Thule Adventure Team Wins the 2011 Adventure Race World Championships

he competition consisted of kayaking, running, mountain biking, challenges in caves, rafting, etc., day and night, with just one mandatory 6-hour stop.

The competition started Wednesday, November 2, local time, and was exciting all the way through the weekend. The last kayaking leg (64 km) was the part of the track that finally made the difference between the winners and number two. According to regulations, this section of the competition could not be done at night, which made it crucial to arrive at the riverbank at the right time to avoid having to stop for several hours and wait for daybreak. The Thule Adventure Team was there at the ideal time, not giving the competition a chance to slip by.

“One of the very toughest races I have ever experienced,” says Martin Flinta, team captain of Thule. Trekking through the Tasmanian canyons (in cold and rainy weather) during the night was one of the toughest parts of the competition and all the top teams said it was one of the worst things they had ever experienced. During this trekking section, Thule Adventure Team kept going strong and by Wednesday evening they were in second place. Thule Adventure Team, shortly after the finish. “It was a battle of the knife in principle all the way to the end. Although Team Seagate's penalty time gave us a small extra bonus at the end, it was not until a few kilometers from the finish that we could feel sure of winning,” concludes Martin.

By Sunday, Team Segate and Thule Adventure Team shared first place. Team Segate  had a 4-hour penalty, which meant they had to stay at the second to last control for 4 hours. As a result, in order to win, they needed to be more than 4 hours ahead of Thule Adventure Team.

Winning the 2011 Adventure Race World Championships marks the end of a fantastic racing season for the Thule Adventure Team. The team took first place in the Idaho Expedition Adventure Race (US), Discovery AIM Challenge (Sweden), and the French Le Grand Raids -three significant victories in the second half of this year.