Mike Kloser, Chris Forne, Monique Merrill and Michael Tobin of the awesome  Team Nike (USA/NZ) triumphantly broke through the finish line (Nevis Centre, Fort William) of the 2007 Adventure Racing World Championship at 06.07 this morning to become Adventure Racing world champions for the second year running.

Having raced non-stop and unsupported for almost 130 hours in extremely harsh conditions over the 500 km course (that contained some 25,000 metres of ascent) team captain Kloser flushed with excitement, said:  'Goals are a huge factor in this kind of event. We came to Scotland with the primary goal of defending our title and winning and we are delighted to have done so.   It was a good race all round.  Our one thought was always to push on, but the trekking 
was really tough - particularly towards the end - and the cold temperatures a big factor.  It was one tough course.  Our priority now is to have breakfast, take a shower and get some sleep –  we've only had about five hours since the start of the race!'.

There to greet the team as they were showered with champagne was race director Phil Humphreys who said  'Wow – what an epic race!  It was relentless, brutal and fantastic.  To finish the full course is quite remarkable.  Respect to Nike and all those other teams who cross the finish line'.

During much of the race - the toughest endurance event ever staged in the UK- Nike have been relentlessly pursued by the French/Swiss Team Wilsa HellyHansen, who are now   firmly in second position around five hours behind Nike.   Team Buff Coolmax (Spain), Team OrionHealth.com (New Zealand) and Bjurfors Adventure Racing (Sweden/
USA) are battling it out behind them on the final stages of the race.  Officials expect these teams to finish at various times during the day (1 June).

The event which involves a number of rugged sporting disciplines including mountain biking, sea kayaking, abseiling, mountaineering, river crossing, nordic walking, canyoning and open-water swimming and navigation started on Saturday (26 May) with a tough prologue on the Isle of Rum.

The official start was at 08.20 on Sunday (27 May) when 49 teams, comprising the world's toughest endurance athletes from 22 nations, left the island in a colourful flotilla of kayaks for the mainland via Eigg. The course was to take them across Knoydart, Scotland's last remaining wilderness, over a chilly Loch Ness, through the wild Monadhliath Mountains and across the centre of Scotland, from the A9 to the A82, on lochs and rivers against the natural flow of the water with the added challenge of carrying and pulling their heavily laden boats for more than 20 km on road and moor.

The final stages of the route saw the lead teams ascending all the summits in Glen Coe before traversing the legendary Aonach Eagach ridge and finally climbing the UK's highest mountain, Ben Nevis, never before summated in a UK adventure race.

Gary Tompsett, the man who planned the course, said: 'After many months of design and weeks of ground-work the Adventure Racing World Championship 2007 course has been well and truly proven.  The teams have been telling me that it has been awesome – my job is done'.

A number teams are now spread out on a wide field and race officials report a mood of tough mental and physical determination as they battle it out to reach the finish before the competition finishes on Saturday (2 June).

There are now (06.45 hrs, 1 June) 27 teams on the short course.  These are the teams who have not met imposed cut-off times during the race and they have a separate ranking.   Six teams are unranked and twelve teams have withdrawn from the race.

ENDS

Media Contacts:
Paddy Cuthbert - Podge Publicity - M: +44 (0)7968 699636 / E: 
paddy@podge.co.uk
Sue Cormack for Podge Publicity – T: +44 (0)7774 454005 / E: 
sue@snowsense.co.uk
Jim Mee – Media Director – AR World Championship 2007 – M: +44 (0) 
7790 900 354 / E: jim@allinthedetail.com

Editor's Notes:
For more information on the Wilderness ARC – The Adventure Racing World Championship 2007 - including the team list, event schedule and background to the event. visit http://www.arwc2007.com

To follow the race, including live web reporting, leader-board, satellite tracking, web TV, photos and more, visit 
www.sleepmonsters.co.uk.

The event will operate an ftp site during the event.  To access the ftp site for images., media information and news releases please logo on to:  http://www.detailmobileserver.co.uk  Username – arwcmedia  Password – wilderness.  This will be regularly updated with action shots and news releases as the race progresses.

The Wilderness ARC 2007, THE ADVENTURE RACING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, one of the most demanding and eagerly-awaited events of the 2007 international adventure race calendar, will be staged in Fort William and Lochaber, the Outdoor Capital of the UK, in the Scottish Highlands from 24 May until 2 June 2007 (race starts on 26 May) -http://www.arwc2007.com/

The Adventure Racing World Championships 2007 is the climax of The Adventure Racing World Series, an international circuit of premier adventure races representing eight countries, creating a twelve-month calendar of professional event around the world and acting as qualifiers for the World Championship.

Background to The Wilderness ARC – The Adventure Racing World Championship 2007.  Before 2004, the UK's multi-day expedition adventure race was the Adrenalin Rush. When this stopped running, Phil Humphreys, Director of ACE Races, decided to fill in the gap and created the Wilderness ARC. ACE Races was responsible for introducing AR in the UK back in 1998 and the growth in the sport in the UK since then has been phenomenal. However, Phil was quick to realise that a race of this stature would need a team of people to make it work and quickly brought in Gary Tompsett who was renowned for his expertise in course planning. It was Gary who suggested involving Jim Mee of the newly established Detail Events. And the rest is history!

The Teams
The mixed-sex teams of four, who faced a rigorous selection process before gaining entry to the event, will come from a diversity of countries around the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, France, South Africa, Sweden and the United States.   Alongside 21 powerful UK squads they will battle it out for the coveted title of Adventure Racing World Champions 2007.

The British Adventure Racing Champions, Team Aberdeen Asset Management, who have won the Wilderness ARC race for the past two years and who boast a spectacular international track record, are aiming for the hat trick in the face of fierce competition.   They will compete alongside hot favourites and defending champions Team NIKE (USA), 2005 World Champions Team Balance Vector (NZ); in addition to other strong contenders including Team SOLE (USA), Speleo Salomon (POL), Buff Coolmax (ESP), Halti (SWE), Lundhags Adventure (SWE), Wilsa Helly Hansen (FRA / CHE), Team Merrell Wigwan (USA / NZ), Salomon / Crested Butte (USA) and Mitsubishi Quasar Lontra (Brazil).  Other British teams expected to present tough competition are Team The North Face (who came second in The Wilderness ARC 2006) and Superfeet / Life Is Good, the predominantly Scottish team (who came third in The Wilderness ARC 2006).

Wilderness ARC 2007, The Adventure Racing World Championship, has been supported by the Highland 2007 Regional Events Programme, which is funded by EventScotland. HIGHLAND 2007, the year Scotland celebrates Highland culture, aims to promote the Highlands as a great place to live and to visit through showcasing the unique and special nature of Highland culture past, present and future. Highland 2007 is a partnership between three principal funding agencies: The Highland Council, the Scottish Executive, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Visit http://www.highland2007.com for details.

EventScotland is the national organisation for sports and cultural events and co-ordinates the delivery of the Major Events Strategy published by the Scottish Executive in November 2002. The strategy is designed to maximise the benefits of existing events, to attract new events, to showcase Scotland's assets and to encourage more people to visit Scotland to experience at first hand major sporting and cultural events being staged in the country. For further information about EventScotland, its funding programmes and the latest event news please visit http://www.EventScotland.org

VisitScotland - is the lead agency for promoting tourism in Scotland and has three key roles: to attract visitors to Scotland, to engage with partners in the industry and to add value to the visitor experience. VisitScotland is working with the tourism industry and other partners to achieve a 50 per cent growth in tourism revenues for Scotland by 2015. Key to this ambition is the generation of additional visits and one of the ways the organisation plans to achieve this is through the VisitScotland adventure tourism campaign that aims to establish Scotland as Europe's Adventure Capital. For further information about adventure sports in Scotland log on to visitscotland.com/adventure. For holiday information on Scotland go visitscotland.com

Outdoor Capital of the UK- A not-for-profit community company established to promote Fort William and Lochaber as the best place to experience the outdoors in the UK. There are over 65 different activities to choose from in an amazing
landscape that encompasses the small isles to Ben Nevis with white water rivers, sea, lochs, beaches, forest, glens, cliffs and mountains in between.
http://www.outdoorcapital.co.uk

The AR World Series is proud to partner with Casio: 'Official Watch of the AR World Series'; and Sleepmonsters http://www.arworldseries.com http://www.casio-watches.com/ http://www.sleepmonsters.co.uk

The Adventure Racing World Championship 2007 would also like to thank Active Hydration, Buff, Columbia, Coolmax, High5 Sports Nutrition, Leki, Nuun Active Hydration, Pro Trek, Total-adventure.co.uk, the Scottish Executive, Sigg.

Useful Websites:
Wilderness ARC – The AR World Championship 2007 - http://www.arwc2007.com/
AR World Series -  http://www.arworldseries.com/
Sleepmonsters - http://www.sleepmonsters.co.uk
Highland 2007:  http://www.highland2007.com
EventScotland: http://www.eventscotland.org/
Adventure sports in Scotland:  http//www.visitscotland.com/adventure
Outdoor Capital of the UK:  http://www.outdoorcapital.co.uk Detail Events Ltd: http://www.allinthedetail.com/ ACE Races:  http://www.aceraces.com/

THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR SCOTLAND SOLE TRADING INITIATIVE

The organisers of the Adventure Racing World Championship 2007 would like to highlight the work of the National Trust for Scotland's Sole Trading Appeal, which aims to raise funds that will go towards helping reduce erosion and repair mountain footpaths, especially those in Glen Coe.  This hugely important work will help safeguard the Scottish hills for future generations and preserve the environment for the enjoyment of all.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Paddy Cuthbert - Podge Publicity - T: +44 (0)131 477 2037/ M: +44 (0)
7968 699636 / E: paddy@podge.co.uk
Sue Cormack for Podge Publicity – T: +44 (0)7774 454005 / E: 
sue@snowsense.co.uk
Jim Mee – Media Director – AR World Championship 2007 – M: +44 (0) 
7790 900 354 / E: jim@allinthedetail.com