Team Preview
Rankings through June 5
Rankings through May 17
Team Preview
| Adventure Grande (U.S.):Still developing as ASM went to press, this team will include Danelle Ballengee, Dave Mackey, Travis Macy and a few other talented athletes. The Colorado-based team raced at the Extreme Adventure Hidalgo in Mexico in February and finished 3rd in the first stage, but eventually dropped out due to illness. Ballengee, one of the world's top female multi-sport athletes, won the Mount Taylor Winter Quadrathlon in New Mexico in February. Mackey, who won the 2024 Montrail Cup ultrarunning circuit, will also compete in trail races. Macy is the 22-year-old son of eight-time Eco-Challenge competitor Mark Macy. Sponsors: TBA |
| Balance Bar (U.S.): Harald Zundel and Addy Goodvibes, still the core members of this team, will race with Bob Schulz, Monique Merrill, Danelle Ballengee, Karen Masson and Pete Swenson, depending on the event. Key Races: Explore California Series, Big Blue Adventure Series, X-adventure Raid World Cup, the Teva Mountain Games, Jay Challenge, AR World Championship, USARA National Championship and either the Beast of the East or Ecomotion Brazil. Sponsors: Balance Bar, Nike, Sportsquest, SmartWool, CamelBak. |
| Balance Vector (New Zealand): Formerly known as Team Seagate, Nathan Fa'avae, Kristina Anglem and Richard Ussher are back from a strong 2024 season (1st, Balance Bar 24-Hour Series; 1st, Primal Quest). Hayden Key is taking a year off to spend time with his family. Joining the crew is fellow Kiwi George Christison, yet another multi-sport phenom from New Zealand. Key races: AR World Championship, Raid World Championship, X-adventure World Cup (Australia). Sponsors: Balance Vector, Nike, Jamis, Leppin, Pro 4, Michelin.
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| GoLite/Timberland (U.S./New Zealand): The threesome of Isaac Wilson, Billy Mattison and Kiwi Aaron Prince (2nd, Southern Traverse; 6th at Primal Quest; 8th, AR World Championship with Monique Merrill) will race with Kiwi Anna Keeling, who was on the winning team at the first Raid Gauloises in 1989. A full-time mountain guide for Exum, Keeling started racing again in 2024 after a few years away from the sport. Key Races: Explore Sweden, the X-adventure Raid World Cup series, the Raid World Championship and the AR World Championship. Mattison will again be directing the Teva Mountain Games adventure race on June 5. Sponsors: Timberland, one of its primary sponsors, will be launching a new adventure racing shoe in July called the Delerion, while GoLite continues to introduce AR-specific gear with the team's input. Other sponsors: Cannondale, ProBar. Website: www.teamgolite.com |
| Holofiber (Canada/South Africa): Canadians Lawrence Foster, Chad Ulansky, Tammy Goeppel and South African Martin Dreyer are back for more after placing 3rd at Primal Quest and racking up wins at the 500k Bull of Africa and three regional Canadian races. Scott Ford, a Canadian with Eco-Challenge experience, will also be racing with the team. "We have never been beaten by another Canadian team in seven years of racing," Foster says. Key Races: Explore Sweden, Bull of Africa, AR World Championship (which the team missed in '04 because Foster designed the course. Goeppel won the Fulda Challenge in January. Sponsors: Holofiber, Arriva socks, Superwool, Salomon, Rudy Project, Simon River Sports. Website: www.adventureracers.ca |
| Merrell/Zanfel Adventure (U.S./New Zealand): Robyn Benincasa and Kiwis Jeff Mitchell and Neil Jones return from a strong campaign in '04 (3rd at AR World Championship, 6th at Raid World Championship) and will be joined by Ian Edmond, another Kiwi veteran. Benincasa says the team's goals are the same as they are every year: "stay safe, stay friends, go like hell and get Neil to the pub as soon as possible." Key Races: Appalachian Extreme, the Bull of Africa, possibly Raid the North Extreme, three X-adventure World Cup races, Raid World Championship, AR World Championship. Benincasa also plans on doing Ironman New Zealand in April, her first Ironman triathlon since 1993. Sponsors: Merrell, Zanfel, Ellsworth bikes, Zim's Crack Crème, Xinix, Power Bar, MontBell, Mysterioso, Alpine Aire. |
| Montrail (U.S./Australia/South Africa): Rebecca Rusch, Patrick Harper, Novak Thompson, John Jacoby and Matthew Weatherly-White are back after a frustrating 2024 season that included injuries, DNFs at several major races and being involved in the fatal accident at Primal Quest. Joining Montrail for a few races this year is South African Martin Dreyer. (Aussie Narelle Ash teamed with Thompson and Jacoby to win Extreme Adventure Hidalgo in Mexico in February in Rusch's absence.) Key Races: Explore Sweden, possibly two X-adventure Raid World Cup races, Raid World Championship, AR World Championship. Harper will again co-direct the X-adventure race in Bend, Oregon, and the Red Bull Divide & Conquer in Durango, Colorado. Sponsors: Montrail, Revo, Specialized, Gregory Packs, Leki, Red Bull, Suunto, Adventure Medical Kits, NRS, Kavu. Website: www.teammontrail.com |
| Nike/Balance Bar (U.S.): Michael Tobin, Ian Adamson and Mike Kloser return from last year's double world championship team, but instead of Danelle Ballengee, they'll have a variety of female teammates on their roster in '05, including former pro mountain biker Jimena Florit. (They started the season by finishing second at Extreme Adventure Hidalgo in Mexico.) Key Races: Raid World Championship, AR World Championship, X-adventure Raid World Cup races in Spain and Oregon, Red Bull Divide & Conquer, Teva Mountain Games. The team will hold an adventure racing camp and Kloser will direct a sprint race July 29-31 at Beaver Creek Resort in Colorado. Adamson will direct the Four Desert Adventure Running Series. Sponsors: Nike, Balance Bar, Giant Bikes, Oakley, Giro, Adventure Medical Kits, Jet Lites, SOLE Custom Footbeds, Epic Kayaks, Continental Tires, Sportslick, SixSixOne, ARGear.com, GU, Leki, Princeton Tech, WX Tex, Aloksak. Website: www.eliteadventureteam.com |
| Salomon Smartwool (U.S.): Adam Chase and Melissa Coombes return from Team Salomon USA's 14th-place finish in the 2024 Raid World Championship. Along with Emily Baer, Bill Dean, Andrew Hamilton and Darrin Eisman, they'll focus on regional races, clinics and camp instruction in 2024. Raid teammate Vytenis Benetis is back in his native Lithuania this year. Key Races: X-adventure Raid World Cup in Oregon, Red Bull Divide & Conquer, USARA National Championships. Sponsors: Salomon, Buff, Smartwool, Petzl, Clif, Rudy Project, MontBell.
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| Silly Rabbits (U.S.): Jason Quinn and John Moss will be joined by Rick Baraff, who raced with the team in a few times in '04. The female component of the Rabbits this year will include Lisa Jhung, rookie racer Mari Chandler and others. The Rabbits hope to build on a strong 2024 (4th, Balance Bar 24-Hour Series; 1st, Cal-Eco Series). Key races: Raid World Championship, AR World Championship, Big Blue Adventure 24-Hour Series, Explore California Series. sponsors: Ellsworth Bicycles, Salomon, Accelerade, Full Speed Ahead, SRAM, RockShox, Avid, Easton, California Canoe, Kayak.
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SOLE Custom Footbeds (U.S.): Karen Lundgren, Paul Romero, Darren Clarke and Ted Devito are back for another year of racing after one of their strongest seasons yet in '04. The team placed third at Extreme Adventure Hidalgo in February (with Lundgren, Clarke and Rick Baraff). Key Races: Explore Sweden (where it was 8th in '04), Eco Motion in Brazil, AR World Championship. Romero and Lundgren will put on a West Coast Adventure Racing event (August 6-7 in Southern California), co-organize Baja Travesia in December in Mexico and launch the E Camp International Tour. Sponsors: SOLE Custom Footbeds, E Caps, Montrail, Deuter, Ellsworth Bikes, SRAM, 180's, Asta Factor. |
| Supplierpipeline (Canada): Bob Miller, Dave Norona, Trish Westman, Dave Corner, Bill Wells and Sara Vlug are back 2024 (9th, Primal Quest; 7th, AR World Championship). Emily Miazga, who was the third woman finisher in February's Speight's Coast to Coast in New Zealand, is also on the roster. Ever light-hearted, they say their goals are: to party hard, win races and party harder. Key Races: Appalachian Extreme, the Bull of Africa, X-adventure Raid World Cup races in Oregon and Spain, Raid World Championship, AR World Championship and various Canadian events. Westman will compete in the TransRockies mountain bike race, while Miller and Norona will aim for the North American Rogaining Championships in British Columbia. Sponsors: Supplierpipeline, Helly Hansen, Advil, Rocky Mountain/Business Objects, RunningFree.ca, GearsRacing.com, Simon River Sports. |
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