The pace of the race on day two of the Oman Adventure 2007 was too hot for two of the teams, who failed to reach the cutoff at CP, so they will continue along a shortened course.
The teams started the day with some canyoning and then picked up their mountain bikes to start a long leg in the direction of Amq, after which they faced a savage incline following a track up the mountainside, which required both team members to push their bike at times.
The leading team 74 Eagle Sybelles Est made a navigational error after the canyoning which allowed The Post office team to arrive first at Yasib but with the former leaders hot on their heels ( I remember a similar story last year when one of the leaders got lost on the first day). In the final stage of the day order was restored with the leaders adding another 13 minutes lead to the overall time. The team is very strong and if they have a good day tomorrow they will probably have the race in the bag.
The leading Omani team A'Rustaq as expected lost 4th place to Raid Inisgt-ineo/suez, who appeared to have an excellent day and are within striking distance of third place. so there could be some hot action tomorrow.
Two teams 76 Arranges tourist and 75 Lattitude 55 EGT Climtech will restart tomorrow from the campsite at Jabal Shams on the shortend course, for team 55 it is a miricle that they are still in the race after having assistance from the press who provided food, water and power gels to get them back on their feet. Tomorrow marks the halfway point of The Oman Adventure 2007
and then its downhill to the finish!
David Ogden
International Adventurers