Multiple world champions Chris Forne and Stu Lynch are partnering to race the world’s biggest rogaine, the Raid 100. It is the first time racing together since competing with unparalleled success as team Avaya, with the partnership forming a formidable road block for any teams with aspirations of top spot on the podium.
The Raid 100 is the world’s only expedition-length, rogaine-format adventure race. Teams compete over multiple stages of trekking, kayaking, mountain biking and packrafting to collect as many of the 100 check points as possible in a 100 hour time frame. The unique format means that the strategic difficulty is ramped up significantly on top of the regular challenges around endurance, navigation and team work typically found in regular expedition racing. This year represents the third edition of the event with a race hosted in the world class beauty of the Discovery Coast region of Queensland, Australia.
The race has attracted a bumper field, including another of New Zealand’s top teams, Gearshop, fresh off their recent win at Nathan Fa’avae’s True West race. The team qualified with a free entry into the Raid 100 claiming top spot in the NZ Adventure 1 series. They are no stranger to racing in Australia having claimed second place in the Victorian Alps at Expedition AR last year, with the team excited to make a return across the ditch.
“The unique Rogaine format of the race has made it one that we have often talked about, and one we wanted to compete in one day. The team has always backed itself and thrived in navigation critical courses, so we’re hoping this plays to our advantage this time around also” said team captain Dean Velenski. “The team loves a bit of strategy and nav chat, which often occupies team members’ minds when they should be doing other things, like sleeping! The opportunity to spend 100hrs making decisions and fine tuning our race strategy is a challenge the team is really looking forward to.”
The Kiwi team’s aren’t expected to have it all their own way with second and third placed teams from the previous edition of the Raid 100, teams MD TriAdventure and Astrolabe respectively, returning to see if they can go one step better.
“We’re really excited to attract such a top quality field to the Raid 100” said race director Liam St Pierre. “Having athletes of the calibre of Chris and Stu come over to race speaks to the reputation the race has garnered in Australia. We only host the race every three years and pour a lot of attention to detail in ensuring an amazing course. The Discovery Coast region of Queensland offers so much diversity and beauty and we have a spectacular course awaiting teams. “
One of the great things about the rogaine format is that because very check point is optional, teams are constantly crossing paths during the race, with even the slowest teams rubbing shoulders with the sport’s elite. Teams never really know where they stand in the rankings until they cross the finish line, ensuring that they need to push for the full 100 hours. Those at home will be able to see all the action unfold online though, with an unparalleled tracking experience including live leader boards, photography and videography.”
“One of the stand out features of this year’s course is the diversity of terrain teams will cover” continued St Pierre. “From a maze of remote coastal waterways, picturesque back country roads to some tricky off-trail navigation through rocky escarpments, teams are in for the ultimate rogaine challenge. We look forward to welcoming athletes from across Australia and New Zealand to the Discovery coast in two months time.”
The Raid 100 is close to sold out with only a couple of team spots remaining. Racing is from 5-9 May and all the action can be found via the race link at https://raidadventures.com/the-raid-100/