2010 AR World Series Preview (part 4)
Australia is a captivating country and one, for many, synonomous with adventure. Hot on the heels of the announcement that XPD Australia will host the 2011 AR World Championship, let me preview their 2010 race scheduled for May 19 – 28, 2010. This is the 4th installment here at Adventure World examining the full calendar of races in the 2010 Adventure Racing World Series (start with the first post in the series if you need to catch up).
The Australian race in the AR World Series delivers everything you would think of when you imagine adventure racing in Australia. While they base their race acound to a core of trekking/mountain biking/paddling XPD Australia has been known to include fun disciplines like snorkeling, 100 meter rappels, and geocache segments.
Team Navigation at XPD Australia
The winning team will cross the XPD Australia finish line in 4-5 days, while slower teams may take up to 10 days to reach the finish. In an interesting twist, the race always includes a 6 hour mandatory rest stop mid-way through the race — this guarantees teams will sleep more than in a typical non-stop race, but doesn’t turn it into a stage race since it’s just once and there is no mass restart.
In terms of the broader AR World Championship qualification, this race is vital. There are no other “close” races in the World Series for teams from Australia, New Zealand, or places like South Africa to earn their ticket to the Championships in Spain this October. XPD Australia is the only World Series event south of the Equator after February 2010, so ambitious teams will turn out for this May Australian event. In fact, the race is already sold out so teams recognize this as a special opportunity to compete in a beautiful area and seize the chance to race in Spain this Fall.
Snorkeling at XPD Australia
With that in mind, we can peek at the list of registered teams they’ve posted online and hazard some predictions. Blackheart.com.eu is a very strong team and, I might add, quite friendly — I had a quick chat with them in the Portugal airport last November; Blackheart won this race last time and will be looking to defend their title. The OrionHealth team, the winners of XPD Australia in 2007 and AR World Champions in 2008, will challenge Blackheart at the front and should be considered the early pre-race favorites . . . one caveat being there will be a shake-up in the OrionHealth roster with the announced retirement of one of their key players. The Kiwis have a deep pool of adventurers to pull from, though, so keep your eye on Orion at this Australian race.
Merrel and Robyn Benincasa will be racing XPD Australia this May, also. It will be interesting to see Robyn’s rebound from surgery last summer, and I expect Merrell to be a better organized team than the one that came to New England last July.
Other teams coming “down under” for the race from North America include the Dancing Pandas, Dirty Avocados, and Western Canada’s Race the Rockies team. No doubt there are others, my apologies, but I can’t tell for sure from just the team name on the roster!
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