February 3--Ertips wins the Raid with little trouble
By James Bowyer

After nine days, six hours, and 44 minutes, Ertips has won the eighth Raid Gauloises.

The untouchables walked the final kilometer of the race along the windswept Transkei coastline clearly relishing their one-and-a-half-hour lead over second-place Team Endeavor.

The winners were doused in champagne for their efforts and rewarded themselves by dumping a smiling and willing Gerard Fusil, the event's organizer, twice into the frothy Indian Ocean.

"I feel a little bit tired," offered Yves Masson, in a comment typical of the understated Frenchman. The national French kayaking coach displayed none of the damage shown by the still-struggling teams.

The winning edge, agreed team members, is that each member is an expert in his or her respective field. This, coupled with a critical mass of French camaraderie, helped set their winning pace.

But the course was tough, allowed Masson, who experienced his worst hour during the early muddy morning of the mountain bike ride. While fellow team members checked their bearings, he slumped down in the rain and fell asleep. It was the only sleep he had during the 36-hour overnight stretch.

The resilient Team Endeavor gained a well-deserved second place, followed closely by Infopoint/Hewlett-Packard, with only a marginal two hours and 10 minutes separating the top three teams.

After offering smiles and grimaces to the battery of snapping cameras, the teams beat their way to the luxury of Wild Coast Sun. Ertips, known for its right-on navigation skills, got temporarily lost in the parking lot of the posh resort.

While the race may be won, other teams struggle on. Three and a half days separate the last teams from the winners.

Another race is developing for U.S. teams in the lower ranks, spurred by the desire to reach decent rankings.

Leading the pack is 10th-place Team Salomon, followed closely by Team Kelty-Cabela in 13th place, and 16th-place Team Stray Dogs USA.

Quotes

"You can lose the race on the river, but you cannot win it." --Robert Forster, of second-place Team Endeavor.

"If you are not friends, you cannot finish the Raid." --Yves Masson, of the winning team, Ertips.

"In the future, the Raid will become a matter of technology." --Raid organizer.

James Bowyer is a freelance journalist living in Cape Town, South Africa.