The NZ race series kicked off last weekend with the first two races. The Kaituna time trial was pretty grueling as the river was extremely low after a dry summer. The combination of long flat stretches and floating raft obstacles in the rapids made for a tiring but fun race.
Bernd Sommers showing off his Sommers paddle
Lulu and I heading down to set some safety for the boys
Martina Wegman showing the Muttons the line
A highlight for many people was the teams race. Teams of 3 had to race 3 separate sections of the river with the next team member only allowed to begin once they had been passed a baton.
The Wairoa extreme race was business as usual with surprise upsets, multiple lead changes, and last minute overtaking in the final eddy. Congrats to Joe Morley for beating Mike Dawson in the final to become the first foreigner to win the race and Louise Jull for managing to stay ahead of Martina Wegman in the final to claim her first Wairoa win.
Big ups to Brendan Bayly, Lou Urwin and Tyler Fox for organising the events!!!
All photos courtesy of Andrea, thanks!
