Wulong 2018 - Team PURE Sport Nutrition Day 1&2
Team #19
This time of they year again...China racing! My first time in Wulong - one of the hardest multisport adventure races in the world and soon you will know why!
Let's meet the team...
Kathryn Bunckenburg, 2nd time in China
Matt Penney, First tie in China
Danial Bremner, 3rd time in China
Alex Lark, 5th time in China
I spend my birthday preparing for the race and the highlights was having a candle lit up in the middle of climbing the ropes practice.
Untitled
https://instagram.com/p/Bn0mrXEhVJQ
Prologue
Day 1 had only of 20 km of running around the village with some navigation and fun stuff.
Carry a high chair - Entertainment for the locals but potentially dangerous for the teams. Fast start - good team work, luckily I practice this a lot with the kids . Luckily this is only 500m.
Short steep climb and then we are off to navigating orienteering with 5CP, Main question is what to use GPS (no loaded map!) vs phone. WE opted for both to have a contingency plan in place and where right! Many teams struggle with phones in wet conditions as it gets glitchy and non responsive. I was entering the GPS coordinates whilst Dan was struggling with my phone (he selected apple maps not google maps which we have practices the day before!).
We end up relying on GPS but don't have the map. The local team will have the advantage, team who have been here before as well - e.g. the "famous" tunnel for short cutting the hill
We have a couple of hickups: both following Simon/Marcel/Sam/Doug track through a bush and a very slippery slope. And into steep wet steps where Matt was unlucky to slip and fell down.
We end up 17th place loosing 50% of the time to the top teams.
FILE3743
Stage 2 - the queen stage, 95km. Start at Wulong city centre, one person (Dan) abseiling 150m down, Kathryn holding the rope and Matt and I running parallel to the kayak start.
Untitled
Dan does a great job abseiling fast - he waits with Kathryn for Matt and I to arrive at the TA for regroup.
Next stage 24km of downriver paddle, a lot of swirls and easy grade stuff.
I'm in boat with Matt - as soon as we depart Andris and Flavio capsize just in front of us. I struggle to get used to the boat and steering, the fact that I haven't done much paddling recently doesn't help either.
Untitled
After one third of the paddle we readjust get some helpful tips from Dan&Kathryn boat and we seem to be going fast!
We finish only 20 minutes slower than the top teams, but as per the predicted fast time (8% slower).
FILE3764
The next one is a big MTB 65km stage split into 2 : 20km on road climbing 1000m and then another 44km climbing another 1200m with a mixture of on road and off road.
For the first one we try to hold the wheel of Swedish team Greener Adventure team.
FILE3771
I get Kathryn on tow first and then Matt when he starts to struggle.
FILE3793
38% - that how we much lost to top teams here. Last 3 km downhill to a checkpoint with water refill. It starts to drizzle a bit!
FILE3824
The next part is a bit of downhill action - we are looking good going down.
FILE3796
Some stuff gets very steep and we walk it, Matt seems to have recovered.
FILE3828
Beautiful waterfall crossing, we are only 33% back which is OK.
It is a bit disappointing that we did 2200m of climbing and only 1200 of ascending.
Last run of the day quick 4km. Only 35% slower. It was tough day for me as I took a bit hard in the kayak at first trying to keep it straight and then towing on the bike.
Hoping Matt could recover quickly.
Untitled
We end up 16 but go up to 14 place.
Untitled