Al Sheikh, Events Manager, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) – which is behind the Challenge. “Like the athletes racing this event, being prepared for every possible outcome is crucial. As such, the event will now finish with a spectator-friendly, high-speed sprint leg around Lulu Island on Wednesday. With teams rested up and looking to overturn time differences on the front runners, you can be sure that this will be a high-intensity finish of the highest quality.” With a 24-hour rest period, the nearly 200 athletes will be using the enforced break to patch up their wounds, grab some much needed sleep and battle with staying concentrated on the end game. Triple Kiwi champions, Thule Adventure Team – led by endurance stalwart, Richard Ussher – were first out of the vast expanse of the Empty Quarter on Monday evening, building up an assailable lead of close to 40 minutes over second placed Thule Adventure Team Europe of France. “We have no problem with the weather condition but this may not be the same for the inexperienced teams. Our game plan wasn’t really to win the challenge on the kayaking section but on the desert where we had a very efficient run. Today we will relax and sort our gear,” said Ussher, who has teamed up with wife, Elina, and fellow Kiwis, Nathan Fa’avae and Marcel Hagener, as he zeroes in on a record fourth victory. After a commanding 116kms desert orienteering section, Switzerland’s Team Wenger SUI-GER has solidified its third place standing, and now sits only 10 minutes behind the French, meaning an-all out sprint on the new-look final day leg is a must if it hopes to usurp its European counterparts. “It was the right decision not to continue with the race today. We were not really looking to grab second place because long-distance paddling was not our strong suit, however with a new final day that could change,” said Wenger’s team captain, Bernhard Hug. “Our main goal now is to defend our number three spot. To be on the podium would be a big success for us. I am among those who have done the Adventure Challenge all four times and for me this is the hardest race ever. So we are very lucky to be able to rest today and we will sleep and eat a lot.” Rounding out the top five, the UK’s Adidas Terrex and rookies Netcompetence of Sweden, managed to hold their fourth and fifth standings with an energy-sapping night-time push through the Empty Quarter – the world’s largest expanse of unbroken desert, comparable in size to France, Belgium and Holland combined. “We are only 12 minutes ahead of the Swedish team so we have to focus on clearing the final day section without mistakes in order to defend our position. We don’t know how strong the Swedish team is, so we will concentrate on our own race,” said Adidas’ captain, Nick Gracie. In the battle for local bragging rights, top UAE team - 2XU Blackberry – put in a storming display to leapfrog up to 16th place, making them the outright leaders of the eight-strong UAE contingent by some way. The next best domestic team, EcoRacers, currently sit in 36th place, more than 10 hours behind 2XU Blackberry, showing the gap in class of the UAE front-runners. “We are happy not to go out and kayak under strong wind conditions. However, we wanted to catch up with the team ahead, which is leading us by 16 minutes. Now, it will be much harder especially when the section is much shorter. It will need a lot of hard work but as a very experienced paddling team, we hope we have what it takes,” said 2XU’s Adam Marcinowicz, an outdoor instructor from the UK. To date, of the 49 teams lined-up in Abu Dhabi for the opening prologue on Friday, 48 remain on-course to finish the gruelling, multi-discipline event. Over the last five days, the teams have swam, mountain biked, canoed, climbed and navigated their way through a diverse range of stunning natural landscapes found in the emirate, from the dizzying heights of Jebel Hafeet in Abu Dhabi’s heritage heartland of Al Ain to the vast expanse of the Empty Quarter in the Al Gharbia Western Region, which boasts dunes similar in size to a 40-storey building. With many teams surviving on only a few hours sleep a night, and burning through nearly 7,000 calories a day, almost three times that of a normal adult male, the event continues to live up to its ‘challenge’ moniker. 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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