Chris Davenport on the bike leg Photo by Red Bull / Christian Pondella

Sixty-eight elite athletes trekked through snow, glided over mountains, paddled raging rapids, and conquered merciless cliffs of Colorado's treacherous San Juan Mountains, but in the end it was Team Nike ACG / Balance Bar that reigned supreme at Red Bull Divide & Conquer.

"The difficulty of this course isn't something you see in adventure racing," said kayaker Mike Freeburn of Team Nike ACG / Balance Bar. "Winning at this level is something to relish because it's hard to do."

Team Internet BillBoard / OpavaNet proved to be a formidable challenge to their US competitors as the two teams battled neck-and-neck throughout the competition, crossing the finish line about six minutes apart. The well-known Czech team used their experience as Austria's Dolomitenmann champions to place a close 2nd, earning them respect in the US and abroad.

"This was the most technical race I've ever taken part in," said Kamil Murzek of Team Internet BillBoard / OpavaNet. "[The kayak portion] was six times longer and much harder than the Dolomitenmann race."

Wendy Spillane of Divas of the Divide Photo by Red Bull / Francois Portmann

The Challenge

The Red Bull Divide & Conquer course was set within the dramatic San Juan Mountain range along the Continental Divide-a rugged traverse of land ranging from 7,000 to 13,000 feet. The four-part mountain sports relay race began in Silverton, CO with seven-miles of high-altitude trail running, ascending 4,000 feet through the rocky Kendall Mountainas. The runners faced all the elements from loose stone and dirt to even knee-high snow before tagging off, or passing the much-coveted silver rock to their paragliding teammate. Paragliders then faced a 1/2 mile climb to the top of Kendall Mountain where they soared high above Silverton before landing in the meadows alongside the Animas River.

Kayakers then raced down 27-miles of the Animas River, facing both numbing waters and Class IV and V rapids. At their take out point, each kayaker hoisted their boats overhead before sprinting up the steep narrow path to their mountain biking teammate. The bikers started out the gate with a 3,000+ foot climb in the first four miles of their ride, and their journey continued with a 200-mile ride before bringing it home in Durango Mountain Resort's Purgatory Village.

Fashioned after the revered Red Bull Dolomitenmann race that has been hosted in Austria for 16 years, Red Bull Divide & Conquer featured four-person mountain sports relay teams who divided efforts by specialty to conquer expert-only trail running, paragliding, kayaking, and mountain biking courses in a grueling race to the finish.

The winning team took home their share of $17,500 in prize money, plus an all-expense paid trip to Austria to compete in the 17th annual Red Bull Dolomitenmann, an extreme team relay race in September 2004.

Results

1st Place: Nike ACG / Balance Bar (Michael Tobin, Othar Lawrence, Mike Freeburn, Michael Kloser). 7:58:50.

2nd Place: Internet BillBoard / OpavaNet (Robert Krupicka, Jan Skrabalek, Kamil Mruzek, Robert Novotny)-8:05:34.

3rd Place: Specialized / Riversports (Jesse Rickert, Will Gadd, Arron Pruzan, Ned Overend)-8:15:39.

Fastest Trail Run: Internet Billboard / OpavaNet (Robert Krupicka)-1:32:41

Fastest Paragliding Leg: Nike ACG / Balance Bar (Othar Lawrence)-0:26:41

Fastest Kayak Leg: Nike ACG / Balance Bar (Mike Freeburn)-2:53:57

Fastest Mountain Bike Leg: Specialized / Riversports (Ned Overend)-2:49:25

—Mountainzone Staff

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