Ordos Adventure Challenge- new race in China

The Ordos Adventure Challenge is a new race on the international calendar and Team Macpac will be at the start line taking on many of the worlds top teams. The 6-day stage race is organized by the Chinese Mountaineering Association who also organise the Wulong Mountain Quest and Baise Adventure. The location for the race is The city of Ordos in China's Inner Mongolia province. With $US200 000 total prize pool the field will be extremely strong with the best Chinese teams taking on the international visitors.

I was asked to join a team with Marcel Hagener (member of winning teams at AR World Champs, Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge and Wulong Quest), Dougal Allan (one of New Zealand's best Multisport athletes having finished 2nd at the Coast to Coast several times) and Fleur Lattimore (several good race results with the same team last year). While I have never raced with anyone in the team previously,we have all the attributes to be fighting for a place on podium.

Marcel has already arrived in Ordos after racing a 10 day stage Mountain Bike race in Mongolia. And Dougal has only recently returned home from the 7 day Trans Rockies mountain bike race in Canada. So I'm certainly not expecting to feel much wind on my face on the mountain bike legs!

Race schedule and summary

28th August: Stage 1.

30km kayaking, 5km orienteering in the mountain, 35km MTB Orienteering

29th to 30th August: Stage 2

60km kayaking on the yellow river, 22km MTB orienteering in technical, 18km desert adventure running by GPS

Compulsory 8 hours rest at camp

35km desert adventure running by GPS the following day

31st August: Stage 3

4km horse riding (TBC), 100km MTB on road, 5km running

1st September: Stage 4

20km running in gorge, Rope skills, 43km MTB (half on road, and other technical), 20km kayaking on lake

2nd September: Stage 5(City section)

20km MTB on road, 5km kayaking on lake, 3km running

The course seems to have a pretty good mix of the 3 disciplines, but I think with 125km of kayaking that will probably be crucial. Unlike previous Chinese races there will be navigation too pick will add a new dimension to the challenge.

Other Aussie teams

Peak Adventure- Jarad Kohlar, James Pretto, Alex Polizzi, Sia Svensson (NZ)

Moxie Gear Nuun- Darren Clarke, Luke Haines, Deanna Blegg, Sam Clarke (NZ)

Adventure Junkies- Serge Kurov, Maria Plyashenchko,Alex Hunt, Hugh Stodart

Other top contenders

Subway- Richard and Elina Ussher, Braden Currie, Stu Lynch

Thule Adventure- Martin Flinta, Jackie Boisett, Mimi Guillot, Per

Seagate- Nathan Fa'ave, Chris Forne, Sophie Hart, Trevor Voyce

The Colorado Connection- Travis Macy, Jay Henry, Jon Brown, Gretchen Reeves

And probably some other strong European and Chinese teams that I don't know about.

While the Chinese organizers know how to offer big prize money and set a difficult and scenic course, publicity is not their strength. I don't think there is a race website and I can't guarantee the results will be published anywhere. However internet connections pending I will try to post some news on our website each day.

And thanks again to Macpac for supporting our team. Check out their 7 day sale with 25% off for Macpac Wilderness Club members.

 

Geoquest Gear review

As you probably already know, we have been fortunate to receive some great support from our sponsors, in particularly Macpac. Rob and Kathryn had a great time supermarket-sweep style shopping at Melbourne’s Hampton East Macpac store a few weeks before Geoquest to pick up some great gear for the race. One of the cardinal rules of Adventure Racing is to never use new untested gear in a race, but this rule had to be broken especially for Damon and Richard who were still taking labels off clothes on the start line. Though as Richard explained in his victory speech, the gear performed exceptionally well even straight off the shelf.

The Macpac Spring Sale has just started. To check out all the amazing prices head to the Macpac Outlet website.

And to check out the Macpac Wilderness Club (MWC) to get discounted prices on non sale items

AMP Race 25 Pack RRP $199.95 MWC from $179.95	The Amp Race 25 has all the functionality of the larger Amp Race 40. Its sleek lines and compact capacity suits the adventure racing professional or those competing in short course events or day hiking trips.This pack really ticks all the boxes for an AR of 24hrs-5 days. Plenty of accessible pockets, comfortable padding and big enough for a dozen or so packets of pringles which should keep you going for a while.
AMP 12 Hour RRP $129.95 MWC from $116.95	This smaller pack is more suited to Sprint AR and long trail runs. With room for a 3L drink bladder, some extra clothing and a few really useful pockets for food I can see this pack getting a lot of use in training and shorter races.
Traverse Jacket eVent Men's RRP $449.95 MWC from $404.95 Sale from $299.95	Compact and lightweight at 339gm. The Traverse is made from a lightweight 3-layer eVent fabric (rip-stop) with midweight 3-layer eVent fabric shoulders. We were lucky with the weather conditions for Geoquest, finishing before the heavy rain storms. However the Jacket got plenty of use while packing the cars the next morning!
Geothermals L/S RRP $39.95 MWC from 35.96 Sale from $14.95	This thermal has all the good properties of polypro (warm when wet) but without the negatives (smelly, daggy looking). I wore this top for the whole last 24hrs of this years Geoquest I liked it so much. Check out the sale price- it is amazing!
Merino 150 L/S Zip Men's RRP $119.95 MWC from $107.95	Woollen clothing have improved in leaps and bounds over the last few years to the point that they can now be used for serious physical activity such as Adventure Racing. The benefits of Merino fabric are the comfort and the fact that they are very smell retardant- that is you can race several days in the same clothes without competitors being able to follow your scent.
Rapid S/S Crew Men's RRP $49.95 MWC from $44.96 Sale Price $24.95	The Rapid Crew shirt is made of a lovely silky material and feels great. And the sale price makes it hard to go past.
SILVA OMC 66 AR compass $85 Team Macpac Captain Rob Preston is a SILVA ambassador so get in touch via email	You will never have an excuse the compass on your wrist the entire race. The Jet needle is super fast and the position of the compass makes it comfortable and an ease to use in all disciplines
SILVA Jet 5 Baseplate compass $140	I always carry a SILVA baseplate compass but only use it for the tougher off road navigation requiring more accuracy. And the AMP 25 pack has a great pocket on the shoulder strap to keep it nice and convenient.
Moxie Gear Gaiters	Australian Adventure racer Darren Clarke has designed these great addition to the gear list. Lightweight and comfortable, these gaiters can be worn for long periods and don’t get in the way when cycling or paddling either.