The Australian team Blackheart have won XPD Australia for the 2nd year in a row!  While many teams are still out on the course, hustling to reach the finish before the closing time at 6 PM on Friday, Blackheart can take some well earned rest.

This XPD featured several days of tense back-and-forth racing at the front, with Orion Adventure and Blackheart pushing eachother to the limit.  Eventually, even the most elite athletes will feel the strain of racing too fast for too long, and the Kiwis of Orion Adventure sufferred an ankle injury that put an end to the drama.  With about 30 kilometers to go, Orion had to withdraw from the race leaving Blackheart to race the final few hours without an adversary.  Of course, we don’t know when Blackheart learned that Orion withdrew, so they continued to race as fast as they could.

Don’t think this was just a two team race, however!  At one point, days after the starting gun went off, there were a cluster of five teams all racing very near to eachother.   Blackheart and Orion eventually broke away from the lead pack, with McCain Adventure Addicts (South Africa) edging the other 2 teams to settle into the third position.

Teams Paddle During the Next-To-Last Leg of the Race

For the select teams who have already finished the race, their focus is now rest and recovery at the beach town of Cairns.  For all the other teams, there is more work to be done.  Teams are withdrawing from the race, or getting placed onto alternate courses for various reasons, but there is a hearty core of teams still racing the full course and on target (more or less) to reach the finish by Friday evening.

As impressive as Blackheart’s run to the finish line was, complete with smart tactics, careful navigation, and blinding speed . . . I find the perseverance of the rest of the race teams to be wonderful to follow.  They may not be racing for the podium, but they are competing against themselves, their limits, and this rugged XPD course.  Good luck and finish strong, everyone!