The race leaders continue to charge toward Lake Tekapo and the finish, but it would seem no one can go this long without sleep. Team Propeller-heads still leads the race, by a reportedly very slim margin. In a strategic move at the end of the rafting, the frontrunners opted for a meager two hours of sleep at transition area 8. This could give it just the edge it needs.
The team was full of praise for this rafting leg of the course, saying, "It is the most fun we have had so far...what an awesome river!"
Only this morning was it made apparent just how close The Science Team was to missing the rafting cut-off. At that time, just 11 minutes meant the difference between making a two- or a three-team race to the finish.
| Nokia could not afford the time to sleep, instead racing through the transition area in an effort to gain the lead... |
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Even two hours of sleep is a godsend given the grueling day, a 70-km mountain biking section, ahead of them. Though this leg is described as a cycle, it's a mostly push through rough terrain from the Rangitata, on farm tracks, to the base of Fox Peak ski area.
Team Nokia is still hot on Propeller-heads' tail, but decided it could not afford the time to sleep, instead racing through the transition area in an effort to gain the lead — surely the team will need to stop at some point.
A steady stream of teams is now descending the downhill mountain biking section into the kayak leg on the Rangitata River.
The trailing teams must now race for the cut-off at Fox Peak on Friday morning to have any chance of completing the full course.
Teams now off the course are USA teams Seagate, Training
Zone, and Intrepid, along with Christchurch team Go Lightly, and The Netherlands team Mara Holland.
– Chris Vile, MountainZone.com Correspondent
