2008 Starts with Victory in Moab

Moab, Utah - April 2008: The team got the season started on the right foot, with an emphatic win at the 8th annual Adventure Xstream 12 Hour Race in Moab on Saturday. Team members Mike Kloser, Michael Tobin, Daniel Weiland and Sari Anderson finished the 50-mile course in just over six hours, well ahead of a strong team from Boulder Performance Network.
 
The race started with seven mile duckie paddle on the Colorado River from Gold Bar to Potash. The team from Boulder Performance Network, led by world-class paddler Mike Freeburn, set the pace and reached the take-out for the paddling leg about a minute ahead of Nike. The teams then transitioned to their mountain bikes, for the long, steep climb to Gemini Bridges via Longs Canyon. Nike’s strength on their bikes helped them quickly catch up to the Boulder team and pass them on the climb.
 
At Gemini Bridges, the teams dropped their bikes and set off on an hour run to the top of the arch, where they roped in for the rappel.  The highlight of the race was definitely the 300 foot rappel from the top of Gemini Bridges.
 
The teams then mounted their bikes again for the descent back to Gold Bar. Team Nike finished with a comfortable margin over the Boulder team, and then sat back to enjoy some cold beers at the finish line while cheering on the other 400+ racers as they finished.

PODIUM IN ABU DHABI

Abu Dhabi - UAE - Decenmber 2007: After several days of trekking and mountain biking in torturous temperatures through the Liwa Desert, sea kayaking in the Arabian Sea and towing camels for seemingly endless kilometers, the stage was set for an epic final day showdown between four teams, EUROSPORT NZ (NZL), NIKE (USA), HELLY HANSEN (FRA) and ORIONHEALTH.COM (NZL) heading up the race and all in with a chance for that top podium spot.

In the searing heat of the morning the teams moved onto the mountain at a stunning pace. EUROSPORT NZ were blazing a trail up the rough, uncharted rock pulling ever further away from closest adversaries NIKE (USA), staging an heroic pursuit despite Sari ANDERSON’S unfortunate ankle problems.


EUROSPORT NZ still held the lead and WILSA HELLY HANSEN (FRA) were beginning to put the squeeze on NIKE (USA) when they went into a ropeworks section that involved an 80 meter vertical jumar ascent, a via cordata and final 80 meter abseil down again. NIKE (USA), showing customary urgency and consummate skill, moved swiftly over the ropes, taking 15 minutes off the Kiwi’s lead. But it wasn't quite enough as they headed to the finish Al Ain. After 6 days of intense racing Nike finished just minutes behind longtime rivals Eurosport

VICTORY IN MEXICO

Hidalgo, Mexico - October 2007: With their regular female teammates taking a break from racing due to a new baby and business, Mike Kloser and Michael Tobin recruited Jenny Johnson for their most recent challenge in Mexico. Known for massive crowds and festivities rarely seen at multisport events, "Hidalgo" has a reputation as the "Tour de France" of adventure racing. The Hildalgo community completely supports the event, which creates an atmosphere that few races are able to offer.

This year's 3 day, 260 kilometer event featured a variety of disciplines and as always, had some stiff competition from the likes of Buff-Spain, Sole-USA, Team Finland, and Nike/Beaver Creek-USA. Having raced in Hidalgo several times in the past, Kloser and Tobin knew it was important to establish a lead in the early stages of the race, then either expand or protect that advantage. After more than 10 hours of racing the first day they managed an 18 minute lead on 2nd place (Buff) and 30 minutes on 3rd (Sole). By avoiding any big mistakes during a few tricky navigational options on days 2 and 3 they were able to maintain their advantage to take the win.
 
Kloser commented that some of the highlights of this year's race were the Tyrolean Traverses over massive canyons and huge crowds of locals and school kids that greeted the teams as they passed through the towns. Some of the challenges were the cold, wet and muddy canyon swims, endless cobble stone roads, cactus and thorn ridden hills and trails.
 
 On Jenny Johnson, Kloser said " She was awesome to race with, she always seemed to be smiling and upbeat, even after nearly 18 hours of racing on day two and countless hours in the saddle on our mountain bikes that lasted well into the wee hours of the morning."
(READ THE VAIL DAILY ARTICLE by IAN CROPP) (Top of Page)

NIKE RULES IN CHINA

For the first time in its history World Adventure Racing Champions Team Nike assembled an all male group and headed to China for the Wulong Mountain Quest Adventure Race. Team captain Mike Kloser of Vail, Colorado and long time team member Michael Tobin of Boise, Idaho recruited world class mountain biker Jay Henry and multi-sport phenom Josiah Middaugh also of Vail. The 220 kilometer event featured trail running, mountain biking, rope skills, kayaking, rafting, caving, canyoneering and team skill challenges. After large waves capsized one of their kayaks Nike narrowly won the prologue but then dominated the next three stages, winning the overall event in 21 hours, 2 minutes, 30 seconds, outpacing former teammate Richard Ussher's Adventure Sport New Zealand team by just over an hour. Impressive considering that Michael Tobin slipped and fell onto razor sharp shale rock during a wet trail running segment along the Wulong River. Tobin suffered deep gashes to his left knee and hand but continued racing for six more hours, including a pounding mountain bike segment. After Nike won the stage Tobin went to at a less than sanitary hospital for treatment. Kloser commented that Tobin received only about 10 stitches for wounds that should have required at least three times that many. Putting aside concerns for his own health Tobin carried on without complaining and helped Nike secure their victory over the final two days. Kloser was very pleased with the win and commended Tobin for his toughness and praised Middaugh and Henry for coming through in their Team Nike debut.

(Top of Page)

NIKE DOES IT AGAIN

Fort William, Scotland - June 2007: After nearly five days of racing through drenching rain and freezing temperatures Team Nike crossed the finish line on a sunny morning at Fort William just after 6am Friday to win the 2007 Adventure Racing World Championship. The four athletes that are billed as ‘the winningest’ team lived up to their reputation and successfully defended their title, forging powerfully ahead of all challengers and winning by a comfortable margin. Their official race time was 4 Days, 22 Hours, 7 minutes, 43 seconds.
 
With the town still asleep in the early morning a crowd of racers and supporters enthusiastically cheered them home as Race Director Phil Humphreys sprayed champagne. Standing under the finish Nike stood arm in arm, enjoying their moment and talking to the press.
 
“The trekking was the hardest,” said team captain Mike Kloser, “but through the week each stage seemed to get harder and harder. It was one tough course.” Kloser had an additional level of suffering due to a compound dislocation of a finger after a fall during a training run just days before the start of the event. Kloser's wife, Emily says her husband has an incredible ability to block out pain, something he relied on heavily throughout this grueling event. Two screws, reattached tendons and a bandage held everything in place during the event.
 
New Zealand's Chris Forne is the newest member of the team, stepping in when former captain Ian Adamson retired. "My feet were doing their usual thing and not enjoying themselves so much.” said Chris Forne. The second female member of the team, Sari Anderson is on maternity leave.  Mike Tobin could hardly stay awake. “My eyes feel like they are glued shut,” he said. “Mona (Monique) is a great motivator for us all. She has a great laugh.”
 
Soon after the finish Team Nike were bundled into race HQ to have their timing chips cut from their wrists and relax. By the time they’d sat down, messages were coming in to congratulate them and they caught up on the stories of the race while watching a projection of the SAT tracker to see where other teams had been. Seeing the whole route up on a big screen brought home the scale of their journey and their achievement in finishing a course only the best of the best were able to complete. (Top of Page)
 

NIKE WINS!
$100,000 Sprint to Finish Decides Primal Quest Utah
World's Toughest Race Decided by Minutes - Team Nike now 4 Time Champs

Portions of this report came from www.ecoprimalquest.com, Summit Daily News and Harald Fricker
Photos By: Side Light/Tony DiZinno, Dan Campbell, Corey Rich, John Nantes as well as Jason Hagley, Tim Holmstrom and Dominic Casserly

July 01, 2006 Moab, Utah – After six days battling the desert conditions of Southeastern Utah, team Nike was the first to cross the finish line at this year’s Primal Quest expedition adventure race. At 5:45 AM MST, team Nike’s Mike Kloser, Ian Adamson, Monique Merrill and Michael Tobin crossed the finish line after 417 miles of kayaking, desert trekking, mountain biking, river swimming, horseback riding and rock climbing.

The event, widely regarded as the most difficult adventure race in the world, began on June 25th at 6:20 a.m. in the desert south of Elmo, Utah with competitors atop horses. The 89 co-ed teams representing 20 nations then began an epic traverse of some of the most challenging and desolate terrain in North America, traveling day and night; Team Nike slept a total of 13 hours in their 143 of competition.

“It was more like adventure torture, “said Michael Tobin, as Team GoLite/Timberland dogged Nike until the finish line, arriving less than 45 minutes behind. 

Things got quite interesting towards the finish because of a 37-minute time credit awarded to GoLite by race organizers Friday night due to a technical issue. Nike’s lead fluctuated between two hours and 20 minutes over the final 21 hours of the race. Each time the three-time defending champions applied full throttle, GoLite — equally as weary, but without the killer instinct that has made Nike famous — answered.

The eight racers took a three-hour break from about 11:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. while a lightning storm made the already heart stopping Tyrolean traverse 400 feet off the ground impassable. Then, once the race began again, they scurried over desert and red rock terrain and kayaked to the finish line, Nike needing to arrive at least 37 minutes ahead of GoLite to secure the victory.

The champions crossed the line and were showered with champagne, then the tension mounted as they waited with their eyes on the river behind them to see whether GoLite would spoil the celebration (and steal their $100,000 first prize). In the end, after their time adjustment the three Kiwis and one German arrived only 22 minutes later to collect their $50,000 second place prize.
 
“We had to persevere and push like no other,” said team captain, Michael Kloser . Teammate Ian Adamson noted that it was an “amazing, amazing course.”

Kloser, a three-time Eco-Challenge champion and now four-time Primal Quest winner, said it was the toughest expedition course he had ever faced.

“It was 128 degrees at one of the ropes sections a couple days ago,” Kloser said. “It was probably 120 or 130 when we hit it yesterday. Our shoes felt like they were melting under our feet. My team — our team — was basically gone to the s---- within five minutes of leaving (Transition Area 11, midday Friday). Cactus in their feet, cutting the shoes open so the feet could deal with the swelling. The heat, trying to hydrate, eat — it was atrocious.

Nike’s Primal Quest victory was significant for two main reasons. First, it proved yet again that the team’s experience, toughness and will to win still trumps its age. The three men on the team are in their 40s (Kloser, the captain, is 46), and Merrill is in her mid-30s. GoLite, meanwhile, is led by 26-year-old captain Prince, the brightest of many young guns in the sport these days.

The second reason Nike’s win was significant: It gave Merrill her first win in a major adventure race. Until Saturday she had held a reputation as one of the top female racers in the sport, but she’d always come up just short on the biggest stages.

This year’s Primal Quest took athletes through many of Utah’s majestic landmarks including, Gemini Bridges, the slickrock of Moab and the towering rock spires of Castle Rock, the Rectory, and the Priest and Nuns. Teams ascended and rappelled over eight miles of rope during the race, a massive and record-breaking undertaking by race directors. Due to the harsh climate, 15,000 gallons of water and over 1,800 cases of Gatorade (more than the inventory supplied to the major college Bowl Games & Super Bowl combined) were placed at strategic water stations throughout the course.

The competition of Primal Quest Utah will continue to run until Tuesday, July 4th, when the last of the remaining teams are expected to finish the course. For more details, including an up-to-date leaderboard, team biographies and team GPS tracking information, please visit www.ecoprimalquest.com or the Summit Daily News.

Raid World Championship Adventure Race:
U.S. Team Nike Reigns In Quebec

by Lisa Jhung - Inside Triathlon Online

In the early morning hours of the fifth day of the Raid World Championship adventure race, Mike Kloser and his American Team Nikestood anxiously at a transition area in Bay Saint Marguerite, Quebec. The team was sitting out the final minutes of their compulsory sleep time (for safety reasons, the race requires 24 hours total sleep over the course of the race), combined with a 15-minute penalty for not having a piece of mandatory gear - a small knife - with them. The foursome of Kloser, former duathlon and Xterra World Champion Michael Tobin, Sari Anderson and New Zealander Richard Ussher fiddled and twitched. Television cameras rolled, their support crew paced. The team was in the lead, but stood staring at the trail behind them, thinking that any moment, second place Team Wilsa Sport Helly Hansen (France) or third place Team GoLite Timberland (New Zealand) would round the bend, speed through their transition from bikes to running, and leave before them, overtaking the lead. "It was tense," states Kloser. Anyone who has seen this man race, either as one of the most successful - and driven - adventure racers in history or as a mountain biking world champion, knows the understatement of his words. "Sitting there thinking they were going to get in and leave before us, after five days of racing, was stressful. It would have been a frantic foot race and paddle to the finish line."

Minutes passed, and the French team never appeared. Neither did the New Zealanders. Regardless, the Americans ran the next 22 kilometers of mountain terrain at a blistering pace, running scared. "We did it in about two hours," said Kloser. "You would have thought it was a sprint race." On the contrary, the Raid World Championship was a 1000-kilometer expedition race, one that served up segments of river and lake paddling, mountain running, mountain biking, ropes ascending and rappelling, and navigational challenges non-stop. And, unique to the Raid, the mandatory sleep periods adds a strategic element that proves crucial throughout the race. Teams must decide when to rack up their sleep, and timing them properly can affect the outcome of winning or losing.

Nike, one of three American teams which qualified for the championship and made the trip to Quebec, started the race at Lake Chigoubich in the Chicoutimi borough of Quebec on a mission. The team won the Raid in 2004, but in 2005 in the French Alps, an error late in the race cost them, and French Team Les-Arcs Quechua took the title. In September in Quebec, the Americans had some unfinished business, yet didn't lead the race start to finish. Strong paddling and mountain biking team Wilsa Sport/Helly Hansen took the lead on Day 1, leading a pack of 10 teams (including Nike and American Team Spyder) into the first night. Les Arc made a navigational error and dropped back. During that first evening, different sleep strategies emerged. Both Wilsa Sport and Nike slept for four hours, while GoLite, Spyder, French Teams Ertips and Les Arcs did not.

By Day 3, a dark zone on a river paddling section (enforced for safety) split the race into the leaders and the chasers. The teams which finished the 43km paddle before 7 p.m. got ahead of the pack, while the teams that did not had to wait until dawn to get back on the water. Six teams made it through the paddle, including Wilsa Sport, Nike, Les Arcs and Spyder. French team Ertips dropped out of the race due to injury.

Wilsa Sport pulled away on the ensuing bike section, putting an hour and a half on the rest, only to get lost in the woods and caught by Nike. The French then were assessed a one-hour penalty for taking an illegal route, allowing Nike to pull further ahead on foot toward the ropes section. The French then made up time on a mountain bike leg and were back in the chase.

On Day 4, Nike was the first team on the next paddling section, followed 44 minutes later by Wilsa Sport. Les Arcs seemed to be losing steam due to an injured team member, but GoLite and German Team Adidas Naventure were still in the hunt. Nike pulled ahead on the water, then held their ground on the next mountain bike section, but didn't know the whereabouts of the French team when they rolled into their transition area at Bay Saint Marguerite.

The team slept six hours, the remaining amount of their required time, then waited anxiously to leave. Smoking the ensuing run and then gliding in on the final kayaking leg, the American team Nike regained their World Championship title after racing five days, seven hours and 38 minutes. Two and a half hours later, Wilsa Sport Helly Hansen crossed the line in second. GoLite Timberland put on a hard chase and finished in third, less than 30 minutes back.

Raid World Championship Adventure Race
Saguenay Lac Saint Jean, Quebec
September 9-16
1000 kilometers

Results:

• Nike (USA) 127:51:38
• Wilsa Sport Helly Hansen (FRA) 130:25:46
• GoLite Timberland (NZL) 130:53:38
• Adidas Naventure (GER) 132:21:44
• Spyder (USA) 133:29:03

WORLD CHAMPIONS AGAIN!
By Rob Howard / Sleepmonsters.com

All world class athletes seem able to move up a gear, and to do so at just the right moment – and in this race Nike saved their best until the end. Since the finish of the sea paddle they’ve moved consistently more quickly than any of the other top teams, moving swiftly past Team Finland, who had lead for so long.

On the final evening of the race, as the teams approached the technical glacier section the Finns tried to stay with Nike, but without success. The US/NZ team was running at a strong pace, feeling fresher than their rivals after taking more sleep, and fuelled by the desire for success that makes them winners time after time.

Overnight they extended their lead on a river paddle and the final inline skate stage, and arrived at the last technical ropes stage in the early hours, soon after dawn. Though it was hard to tell it was daylight as dense fog had descended. This stage began with an abseil into a dry canyon, dropping over the edge the racers found they were sliding past the mouth of a large cave which was coated with ice.

The trip down the canyon took them 40 minutes, and they arrived at the narrow mouth of a cave where they put on wetsuits and clambered up into it. Inside the fast flowing stream had sculpted unusual shapes which their headlamps picked out and they emerged on the upper part of a cliff face at a waterfall with ropes set up for a jumar. The larger part of the cave was at the top of the falls and it was a very wet ascent to get up to it.

Completing the upper cave they continued across the hills for the final trek, reaching a fell station on the E12 main road to pick up their bikes, still looking fresh and strong. Though they didn’t know it by now they had a lead of several hours on Team Finland, and the race was all but won. Only the ride along the road, back across the border and into Hemavan remained.

Team Finland by contrast looked tired and when they arrived at the caves were much more concerned about whether Lundhags were close behind them. Ville Niemela asked several times where they were and it was clear the team were more concerned about keeping second than having any hope of catching Nike.

Niemela and Anu Kopra looked the strongest and took the lead as they prepared for the ropes, feeding the others and sorting the gear. Petri Forsman did manage a weary smile. He was wearing his PFD and pointed to it, saying; “Good padding for the inlines!” They’d needed it too as the last 10k of skating was on a dirt and gravel road and difficult to negotiate.

In fact Lundhags were a couple of hours behind them, but they had Golite chasing them, with both teams within 5 minutes of each other at the caves. So there is close race for the final podium spot, but no doubt who the winners will are as Nike cross the finishing line to another World title.

MUCH MORE HERE

SUCCESS at BIG MO

OZARK MOUNTAINS, MISSOURI - (Report by Checkpointzero)

Sixteen co-ed teams of four athletes each competed in this inaugural running of the Mighty MO Expedition. The participants covered more than 200 miles of terrain and rivers in the hilly Ozark Mountains of Southeast Missouri between 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 4, and 9 a.m. Sunday, May 7, 2006.

Halfway through the first day of racing, a pack of four teams - Nike, Silly Rabbits, Mighty Dog and DART-nuun -- pulled away from the field with startling speed. Nike built a lead on the 1st long mountain bike leg, Then the four teams swapped placings on the preceding trekking leg of this nonstop Expedition race format.

During the morning of the second day, Nike entered the whitewater paddling section of the race in fourth place. Nike team captain Mike Kloser said after the race, that their team had opted to head straight for the white water kayak leg after the night long trek. While plotting their maps in route to the paddle leg, they realized that they would need their climbing gear on the paddle leg. Having left with only their paddling gear, they opted to rest at the put-in while their support crew drove back to get their climbing equipment. Having slept for an average of 15 to 45 minutes each, Nike felt the rest was a significant factor in their success. Nike made up the 1 hour time deficit during the next three legs of the race, which included paddling, trekking, and another paddling section. On final mountain biking and trekking sections of the race, Nike pulled away from their tenacious opponents and finished with more than a 4 and half hour lead over Team Silly Rabbits.

While first-place Nike won the 1st place prize worth $8,000, Silly Rabbits got a $2,500 check for second place, and Mighty Dog received a $1,000 for coming in third.

Ian Adamson of Team Nike said at the awards ceremony, “our team was awed by the course setting chosen by Race Director Jason Elsenraat.”

"As a team, we've probably done hundreds of races all over the world," Adamson said. "We’ve never seen single track like that. Ever."

Teams spent many hours biking the Ozark Trail, a technical tangle of rocks, roots and fallen trees, all slathered in mud. The unforgiving terrain destroyed delicate bike components, athletes said. Rear derailleur hangers bent or snapped. Bike chains broke. Full tires became flat.

Race director Elsenraat said he was extremely pleased that so many teams told him they loved the single track sections of the mountain biking and many more teams told him they loved the whitewater section of the race. After months of difficult planning for the Mighty MO, Elsenraat was happy to hear his creation was appreciated by the competitors. Fans apparently loved the race as well, because they could follow it from home.
 

Victory at Teva Games

VAIL, COLORADO USA — After a slip up and a big comeback Sari Anderson, Mike Kloser and Richard Usscher of Team Nike came through with the victory in Sunday’s Adventure Sprint Championships. The team finished in 6 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds, while Go Lite-Timberland No. 1 finished second in 6:40.50. The 30-mile course required a wide variety of gear, including mountain bikes, rappel harnesses, inline skates, scooters, snowshoes and inflatable kayaks.

Sunday’s course began with a mountain bike-trek portion up Bald Mountain for 4,000 of the nearly 7,000 feet of elevation gained during the race. Team Nike racers made a mistake when they hauled their bikes up to the first few checkpoints and realized they were about 15 minutes behind the then-leading Go Lite team.

“It was all about where you dropped your bike and how you approached the checkpoint,” Kloser said. “We ended up in a bunch of snow.”

Luckily, it was early enough for the snow to still be suitably frozen and Team Nike didn’t have to use its snowshoes. By the time the course came back down Bald Mountain and took racers up Vail Mountain, Team Nike racers began closing the gap.

“They really put a big move on Go Lite going up Vail Mountain,” said race director Billy Mattison.

Teams made their way 700 feet uphill from the river on the bike path and road to the right turn east of the Vail parking garage, at which point they had to take off their skates and tromp as fast as possible down the asphalt to the finish, some barefoot, others in their socks.

Kloser concluded "This was the most rewarding of our three victories at the Teva Mt. Games GNC Adventure Race, we were up against the toughest course and field of competitors in three years here in Vail. Add in the fact that we ended up having to chase back from a 30 minute deficit after only 2 hours of racing and you have yourself a real challenge on your hands! Sari and Richard were awesome to race with, they just kept digging deep knowing that if we could catch back up to the leaders, the race would be ours to lose." READ MORE

Portions of this report came from Sports Writer Shauna Farnell of the Vail Daily -
 

Nike First at Raid Qualifier in Idaho

IDAHO, USA — TEAM NIKE re-established their supremacy on home turf as they beat out last year’s USA stage winners and current Raid World Champions LES ARCS-QUECHUA (FRA), on a course designed for thrills and spills. This fascinating dual of attrition, that pitted some of the world’s top adventure racing athletes against magnificent forest trails, punishing mountain ascents and some of the finest stretches of white-water ever seen on the circuit, started early on Saturday morning on the mist shrouded waters of Lake Payette. At 06:00 sharp, the 31 teams from 11 different countries paddled the 10km into McCall, where, even at this early stage, the race for points and glory had begun to revive old rivalries among the frontrunners. French giants LES ARCS-QUECHUA were joined by compatriot hopefuls WILSA SPORT/HELLY HANSEN and ERTIPS in a pincer movement designed to hold the mighty NIKE clan, exceptionally fielding 2 teams on this stage, at bay. For a while it seemed to be working, as the French teams valiantly held off the American legends on the first 2 sections, but once bikes became involved, attempting to thwart one of the globe’s most formidable MTB squads proved futile. NIKE (USA) took the lead and never relinquished it, despite the best efforts of archrivals LES ARCS-QUECHUA (FRA), who pulled out all the stops on the ropes, downhill treks and MTB dashes. The American superstar team consolidated their initial narrow lead by sweeping the next three sections of the day but the French always looked dangerous. At the end of the first day, Ian ADAMSON, racing with NIKE/BEAVER CREEK (USA) and lying in 3rd place just behind the LES ARCS-QUECHUA (FRA), had vowed to make it a NIKE 1 and 2 race. It was a promise that spurred the French to greater efforts but which was almost fulfilled as the NIKE “reserves” put in a monstrous effort on the last MTB climb to come within 6 minutes of a stunning result. 
 
From Mike Kloser; "Team Nike went to Idaho with one primary goal in mind, win the Raid World Cup event on our home soil. By winning, we wouldn't leave any question as to whether we would earn enough points in the World Cup series to qualify us for the Raid World Championships this September. We also wanted to make a statement after having finished second at the US leg of the World Cup the past two years.  We had a fantastic race on a great course in the mountains surrounding Tamarac Resort in Idaho. It was a very balanced course with a good mix of running/trekking sections, mountain biking, map and compass navigation, rope skills and paddling, on both white water and lakes.  Sari Anderson, Michael Tobin and Richard Ussher, had their A-Game with them this past weekend, it was great racing with them and impressive to see the team in action against such a strong international field, which included the reigning World Champions, Les Arc from France."

Team Nike-Beaver Creek, including Dan Weiland, Jay Henry and two of Team Nike's racing squad, Ian Adamson and Monique Merrill put on a great performance finishing 3rd on the weekend while keeping the French squad Les Arcs, looking over their shoulders to protect their second place ranking. Ian and Monique will be racing in the Primal Quest with Team Nike hoping to defend their title later this month. 
Portions of this report came from www.TheRaid.org

Nike/Beaver Creek defends Xstream title
by Devon O'Neil - Vail Dail

FRISCO, CO — Had it really been three weeks? Had 21 days honestly passed since the torture scorcher that was Primal Quest Utah? Based on the way their bodies reacted during Saturday’s Adventure Xstream 24-hour competition, many of the area’s elite adventure racers had a tough time believing it. Sure, they finished the 100-mile course much, much faster than any average dudes could. And yes, they have trained themselves to bounce back from pain day after day after day.
Even so, as they lay on the grass next to the Frisco Nordic Center on Saturday afternoon, whupped was about
the only word that fit. “I think PQ’s still in the legs a bit,” said Vail’s Mike Kloser, who captained his Nike/PowerBlast team to victory in the Utah desert the last week in June. “Even though it’s been three weeks, I haven’t had a chance to run much. I’ve been biking a little bit, been trying to recover, but I’ve been working a lot, trying to sleep — even my sleep quantities haven’t been great.”

Despite those struggles, Kloser led his all-Eagle County squad, Nike/Beaver Creek, to victory by 20 minutes
over surprise second-place finisher Bagel Works. He joined Dan Weiland, Sari Anderson and Jay Henry as the
squad defended its crown of last year, when a freaky-strong mountain storm shortened the race.

Bagel Works did not let the title defense come easily, however. The eventual runners-up got a boost from Jon Brown, the captain of Salomon/Crested Butte (Primal Quest’s fifth-place finisher), who agreed to race with
Bagel Works because he didn’t think his CB squad was going to compete. Bagel and Nike spent much of the first 10 hours of the race together, trading places now and then, before Nike pulled away on the decisive mountain biking leg. The foursome’s winning time was 15 hours, 13 minutes. “We have a pretty solid biking team with Sari and Dan and Jay, so the technical stuff was to our advantage,” said Kloser, a Mountain Biking Hall of Fame member. “Up, down, flats, didn’t matter — it was gonna be something we were going to make some ground on.” Especially when, on the final stretch of the Colorado Trail portion — which included one murderous, 45-minute granny gear climb — Bagel Works hit a wall.

“We weren’t pulling anybody in,” said Brown, who raced with Joelle Vaught, Andrew Hamilton and Matt Hannon. “We were just, ‘OK, let’s get this over with.’ Up until that point we were charging pretty hard, and then everybody just lost a bit of steam.” A similar thing happened to Salomon, which featured former Summit residents Jari Kirkland and Bryan Wickenhauser, as well as Dave Wiens and Eric Sullivan. Wickenhauser said he “bonked” outright; Sullivan said the team didn’t seem to have its normal top-end speed. They finished in an adjusted time of 16 hours flat.

Team Nike Conquers Mexico

Team Nike members Mike Kloser, Sari Anderson and Michael Tobin traveled to the Mexican State of San Luis Potosi for the Camdex Adventure Race February 20-24. Fifteen teams competed from countries including Mexico, Guatemala, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Italy, and the US. Four days of competitive racing ensued that included mountain biking, running, tree-top ziplines, navigating, rafting, canyoneering, horseback riding, canoeing and various rope activities. Team Nike squeezed out a 3 and 6 minute lead over Mexican Team Buff and Team Spyder respectively after the first day. The second day saw hot temperatures effect the teams and the lead changed multiple times. After a spectacular rappel along side the Tumal Falls Team Spyder out sprinted Team Nike for the win on the day. The three top teams again gained and lost precious minutes during the third days challenging navigational choices. Team Spyder won with a minute lead over Team Nike on the third day. The final day included challenging bike navigation, steep trekking and a canyoneering section with multiple jumps into and swims in river pools. Nike gained a few minutes in this section that allowed them to get out of sight. By the finish they'd gained another 20 minutes to clinch the overall victory. "It's a great way to start our season," said Michael Tobin. "We worked really well together and were pushed hard by Buff and Spyder. On top of that, both the scenery and terrain was spectacular."