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SHOCKER...Nike wins...again
Press release issued at 4:50 this morning:
Mike Kloser, Chris Forne, Monique Merrill and Michael Tobin of the awesome Team Nike (USA/NZ) triumphantly broke through the finish line (Nevis Centre, Fort William) of the 2007 Adventure Racing World Championship at 06.07 this morning to become Adventure Racing world champions for the second year running.Anyone else kinda tired of the team with the most money buying all the talent and winning every race? It's getting kinda old. I don't mean to steal Nike's thunder. Awesome is as awesome does and there is no way around the fact that this team as defined excellence in our sport.
Having raced non-stop and unsupported for almost 130 hours in extremely harsh conditions over the 500 km course (that contained some 25,000 metres of ascent) team captain Kloser flushed with excitement, said: 'Goals are a huge factor in this kind of event. We came to Scotland with the primary goal of defending our title and winning and we are delighted to have done so. It was a good race all round. Our one thought was always to push on, but the trekking was really tough - particularly towards the end - and the cold temperatures a big factor. It was one tough course. Our priority now is to have breakfast, take a shower and get some sleep â?? we've only had about five hours since the start of the race!'.
There to greet the team as they were showered with champagne was race director Phil Humphreys who said 'Wow â?? what an epic race! It was relentless, brutal and fantastic. To finish the full course is quite remarkable. Respect to Nike and all those other teams who cross the finish line'.
During much of the race - the toughest endurance event ever staged in the UK- Nike have been relentlessly pursued by the French/Swiss Team Wilsa HellyHansen, who are now firmly in second position around five hours behind Nike. Team Buff Coolmax (Spain), Team OrionHealth.com (New Zealand) and Bjurfors Adventure Racing (Sweden/USA) are battling it out behind them on the final stages of the race. Officials expect these teams to finish at various times during the day (1 June).
The event which involves a number of rugged sporting disciplines including mountain biking, sea kayaking, abseiling, mountaineering, river crossing, nordic walking, canyoning and open-water swimming and navigation started on Saturday (26 May) with a tough prologue on the Isle of Rum.
The official start was at 08.20 on Sunday (27 May) when 49 teams, comprising the world's toughest endurance athletes from 22 nations, left the island in a colourful flotilla of kayaks for the mainland via Eigg. The course was to take them across Knoydart, Scotland's last remaining wilderness, over a chilly Loch Ness, through the wild Monadhliath Mountains and across the centre of Scotland, from the A9 to the A82, on lochs and rivers against the natural flow of the water with the added challenge of carrying and pulling their heavily laden boats for more than 20 km on road and moor.
The final stages of the route saw the lead teams ascending all the summits in Glen Coe before traversing the legendary Aonach Eagach ridge and finally climbing the UK's highest mountain, Ben Nevis, never before summated in a UK adventure race.
Gary Tompsett, the man who planned the course, said: 'After many months of design and weeks of ground-work the Adventure Racing World Championship 2007 course has been well and truly proven. The teams have been telling me that it has been awesome â?? my job is done'.
A number teams are now spread out on a wide field and race officials report a mood of tough mental and physical determination as they battle it out to reach the finish before the competition finishes on Saturday (2 June).
There are now (06.45 hrs, 1 June) 27 teams on the short course. These are the teams who have not met imposed cut-off times during the race and they have a separate ranking. Six teams are unranked and twelve teams have withdrawn from the race.
That said I'm getting sick of posting the same press release after every big race. I think it's time the rest of the top racers in the world have a secret meeting and form an alternative uber-team to dethrown
posted by Yak @ 9:46 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Whew...I can't hold back any longer.
Nike wins because Nike can. I'm not sure it is about money and "stacking" the team.
I consider Nike to be the Dallas Cowboys of the 80's, Chicago Bulls of the 90's, New York Yankees of 2000 and beyond (not to mention the Detroit Red Wings).
I want the sport to be different too. I root for teams of whose members I respect and admire (Merrell/Wigwam, etc.) but when it comes right down to it, Nike has a consistent plan and strategy that they insist each member buy into. They have found the winning formula and winning team members to emulate that formula.
What amazes me is that other teams have not attempted to adopt this approach, all the while stating that they are in it for the fun.
Fun, smun...Nike has one goal and that is to win. Fun is secondary and winning comes first. They have showed that with the rumored way in which they treat their female counterparts. Their priorities are clear; win at all costs.
We want our sport to succeed, yet we also want it to be different. Nike proves that members of a sport can dominate, and that they are, in fact, not much different than other winners.
Our sport is reflected in how the OTHER teams respond to difficult moments and the volunteers that represent this sport. No other sport is so flawlessly run by volunteers. No other sport has gotten to this level with the help and support of people who love the sport and people so much that they DO IT FOR FREE.
Remember that the next time you pull your grumpy, stinky, miserable rear-end into a remote checkpoint. These people are glad to see you and want you to win...whether you are Nike or not.
Todd
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