Yeti Adventure Challenge Silkeborg
European Series Expedition Racing Arrives in Denmark
Press Release / 20.08.2018
The Yeti Adventure Challenge Silkeborg has been a ground breaking event in many ways in the Danish Adventure Racing calendar and this year took things to a new level by introducing an expedition length course to their race programme and joining the Adventure Racing European Series.
This is the first time a Danish race has been part of an international series, and the competing teams have hailed the race a great success.
Speaking on the finish line Bjarke Refslund of Team Yeti, the race winners, said; “We have experience of maybe 20 World Series races between us on the team, but it was good to race a long course here at home. I think it was a good course with plenty of challenge and some beautiful places. They did a good job on that.”
Another Danish racer who has competed all over the world is Lars Bukkehave, a recent winner at a World Series race in the USA, and after finishing in the 3rd placed team he commented. “It was really cool to race at home and to support an expedition race in Denmark. Now it is established I hope more international teams will come here to race with us.”
The race attracted 13 entries this year, with visiting teams from Sweden and France, and 6 managed to complete the full 400km course within the 60 hour time limit. The course was set by elite racer Henrik Leth Jorgensen, and managed by the Silkeborg Orienteering Club. It included MTB racing, inline skating, kayaking and canoeing, trekking, orienteering, caving and several rope stages.
The course began in the nearby city of Viborg and finished in Silkeborg on the same day as the two one-day events which are part of the YACS programme, and which attracted 250 racers to take part. As the Masters teams passed through the city on their final canoeing stage they were paddling past the one-day racers who were running along the shore, swimming in the river, and also crossing the water above them on rope bridges!
The race winners Team Yeti were welcomed by large crowds in the city centre who had come to see the various races. They finished in a time of 43 hours 40 minutes, racing through two nights and sleeping for only 10 minutes the whole race. The team of Laura Lambaek Knudsen, Bjarke Refslund, Torbjorn Gasbjerg and Klaus Jessen shared the winner’s prize purse of 5000 Euro.
Racing Denmark Adventures were second in 48 hours 17 minutes and won 3000 Euro, and Team ‘Sue and the Powerpuff Girls’ were third in 50 hours 19 minutes and won 2000 Euro. The highest placed international team was KMTI Adventure of Sweden who finished 5th, losing out on 4th place by just 50 seconds! Last to finish were Team AaA/IHS who raced through 3 nights and crossed the line just 25 minutes before the course closure time of 60 hours.
Next year’s Yeti Adventure Challenge Silkeborg is scheduled to take place in August and will once again invite international teams to visit Denmark and race in Silkeborg.
Full details will be released on www.yacs.dk and you can find more about the European Series at www.areuroseries.com
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