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DART-nuun takes second in a hard fought battle to the very end

Willow Beach, Arizona (May 17th, 2007) - Last weekend, DART-nuun took 2nd at the inaugural Desert Winds Adventure Race. The race took place in the rugged but stunning area surrounding the Colorado River just south of Hoover Dam. For 28 hours, teams mountain biked through sandy washes, took on a challenging coasteering, swam to Nevada, paddled up the gorgeous Colorado River, and embarked on a massive orienteering course that tested the best in the sport. The team was comprised of Patricia Williams, Glenn Rogers, and Cyril Jay-Rayon.

This new race on the adventure racing circuit is sure to be part of many teamsâ?? 2008 schedule once the word gets around on how beautiful and challenging the first edition was. Although the race forced the fastest and most experienced teams to dig deep, its format allowed all teams to finish around the same time because the final 18 check points were optional. When embarking on the final leg, teams could try to reach as many of the 18 check points as they could in any order they chose. The only requirement was for teams to be back at the finish by 9am with a minimum of 4 check points reached. This allowed the top teams to push hard to get to all the check points while allowing other teams to reach as many as possible. â??I keep racing because you simply can never master this sport,â?? explained Cyril, team navigator. â??As soon as you think youâ??ve figured it out, you come across a race course that will humble you. Desert Winds was such a course that challenged our navigational skills and pushed our physical limits.â??

The first section took teams through an incredible ride on old dirt roads turned to washes as they meandered towards the mighty Colorado. â??Sand, sand, and more sand is the best way to describe this route,â?? noted Patricia. â??Itâ??s quite different riding than in Tennessee where Iâ??m from but I loved the challenge and remarkable scenery.â?? After a few navigational mistakes, a few tire punctures, and a nasty crash, the team finally reached the river but not before losing a substantial amount of time to the fast and furious team Sole.

The next leg brought relief from the heat of the desert as the team reached the river and its 54F water. After a fast coasteering section and swim across the river to its kayak in Nevada, the team confronted the thermal winds that had picked up with the heat of the day. â??Before we headed off on a long paddling section, we had to ferry our bikes across the river on an inflatable raft towed behind our kayak. Our decision to go with a small raft with 3 bikes piled on top turned out to be a mistake as the waves and wind made the raft unstable and bike parts acted as anchor as they dragged through the water. Although we were in a triple kayak, we would have swam faster that with this anchor of a raft,â?? explained Glenn after surviving the ferry in high winds.

Freed from the bike ferry, the team paddled hard downwind along a superb section of the river with numerous inlets and canyon entrances where check points were placed. Along the river, the team caught up to Kent Ryhorchuk, an experienced, fast, and clever solo racer. Kent and the team would end up racing to the end together. As the sun was setting, the team finally reached the last transition before the massive trek orienteering section that the race directors dubbed the â??Big Oâ??. The â??Big Oâ?? delivered on its promise and took teams through a labyrinth of canyons and ridges of similar sizes and direction which navigating challenging to say the least. â??The first part of the â??Big Oâ?? was a navigatorâ??s dream,â?? said Cyril with a tired grin. â??I really enjoyed being challenged so much in a homogeneous landscape and a moonless night. We made our fair share of mistakes but we managed to pull it off and have become better navigators as a result. I canâ??t ask for more!â??

When the sun finally came up, the dehydrated team had been trekking for more than 10 hours but with a renewed sense of energy and better visibility ran for the last 3 hours before the 9am cut-off in an effort to reach the final check points. In the final hours, DART-nuun crossed team Sole and both teams raced each other for a period of time but as the finish approached, DART-nuun had 2 more check points to visit before calling it a day. Despite closing the gap between them and Sole, the team came up short against a cunning team Sole.

In the end, DART-nuun finished second, completing the entire â??Big Oâ??.

Next, DART-nuun will compete in the first race of the Pacific Northwest Championship this weekend and Canadaâ??s most prestigious and world renowned expedition race at the end of June â?? Raid the North Extreme.

Labels: Press Release, Race Results