Stage 1: 8km skate, 27km canal paddle, 11km mtb, 14km run-abseil-5km run.
If there was one factor that made me more apprehensive than others leading into this race it was an 8km inline skate to start the race. Having never skated I had 6 weeks to get myself comfortable on skates and its safe to say I became known in Stoke as "that guy" on skates. Kids on their way to school would point and laugh, motorists would stare in disbelief and cyclists would arc around me in with the widest berth possible. There's no quicker way to bring ones ego down to earth.
I always expect nerves on the start line, but add shaky legs, a tall lanky athlete, a set of skates and you have a dangerous combination. Off the gun I just set small goals. "Just survive the first corner!". Onto the closed road and I felt much better, enjoying more space to work with. Rich put me on tow and I sat in behind feeling more like a water skier than a skater. We quickly improved pace and before long were catching and passing teams ahead and finished the stage a respectable 7th without any accidents. Relief!
Onto the paddle we quickly set to work catching and passing teams ahead on a rather murky section of canals. As 2 hours in the boat came and went energy levels began to slide. My inherent inability to sit level in the boat has caused problems in the past with these races and became more prominent the longer we paddled. For one reason or another I tilt slightly to the right drifting the boat left. Dougal explains it as an imbalance in testicular weight but I'm guessing it may be slightly more complicated...
Into TA and Elina had a flat tyre quickly sorted with a track pump. Next up was a 500m climb over 11km which was out of the way in a welcome 30minutes. By now Thule and FKS were a few minutes ahead and Adventure sport NZ were right on our tail happy to use Stu's expert navigation for a while. The run was hot and still making for tough running. Despite the heat and tough day of racing we kept a solid pace through the run keeping pace with Adventure sport NZ until the abseil where we were all split up. Rich and I abseiled whereas the other 2 took a flying fox across a deep valley meeting on the other side. 30 minutes later saw us cross the line. First across the line but due to a bottleneck at the start of the paddle Adventure Sport NZ had beaten our overall time by 7minutes. Thule surprisingly were not finished and had lost their way on the run. Not a bad start all things considered.
Stage 2: 14km run, 35km paddle, 46km mtb, abseil
Day 1 was tough enough and given that it was hot I never make assumptions about how I'll fare up. Thankfully I had no gut problems, and had slept well. All things being equal I felt ready to roll.
With a seeded start we got off the blocks second and were soon onto the main 200m climb of the run. The only thing was that the profile was wrong and it turned into 500m. Ah well, welcome to China! With several thousand steps to ascend and descend built for your standard Chinese foot I found running slightly sideways gave the best chance of survival. Rich however was plagued by an injured ankle from last year and had to endure considerable pain during down hill running. Luckily the 2nd half of the run was relatively flat so he could get a rhythm going. Into the boats we were quickly confused by directions to paddle against the flow. It soon dawned that being inland there was a lag in the tides and we'd have to fight for another 30mins or so.
Paddling soon turned into a less than desirable experience. It was undoubtedly the most polluted river I've ever seen and the end couldn't come quick enough. Dead animals, rubbish, sewage you name it floating in the river. Unbelievable as to why they put the course there.
Onto the bikes we were treated to 30minutes of undulating concrete road to warm into things. Then we began to climb reasonably steep and technical 4wd track. This was interspersed with the odd piece of single track and more concrete. Surprisingly up ahead we saw Thule pushing their bikes on what was essentially manageable gradient. It seems they had pushed their limit running and paddling leaving empty tanks for the ride. A puncture soon after sealed their fate allowing us to pass on the final climb and build another 10 minutes in the final 50minutes of riding.
To finish the day two of us would climb 14 or so stories up a high rise and abseil down. Stu & I felt strong so headed off and enjoyed a quad burning stair climb to the ropes. Choosing not to absorb our concrete surroundings we descended as quick as possible and crossed the line 7minutes behind Adventure Sport NZ. Not a super fast stage for us but steady all the way and had given ourselves a decent chance of defending 2nd overall.
Stage 3: 2km Orienteering, 14km Run, 20km paddle, 46km Mountainbike.
If there was a day sent to test us as a team then this was it. After to scum ridden river yesterday both Rich and Elina had gone down with gut problems. Elina had vomiting and diarrhoea all night. The aim of the day: Survive and minimise our losses to Thule who would be out for a comeback. First up the race organisers cancelled the 20km paddle section. We would instead bus from the run to the bike and restart the race. Mixed emotions here as our team strength lay in a great ability to pace ourselves throughout the day. Thule were great off the blocks and this would give them two starts to pour the acid on. On the flip side was that we were a significantly weaker team with both Rich and Elina sick.
The day started with a short navigation section where we all separated and navigated using an aerial photo. Rather chaotic but we emerged at the front of the pack and got into the run in 2nd spot. Throughout the run we did our best to keep Elina up with the pace and managed to minimise the damage to 3 minutes which was a great result all things considered. Onto the buses we went and gazed in awe at the 6knot winds blasting the coastline happy to be sheltered and safe aboard the bus.
The bike start was staggered and it was getting warm. A quick inflation of Elina's tyre saw us on the road again this time beginning an 800m climb. Rich was riding well off the blocks and I was hurting after the last couple of days. For the first 20mins I just hung tough until the pace eased and I warmed up. Soon I was back into a good rhythm and helping tow Elina up the hill. It was a long climb becoming more technical the higher we got eased only by a steady sea breeze. Throughout the ride we rode at a good pace but the combination of our weakened team and the fact that Thule were firing and pushing hard made for a large deficit.
The day finished with a 2km run and an 8 foot wall climb. I used Rich and Stu as a step and and climbed the wall first rewarded with nasty cramp as I rounded the top. Next we hauled Elina and Rich up leaving Stu solo at the bottom. Rich and I reached over, Stu jumped and we caught his hands. A combination of sweat, fatigue and Stu being pretty solid (no offence Stu!) meant that we took 3 attempts to get him over feeling momentarily like we were part of the Cliffhanger movie.
All done, and time to inspect the damage. 19mins lost. Bugger. 10.5mins still in hand to protect 2nd overall from Thule. Tomorrow was set to be another punishing stage..... Time to tuck into another Butter Chicken from Absolute Wilderness. Great fuel for what needed to be another great fire!
Stage 4: 16km paddle, 24km mtb, 9km run.
With Rich and Elina getting some food in overnight we were in good spirits going into the 4th and final stage. We were ready to work hard and defend. It was obvious Thule were ready to attack. Adventure Sport NZ were having a great race and needed to keep out of trouble.
Initiating the stage was a swing bridge abseil for only one team member into a reservoir swimming 60m to the kayaks before paddling 16km on the reservoir. Rich being the best swimmer did the honours and was soon in the boat and underway. We had front spot with chaos ensuing behind. The aim for us on the paddle - not work too hard and keep Thule in sight. As it turned out we spent most of the paddle at the front. About 5 other teams sat in behind content with our moderate pace setting occasionally heading to the front to relieve our duties. Into TA we were sure to sit at the front creating an easier exit onto the floating pontoon.
TA was its usual chaos with more air needed for Elina's tyre. Initially we assumed Thule had jumped us in TA so Rich rode like a madman for 20 minutes. Stu and I glanced at each other knowing that both of us had borrowed time at this pace. Funnily enough Thule were in fact behind and upon discovering this the pace eased and we caught much needed breath. Not for long though.....Thule attacked on the next climb and sat in front setting the pace. Not losing much time I was happy so far until Rich punctured. Two stops for more air didn't solve the problem so we decided on a tyre change. Costing valuable minutes the disappointment intensified when we entered TA 500m later. Bugger.
Onto the run 5 minutes down we had 5 minutes between us and 3rd overall. Time to run for it. The run for me was a blur of stomach cramps and pain knowing that it had to be a solid stage. Luckily the end came before I needed a squat (rather unusual in China) and only 30 further seconds were lost to Thule. It was a great come back from the Europeans but we were stoked to hold them off. Given our circumstances 2nd overall was nothing to be scoffed at. Time for a beer even if it is Budweiser!
It was great to race with Rich, Elina and Stu over the week and despite a new combination the team pulled through some decent obstacles to pull of a great result. A big thanks also to Red Bull China for their support.
A big thanks to Thermatech, Rasdex, Legend Paddles and R&R Sport, my personal sponsors making this all possible. And last but not least I must thank Absolute Wilderness freeze dry meals for without their amazing food I'd still be squatting in the Hotel toilet burning my quads to hell. It's a real luxury to travel with such great support.
Wenzhou Video link - click vids/pics then 2014
