Abu Dhabi, Dec 4th, 2009 - With a rapid, 28km cityscape triathlon prologue followed by an arduous sea kayaking leg, the teams were thrust into the cauldron of fierce competition from the very start - some familiar faces set the pace.
At precisely 08:15 this morning, beneath clear blue skies, the teams took off at a cautious pace for the start of the opening prologue. The first biking leg saw section favourites, triathlon specialists ABU DHABI TRIATHLON (GER), setting the pace but, by the time they had completed the run around the gardens and along the beach of the Emirates Palace Hotel, Richard USSHER and his team of Kiwis (QASR AL SARAB) had already inched ahead, entering the water in first place for the 900-metre swim across the bay. The Kiwis showed their excellent paddling and running pedigree by holding onto the lead throughout the rest of the section, coming in with a total time for the section of 1:57:47. The French of VIBRAM SPORT 2000 managed an equally impressive effort over the four disciplines finishing only 3 minutes off the leaders.
After a short pause, the race began again with a group start from the beach for a 33km sea-kayaking section made all the more difficult by a strong headwind and heavy swell. At around the 20km mark, the teams had to battle with unpredictable surf in an effort to reach a CP on the beach – many capsized in the process or had difficulty leaving the shore. As the leading teams approached the final CP for the day, titleholders QASR AL SARAB (NZ) were still paddling strong with compatriots ADCO and VIBRAM SPORT 2000 (FRA) in hot pursuit. They will all spend the night on an island bivouac in preparation for a longer kayaking leg tomorrow at 06:30.
Live race coverage and information at www.abudhabi-adventure.com
TOP 5 after section B (sea kayak 33km)
1 QASR AL SARAB (NZ) 5h32 :31
2 ADCO (NZ) 5h51 :18
3 VIBRAM SPORT 2000 (FRA) 5h53 :32
4 ABU DHABI SPORTS COUNCIL / WILSA (FRA) 6:08:15
5 VIBRAM LAFUMA SPORT2000 (FRA) 6:10:12
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