My previous two pieces in this series (part 1 & part 2) looked at the early 2010 races in the AR World Series.  I’m continuing into the Spring with the events in May, starting with the race in Portugal.  XPD Australia is also in May, but I’ll save that race for next week since I’ve been informed that a big announcement is coming from the Australian AR World Series race in the next few days.

To preview the May XPD Portugal race, I should start with a caveat:

The Portuguese  haven’t officially announced race dates or confirmed that the event is going to happen.  Remember, this is the organization that just finished hosting the World Championship in November, so it’s understandable that they’re late getting 2010 events firmed-up.  I’m thinking they must be a bit burned-out!

XPD Portugal Paddling Action

I spoke with the leadership in Portugal last week and they indicated they were “very likely” to run a smaller, 3-day, race in May 2010; they were making sure sponsorship support was there etc.  Unofficially, talking with some friends inside the organization, they told me they were fairly certain that there would be an XPD Portugal race in May and that I should look for firm details in the next few weeks.  They also told me Portugal is beautiful in May, and that I should come race . . . and I just might.

Having disclosed the fact that there isn’t truly an official confirmed race date or specifics for Portugal, I do know conceptually that XPD Portugal would like this 3-day race to showcase some of the course alternatives that were left out of the 2009 World Championships.  This likely means a combination of mountains/beaches with some historic castles and quaint villages added for spice.  Sounds pretty good to me!

XPD Portugal is also considered the first race to use the 3-wheel “Trikke” bikes (they started including them in their races about 5 years ago), so it’s a safe bet that you’d see them again in 2010.  There are actually some “Trikke clubs” springing up around the USA, apparently, such as this one in Colorado.

Canada's Team Kinetic At the XPD Portugal 2009 Finish Line

Much has been made over the last few months about the creative XPD Portugal race format, and I won’t cover that topic in detail here.  Instead, I refer you to the summary of the rules I compiled at Adventure World Mag back in November (unfotunately, these were rules many learned during or after the race — including myself!).  Some call it a modified “rogaine” format.  No matter what you label it, I think it’s critical for any team racing an XPD Portugal event to know the rules and strategy implications before lining up at the starting line.  ‘Nuff said.

As for the broader AR World Series picture in 2010, XPD Portugal in May would be the first European non-winter race in the Series for 2010 and I suspect it would be well-attended because the World Championships are close by in Spain this October.  Plenty of regional teams would be eager to earn their place in the World Championships and see Portugal as a warm-up for the Championships.   If the race is announced at 3-days in duration, which all sources are pointing to, you could brace for a fast and furious 3-days of racing in Portugal because the competition will be fierce.

My next instalment in this series will be on the other World Series race in May, way on the other side of the planet in Australia.  As I mentioned earlier, I’ll wait to publish that piece until later on next week.