MULTISPORT

Multisport / Pro Athletes in NZ / Red Bull Defiance Opens to New 2016 Champions This Weekend

By Red Bull New Zealand

It’s all about final gear adjustments and squeezing in the last precious days of bike, kayak, running, clay-bird shooting and abseil training for the two-person teams competing in the unique and spectacular multisport race that is Red Bull Defiance, taking over Wanaka on January 23 and 24 this weekend.

The world’s top international elite athletes will join our local pro athletes and sport enthusiasts, as all 100 competitors prepare to tackle the greater Wanaka’s stunning terrain over eight high country stations. Race Director Aaron Carter believes the 2016 event will be even bigger and better than the first event in 2014.

"We are on the verge of delivering the second instalment of Red Bull Defiance and are thrilled with the increased number of teams and quality of the field,” says Carter. “We have got a number of highly skilled staff and volunteers that are putting in some big hours to ensure we put on a top level event.”
 
Designed by New Zealand’s Coast to Coast champion Braden Currie, the innovative multi discipline two-person format sets Red Bull Defiance apart from the rest. Currie won the 2014 event with Dougal Allan, but this year he is focusing on shorter form race formats, leaving the door open for other elite athletes. The winners will take home $10,000 for 1st place, $3,500 for 2nd place, and $2,500 for 3rd place for Elite Mens, Elite Women and Elite Mixed categories. Who will defy the odds?


Photo courtesy of Red Bull New Zealand
 
“I‘m really excited to see the competition at the front of the pack.“ Says Currie. “Within the mens field there are two young guys, Alex Hunt from Tasmania and Daniel Jones from Whakatane who are both really good and I‘ve never seen them race together before. There’s also Jarad Kohlar and his partner James Pretto, and local guys Richard Anderson and Bob McLachlan. Mixed is going to be a real battle - I wouldn’t want to pick between the French, Swedish, and Marcel Hagner and Simone Maier.
 
Currie will be playing a motivational role; welcoming people over the finish line, doing key sections of the race with lead athletes, and filming a virtual reality clip to show the world what it is like to be in the front part of the race. He says it is looking like pretty hot conditions for racing.
 
“Competitors will need to think a lot about how much water they are drinking and keep really hydrated, because it will catch up with them by day two if conditions stay dry.“ Says Currie. “The wind is meant to die down tomorrow afternoon, and there’s a southerly coming through so the lake shouldn‘t be so worked up.“

Red Bull Defiance is not your typical 5km neighbourhood jaunt. 100 competitors will arrive on the start line via a barge, ready to challenge seven individual punishing stages over 142km with a total elevation of 5238m. The start gun will go off minutes after arrival (8.30am) at Snag Bay, Minaret Station. Stage one is along a mixture of well-formed farm tracks and rough 4WD tracks. With a large number of side valleys that feed creeks into Lake Wanaka, the 43km bike ride will involve a number of steep pinches and fast flowing descents.


Photo courtesy of Red Bull New Zealand

From the transition area at West Wanaka Bridge, teams will encounter a steep technical 9km run around the front of Rocky Mountain, proceeding 752m up towards the summit. During the spectacular descent through the native bush surrounding Diamond Lake, there will be a special abseil section, which both members must complete before circumnavigating around the base of the mountain back to the West Wanaka Bridge. The 2km paddle out of the mouth of the mighty Matukituki River will lead competitors onto Lake Wanaka, passing the inside of Moa Tapu Island and towards the day one finish line on the shores of Lake Wanaka.

Day two kicks off with a kayak stage departing from Lake Wanaka foreshore (Ardmore Street) at 6.30am, and heads around Eely Point to the Clutha River. The Clutha is the highest volume river in New Zealand, and the swiftest, discharging a mean flow of 614 cubic metres per second - offering several rapid paddle sections. Competitors will kayak past Albert Town and face a steep run up to Oxbow. On arrival, teams will be required to partake in a single shot clay-bird shooting exercise before they will commence the epic mountain bike climb up to the Pisa Range via Criffel Station. After a journey across the top of the Pisa’s, the course will descend to the bottom of the Cardrona Valley floor.


Photo courtesy of Red Bull New Zealand

The last leg of the day will see teams take on a 25km run along the Skyline track. Heading up the saddle of both Mt Alpha and Roys Peak, the backdrop of the Wanaka Township below and the sweeping views around the whole of the central Otago area will please even the weariest competitors. Once at Lake level teams will complete a 4km run on a firmed track to the finish line on the shores. Spectators should be at the finish line from 1.30pm on both days to catch the new champions cross the finish line.

“At the end of the day it's about the 50 teams that will take the start line, and we know the stunning terrain and pristine rivers and lakes will blow their running socks off!" Says Carter.

The event is free and family friendly, with the best spectator viewing spot in Wanaka Township on the finish line (Ardmore Street) to watch the final run. Spectators will also have a great view of the transition area on West Wanaka Station Road on Matukituki Bridge. Visit redbull.co.nz/defiance for more information, follow @RedBullNZ on Instagram for video updates, follow @RedBullNZ on Twitter for live commentary, and see action clips at the end of each day on Facebook.com/rbdefiance. #DEFIANCE.