Team ‘Powered by Velvet.org.nz’ compete in China

Media Release

11 September 2007

Team ‘Powered by Velvet.org.nz’ compete against World’s best in China

WELLINGTON—The ‘Powered-by-velvet.org.nz’ adventure racing team secured a very credible top sixth out of twenty-four teams in the Wulong Mountain Quest in China. As their name suggests, the team uses the sports supplement deer velvet which has been shown to improve athletic performance. The team then backed the result up two days later with a second place in the Zunji Outdoor Challenge in Guizhou.

The Wulong Mountain Quest is a 3 day staged race covering 220km which attracts many of the world’s top adventure racers, including world champions ‘Team Nike’. Each day required between 6-9 hours of racing and included trail running, mountain biking, rope skills, kayaking, rafting, caving, canyoning and team skill challenges.

In 37 degree heat the NZ team which comprises Rhys Burns, Sonya Clark, Chris Morrissey and Ross Rotherham, managed to run, bike and paddle their way into fourth place at the completion of Day zero - a light prologue to the main 3 days’ racing. Day one’s biggest challenge was a 56km mountain ride including a 2800 metre ascent! The later part of the day’s race consisted of a 19km mountain bike and a muddy 7km biathlon stage where teams where only allowed two bikes between them. “The bikes became un-rideable, as mud glued wheels to frames and pushing turned to carrying” said Ross Rotherham. After 8.5 hours the team crossed the finish line in sixth place.

Day 2 began with a 20km run where the team felt at ease as the terrain was much like the coast to coast and saw them climb to third place. With a kayaking leg complete, the team then raced on horse back, mountain biked and completed target shooting challenges before the final leg which featured a 5km biathlon. The team suffered two punctures but managed to secure a sixth placing.

The third and final day included stages of biathlon, rafting, kayaking, mountain biking and mastering a flying fox. The weather conditions were extreme “heading out of the rest stop, I had lumps of ice wedged under my helmet and in my jersey pockets” said Ross Rotherham but in the final section of the race the team managed to dig deep and pass two other teams giving them a sixth place overall.

Despite adventure racing being nothing new to Asia, mainland China is hosting an increasing number of events. The Chinese Mountaineering Association has been assisted by local governments in organising races in an effort to promote their region as a tourist destination within China. As a result it was no surprise that yet another race was organised to take place a day after the Mountain Quest. Organisers arranged for teams to be transported by bus to the Zunji Outdoor Challenge in Guizhou although failed to tell most of the teams that it was a 9 hour trip! Despite the arduous travel and the increase in lactic acid after 4 days of racing Powered by velvet.org.nz were ready to race again. The team not only managed to complete the one day race but finished strong, a mere 10 minutes behind current world champions Nike and in front of French team LaFuma who placed fourth in the first race.

The team was reportedly surprised at how well they recovered, but with the natural sports supplement deer velvet that has been shown to enhance stamina, increase strength and improve recovery the team is looking forward to successful future races.

The team is sponsored by Deer Industry New Zealand and is supplemented by 100% pure New Zealand deer velvet. Powered-by-velvet.org.nz is no ordinary team. It is a group of top performing athletes in a variety of sports who are now competing nationally and internationally, benefiting from the sports enhancing effects of New Zealand deer velvet.

ENDS

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