Words: Lisa de Speville | Photo: Andreas Strand
Almost 81 hours after leaving the Port Edward Beach on Sunday morning, New Zealand team Seagate returned to the town as winners of the 2014 edition of Expedition Africa.
Seagate led from the start. Early on they built up a cushion of time over the other teams that allowed them to sleep regularly for short periods.
Two-and-a-half hours later, Team Haglöfs Silva (Sweden) crossed the line. They won here last year.
Tecnu Adventure Racing (USA) are expected to take third place. But in adventure racing a team’s place is never a done deal until they cross the finish line. Painted Wolf (SA) may take fourth. There are many hours and kilometres until these teams reach Port Edward.
On the flip side, Team Anger Management arrived at T3 at 21h00 (Wednesday). They have been on Leg 4 – 80 km hike since 17h00 on Sunday. That’s 76 hours. What incredible determination! As I type they’re still at T3. They will understandably be short coursed.
Ahead of them are Lunar Chicks, Bad Medicine and Gone Racing. They on the cycle to T4 now but will also be short coursed on the Leg 8 hike and Leg 9 cycle to Port Edward. There are still 2.5 days available to the teams to get them to the finish.
