MEDIA RELEASE (XPD) | Day four of racing XPD Tropics, saw teams transition from mountain bike to an epic 70km kayak leg down the Burdekin river. From the transition area (TA), Mountain Designs, Merrell Adventure Addicts, Bivouac Inov-8 and Raidlight launched their kayaks mid morning.
The four teams were hoping to make up ground on Peak Adventure who had started the kayak leg the late afternoon before.
The strategy is to utilise as many daylight hours as possible, to navigate the shallow river bed in the warm, sunny conditions.
Route choice is important in this leg, as the teams attempt to avoid low water levels, where they will have to portage their kayaks over rocks and debris in the river.
The technique some teams used to go faster here, when the water level was very low, was to alternate between one team member paddling in each two-man kayak, whilst the other two team members ran along beside the river bank.
Nico from Team Raidlight says “The paddle was very difficult as the river was so low. It was very cold, so we decided to stop and sleep instead”.
Another team opting to wait for daylight hours to continue in the freezing conditions was Merrell Adventure Addicts. They camped on the river bank, only a couple of kilometres from the TA, lighting a blazing fire and huddling together to keep warm.
The team commented that Robyn was very close to hypothermia.
“It was our lowest point in the race” Hanno says.
Race Director, Louise Foulkes says “The teams would prefer to kayak nonstop until Mid Camp, as you can lose valuable time. However if the team has pushed very hard earlier on, it can mean you have to stop and take the rest. This where it can be very difficult.”
“We are now seeing some other teams like Neverest closing the gap to Raidlight, due to their required rest break on the river.”
Despite the low temperatures, Mountain Designs kayaked all night to arrive at the next TA at 11.30pm.
Peak Adventure raced ahead, with a fast 54km mountain bike leg to Mid Camp at the historic town of Charters Towers. The team checked in just after 11pm.
Team member Emma Weitnauer arrived requiring some medical attention for severe sun burn which occurred on the earlier 60km sea kayak leg on Day 2 of racing.
Mountain Designs checked in to Mid Camp at 2.30am, giving the team a comfortable time gap in second place.
The race rules state all teams must stop at Mid Camp and take a compulsory six hour rest break. The teams are supplied with hot meals and may shower.
As Merrell Adventure Addicts and Raidlight made their way to Mid Camp, the other three teams departed on the 145km Mountain Bike leg, the longest cycling leg in the race.
Peak Adventure and Mountain Designs rode through the dry and dusty, outback cattle stations, to rock hop with bikes across the Burdekin River and continue onto Ravenswood.
A navigation error just before the river crossing cost Peak Adventure thirty minutes.
A short history rogaine leg around the small town, saw Mountain Designs complete the challenge ten minutes quicker. The team took the lead, after taking into consideration the time penalty imposed on Peak Adventure from an earlier leg.
Arriving at Mingela to commence the 48km Trek, Mountain Designs had increased their lead by 18 minutes.
In a strategic decision, Mountain Designs elected Kathryn Preston, a champion orienteerer, to navigate the team through numerous private stations in the Harveys Ranges, where the navigation will be technical and difficult, especially at night.
Starting in an area called “The Maze”, Foulkes, says “This will be the critical leg that will decide the race.”
Bivouac Inov-8 round out third place, with enough lead to the next team, despite losing an hour for a navigation mistake, before crossing the river, during the long mountain bike leg.
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