Al Ain – The first day’s racing was a high-speed affair with stages in Abu Dhabi and the garden city of Al Ain.
At 08:00 sharp, in the early morning heat and bright sunshine, the 50 teams enrolled in the 2010 ADAC raced to their inflatable canoes for the start of the opening prologue. This initial triathlon stage, a circuit linking the Corniche Beach with the Emirates Palace Hotel and Lulu Island, required the teams to alternate between canoeing, adventure running and swimming. At the end of the 2 hours it took the fastest teams to complete the 21.7 km course, it was clear that current title holders, THULE ADVENTURE TEAM (NZL), who finished 6 minutes ahead of closest rivals THULE ADVENTURE EUROPE (FRA) and TEAM EXPLORE (SWE), will not be easy to beat.
At midday, as the mercury began to hit the 30°C mark, the 200 competitors clambered aboard buses for the transfer to Al Ain. At 14h30, they continued the day’s racing with a rapid 30 km bike ride along tarmac and gravel roads to the foot of Jebel Hafeet. Although some gaps opened up as the teams swarmed towards the distant, jagged peak, most of the teams remained tightly grouped, with the first 30 finishing within 10 minutes of each other. The final stage is a 6.3 km adventure run across rugged terrain where the first bivouac of the race will conclude a furious and frenetic day’s competition.
Provisional Ranking after Section B (MTB - 28,7km)
1 Thule Adventure Team (NZL) 02:59:14
2 Thule Adventure Team/Europe (FRA) 03:06:14
3 Team Explore (SWE) 03:08:08
4 FJS Powered by Saab (SWE) 03:11:05
5 Vibram Lafuma 1 (FRA) 03:12:15
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