The race is shaping up to be the most competitive Eco-Challenge in history, with three teams currently within an hour of each other through PC 22. The meandering Segama River offered lush green banks filled with monkeys, Rhinoceros hornbills, crocodiles, and a full day�s worth of back breaking paddling in the Sampan canoes. Salomon/Eco-Internet managed the water leg with skill and power, pushing hard the entire length of the Segama. Said Ian Adamson of the Sampans, �They weigh about 700 lbs., have no keel so it doesn�t go straight, no rudder so it doesn�t turn, what else good can I say about it?� Adamson, who runs a Corporate Training Program with teammate Robyn Benincasa, said they were comfortable being in the lead and intended to maintain it. �Pressure keeps you moving,� he said.

Salomon/Eco-Internet squandered valuable hours yesterday during a trekking section in which they found themselves in the riverbed rather than on a trail. Joked Benincasa, who sings tunes from the show, �South Park� while she races and rarely makes a serious statement, �We had a total Charlie Brown day yesterday.�

Two contrasting styles are surfacing at the front of the race, with the hip, easy-going, sarcastic Salomon/Eco-Internet trying to stave off a more business-like Spie. Spie�s members include the amazing captain, Eric Cassaigne, a lean, big-haired, aquiline-faced man with an easy smile. Teammate Jeff Robin stands about 6�2� and looks to have been sculpted from granite; a man who might have come from the pages of Homer�s Odyssey. Karim Benamrouche is a sports instructor and former World Cup Canoe and Kayaking champion. And the female member of Spie is an alpine guide who has competed in every Raid Gauloises since 1991, finishing 2nd this year in Nepal. Her spindly arms and slight frame do not immediately suggest the amazing power and tenacity she possesses.

Spie�s Cassaigne said he is comfortable being in second place right now. �That�s okay, there is no pressure on us this way.� Asked when they would pass Salomon/Eco-Internet, Cassaigne said, �right before the finish.� Spie�s skill in mountaineering may well help them as they reach the caving and ropes section, where they will be quick and nimble on the ropes and rock. However, despite their current position, Spie is well aware that John Howard�s crew is still back there somewhere. Said Jeff Robin, �We are certainly concerned. He always comes from behind. Like the wind.�

Salomon Eco-Internet�s captain, Adamson remarked on Mark Burnett�s course: �This is physically punishing. It�s not tricky really, but it�s just a slog, a total slog like the old days. We�ve got boils, scars, weeping wounds�we are really suffering.� They arrived at PC 22 and ditched their Sampans, checked the map, and then Ike Wilson took out a long knife and cut his pant legs off while he stood there. Adamson followed suit, saying nostalgically, �Damn, I�ve had these since 1986.� They were planning to run as much of the 18K to Silam that they were able. Ike Wilson is well aware of Spie�s talent. �They are tough and relentless�those guys are absolute terminators. We can�t afford to let up for one minute; we need to hammer all the way to the finish line.�

Spie rolled into PC 22, the Segama River take out, about 45 minutes later, but was quick in transition, gaining four minutes there. Said Cassaigne, �we feel like we can move very well on the ground, so we hope to gain on them. But you can�t ever tell how things will go. If you don�t make mistakes, you can really move forward.�

Meanwhile, Team AussieSpirit.com [go to Team Bio] was quietly making a statement in the water again, gaining nearly a half-hour on Spie during today�s paddling leg despite a mediocre start this morning. Said Matt Dalziel, a student from Tazmania, �We had a terrible morning paddling run�we had a good sleep and apparently wanted to sleep some more.� Lead by their 44-year-old captain, Jane Hall, an incredibly talented multi-sports athlete and Environmental Scientist, the Aussies, who were expected to do well on this water-dominated course, are hanging tough. Two members, John Jacoby and Matt Dalziel, were limping significantly as they hobbled out of PC 22 with a smoking fast 2 minute transition. They hope to stay close enough to the front to give themselves a chance on the final Perahu sailing leg. Said the sardonic Jacoby, �I hope Eco-Internet has a headwind for about five hours when they get on the water, and then we have a big tailwind when we get on the water. That�s my strategy.�