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Cyanosis wins the second Kinetic Full Moon Adventure RaceMonday, 30 August 2010 20:48 Cyanosis wins the second Kinetic Full Moon AdventureThe weekend of the 28 / 29 August saw the staging of the Kinetic Full Moon Adventure race at the Vaal Dam. Team Cyanosis showed very strong form in winning the 120km race in 9 hours and 26 minutes. The race featured kayak paddling on the Vaal Dam in windy conditions, mountain biking across undulating Gauteng grasslands, a tough trek across mountains in a private game reserve as well as some intense navigation on foot on a satellite map of a forested island in the middle of the Vaal Dam. The win bodes well for Team Cyanosis, who are in their final preparation phase before departing for the Adventure Racing World Championships in Spain in the first week of October. This weekend's race saw Ryno Griesel, Nicholas Mulder and Clinton Mackintosh team up with Landie Visser, who has previously got some good adventure racing experience with the youthful and promising Team Gijima. The team composition worked very well in ensuring that Cyanosis maintained a high speed throughout the race, especially important given the strong winds during the first afternoon on the kayak and mountain biking sections, but also in ensuring that the team opened a gap on the chasing teams, most notably Team Red Ants. The race started with a 12km paddle across the dam, although a strong cross-wind ensured it was any but 'flat-water'. The front of the field saw Teams Cyanosis, Red Ants and Hawkstone challenging for the lead, each unable to open a gap on the others. It was left to a short run along the water edge and the subsequent first long bike leg to split the teams. Cyanosis dug deep in this section to open a small but important lead gap, using the teams full abilities to ensure the highest possible speed across the windy, open grasslands. A 12-minute lead gap at the start of the 10km game reserve trek was further extended as Cyanosis pushed hard on this leg to ensure that they completed it before dusk, a factor that proved extremely important as many later teams struggled to push their way through the dense bush on the koppies at night and lost significant time. By the the start of the subsequent cycle leg that would take teams back to the Vaal Dam, Cyanosis unknowingly had extended their lead to 30-minute. By this time of night the wind had died down, but the team were still pushing hard as they tried to maintain a high average speed along good quality dirt roads, ensuring that no lights of any chasing teams would appear on the horizon behind them. The following 5km paddle on the dam, 5km run around the island and final 3km paddle to the finish went without incident, allowing Team Cyanosis to cross the finish line for the win with a 45-minute advantage on Team Red Ants. The race went well for the team and the few mistakes that were encountered will be analysed and corrected before the team departs for the Adventure Racing World Champs in just four weeks time. The World Champs will be held over 5 days and 500km of non-stop racing, with all of the world's best teams in attendance. The team were thrilled with their victory at the Kinetic Full Moon race and eagerly look forward to further races in Stephan Muller's Kinetic series. Stephan once again organised an exciting and scenic race that was challenging for all teams; suitable whether you were a top team racing for podium positions or a novice team just trying to cover the full race distance for an official finish result. Team Cyanosis is proud to have the following sponsors supporting them:
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