Thule Adventure Team silver medalists in World Championships

After five days and 520km across the French Alps down to the Mediterranean, Thule Adventure Team crossed the finishing line of the 2012 Adventure Racing World Championships in second place. Once again the team demonstrated that they represent the absolute elite in multisport. A number of Swedish teams placed well in the race but none better than Thule Adventure, which came in at number two.

“We were unsuccessful in defending our World Champion title but nonetheless I’m extremely proud of our efforts, with the team demonstrating maximum performance levels in extreme conditions over the past 5 days. This race was probably the most challenging of my career to date. The tough terrain, high altitude and extreme tempo with hard-to-navigate night stages made it a difficult race” said Martin Flinta, Team Captain, Thule Adventure Team.

The competition was tougher than ever, with the global multisport elite competing in a course consisting of climbing, trekking, navigation, mountain biking, rafting and kayaking at sea in a grueling traverse of the Alps. Due to the degree of difficulty, several teams were forced to abandon the race because of fatigue and injury. More than half of the course, between l’Argentière-la-Bessée and Roquebrune-Cap Martin, took place at altitudes of 2,000 meters or higher – with the highest crossing over a glacier at an altitude of 3,200 meters. While breathtakingly beautiful, the high altitude meant that parts of the race took place in below zero temperatures.

Early on in the race it became known that Martin was having major problems with his feed, suffering from blisters covering most of the sole of his left foot as well as open sores on his toes and heels.

“During the first three days of the race I literally couldn’t sleep because of the pain in my feet from trekking. And due to the lack of sleep, I fell asleep while cycling several times and fell off. We were close to abandoning the race but pulled ourselves together and continued to fight, which I’m extremely happy about. That wouldn’t have been possible without our amazing team spirit,” Martin continued.

Team Seagate of New Zealand took command of the race early on, with Thule Adventure Team and Raid Quechua of France close behind. These three teams completed the first day’s rafting without a hitch, avoiding the Dark Zone cut off time, which gave them a clear lead over the other teams who were forced to make an extra stop before the 4-hour mandatory stop. The glacier trek on the second day was extremely challenging, causing several teams to abandon the race on day two already. And the mountain bike stage in the early hours of day three placed high demands on navigation skills, with several teams getting lost and losing time.

Despite Martin’s injuries, Thule Adventure upped the tempo the next day, successfully closing the gap on Seagate. They continued to chase them all the way to the finishing line, coming in at second place on 129 hours and 17 minutes, 3,5 hours after the winners.

The Thule Adventure Team is based in Gothenburg, Sweden, and consists of five multisport athletes – the Swedes Martin Flinta, Per Vestling and Eva Nyström, and Jacky Boisset and Myriam Guillot from France. Together, they have an impressive list of accomplishments as some of the world’s best multisport athletes. Team members work on endurance and technique 30-40 hours a week. The next challenge for Martin and Per will be Discovery Aim Challenge at Lindvallen, Sweden.

For more information please contact:
Tina Liselius, PR & Event Manager
Email: tina.liselius@thule.com
Phone: +46 70 090 26 52