Team Cyanosis have just returned from the Adventure Racing World Champs in Spain, still sorely sleep deprived and with very weary bodies after having had less post-race sleep than some nights during the race!
The team, comprising of Clinton Mackintosh, Nicholas Mulder, Jen Segger and Ryno Griesel covered 650km in 5 days, 6 hours and 46 minutes. Provisional results released at prize giving on Friday night indicate that Cyanosis will be placed 15th or thereabouts.
The race course went through some incredibly beautiful and mountainous countries to the west of Madrid in the provinces of Avila and Salamanca. Highlights of the course were intense orienteering sections, extremely technical mountain biking for the majority of the distance and massive mountain hikes with large glacial valleys.
Spanish history was ever-present, with antique villages, old fortresses and even Roman bridges featuring regularly in the race. The down-side for Team Cyanosis was never really knowing what position they were in the field (we guessed at 15-20th for most of the first 3 days out of a field of approximately 60 teams) due to the race rules allowing for time penalties for teams instead of completing some sections of the course. It was thus impossible to keep an updated leaderboard.
Cyanosis were racing well in about 12th place after 4 nights, having moved up the field significantly in the previous 24 hours, when the team miscalculated a race cut-off threat and enforced dark-zone ruling on the final river paddling leg, and decided to skip a course loop (taking a time penalty instead) to ensure that the team got to the finish before the final Friday 6pm cut-off. In hindsight, Cyanosis could almost certainly have made the full course distance with some time to spare, with a 9th or 10th position the most likely result.
The timing miscalculation has weighed heavily on the team given the original team goal of finishing with a Top 10 position. The result was thus a disappointment for the team, but the race itself remains a wonderful experience that we will cherish. The race route itself was epic and memorable in many ways with various sections sure to go down as favourite memories for many of the team members. In the end, the team has had to remind itself that it is not good results or podium positions that see the team members coming back to compete in race after race, but the life experiences that one has during these events. Whether it is the
beauty of the natural scenery and the whole environment, the metaphor of adventure racing being a full life experience in 5 days, the test to see whether you yourself can overcome the physical, mental and emotional difficulties of one of the toughest sports on planet Earth, or the experience of coping with team dynamics in a high-pressure environment for 126 hours non-stop that fulfils your craving for something different, it is these experiences that answers the question: ‘Why do you adventure race?’.
A full Cyanosis race report on the World Championships in Spain will be out shortly.
Team Cyanosis is proud to have the following sponsors supporting them:
– First Ascent outdoor apparel, Salomon and Crocs adventure, trail running and casual footwear, Petzl headlamps, Foodstate vitamins and supplements, SPN sports nutrition, Island Tribe sun lotion, Mule Bar 100% natural energy bars.
– Specialized bikes and accessories, Summit Cycles in Midrand, Suunto field compasses and wristop computers, O’Neill wetsuits, BSC compression garments, Kreature.co.za outdoor and survival shop.
Nicholas Mulder
Team Cyanosis
www.teamcyanosis.co.za