2011

Jan 20

New teamname - AXA Sports Club

Team Explore has had a banner year in 2010, including a victory in the overall classification of the Swedish Multisport Cup and an Adventure Racing World Series victory in Costa Rica. Following a name change to Team AXA Sports Club in 2011, the bar and the expectations will be raised even higher.

"2011 will see our biggest commitment to building a winning team," says Mikael Lindnord, team captain for Team AXA Sports Club. "Besides defending our overall win in the Swedish Multisport Cup, we're going to set our sights on the World Champs in Tasmania, Australia. We've really had our break-through the last two years and our team chemistry and commitment is really starting to pay dividends. Thanks to our new Sponsor AXA, the team will get an extra boost this year from better nutrition during racing and training, which will help us maximize output and performance. Naturally, we think this will be key in helping us reach our goals."

Multisport is a team sport that consists of cycling, paddling, and running. The course terrain can vary, depending on local conditions and geography, but teams may cross arid desserts, soaking rain forests, and whitewater rivers. Competitions may last anywhere from several hours to seven days non-stop. The physical demands on racers are so extreme that teammates typically spend up to 20 hours a week training.

The new main sponsor is looking forward to following "its" new team:

"Multisport is an exciting venue to support, but it's even more relevant for us given the importance of proper nutrition in endurance sports," says Peter Larsson, sponsor and event coordinator at AXA Sports Club. "AXA Sports Club's vision is to inspire people to live an active and healthy lifestyle and we believe that this team will help us achieve this vision. Even if most people may not make it through a multiday endurance event, we believe that following these multisport athletes as they meet their challenges can inspire our 40 000 members to reach their own personal goals."

From now until the World Champs in November, Team AXA Sports Club will be logging long and hard training hours. They will also compete in several multisport races in Sweden and abroad. "It's going to be a tuff year, but we're fired up" says Mikael Lindnord. "I can promise one thing: each time we suit up we plan on "leaving it all out on the course and no holding back!"

New website: www.axasc.com

2010

Dec 21

Mikael – new co-worker on Outside.

From January 2011, Mikael Lindnord will become a co-worker on the Swedish Outside magazine. He will be Outsides testpilot and be testing different outdoor equipment, and be in front of the new trends in the outdoor industry. He will also be keeping an eye on the multisport / adventure racing circuit.


Mikael here racing in China

See the news at Outsides web: (only in Swedish)

www.outsideonline.se/2010/12/outside-forstarks-med-mikael-lindnord/

Dec 20

Team Explore 11th in Outside top 100!

Every year Outside magazine make a top 100 list about the highlight of the year. And on 11th place Team Explore appeared with the motivation:

2010 was the best year for a long time in Swedish adventure racing.
Team Explore wins, as first Swedish team, an international AR World Series race outside Sweden. Unfortunately was the victory “expensive” because when the team came home to Sweden they all got sick in “Leptospirosa” and missed the AR Worldchampionship in Spain.

Dec 16

Abu-Dhabi fifth after a tough journey

After six days of hard racing, Netcompetence/Explore finish fifth and best Swedish team.

- We are happy and didn´t do any big misstakes. After being top 3 the first days, we lost some postions on the big dessert section. If it have been the orginal paddling section it could look anotherway, because we are strong paddlers and could have take some position on the water, says Per Vestling.

The original two days of 120km paddling ended with 33km around Abu-Dhabi. Photo: Andreas Strand

Happy faces. Photo: Andreas Strand

Intence paddling just outside Abu-Dhabi city. Photo: Andreas Strand

Jari Kirkland and Per Vestling on the last sprint to the shore. Photo: Andreas Stand

Dec 13

Abu-Dhabi to hell and back

The Ruib al Kahli is no picnic on the beach in fact, on any normal day, anyone wouldn’t expect to come here and do anything but lie in the shade, if you could find any… So trekking 116 km though the emptiest desert on the planet, after having completed an early morning biking section of 94km over a treacherous and unforgiving track, in daytime temperatures way above the seasonal norm while going “against the grain” of the dunes is no less than Odyssean.

116km against the dunes. Photo: Monica Dalmasso

During the dessert section every team was forced to take total 8 hours rest on two CP´s. Here the team is taking a well earned rest. Photo: Andreas Strand

Many thought of the teams thought so: “That’s the hardest trek we have ever done here,” said TRI-ADVENTURE (GBR). “Last year we at least had the advantage of getting a good night’s sleep before undertaking the desert stage…” they groaned.

The team managed 7th fastest time over the stage and are now in 5th position overall. Jari Kirkland sits pondering her own sanity: “That dessert stage was heinous horrible, horrific, horrendous, hell…” pausing in her exhausted tirade only to gulp down some much needed water.

Tomorrow starts the last stage, two days of sea-kayaking back to Abu-Dhabi city.

Dec 12

Abu Dhabi the battle in the dessert

Still the team is good shape and the spirit is high. Today they are in the Liwa dessert battling for 3rd ppsition and Per Vestling says that they are not stressed, since more then half race remaining and a lot can happen. Johan Skärskog thought that the biking was very hard and was tired and exhausted when coming in to transition.

Out on the trekking section in the dessert they have a good pace and have been resting for 4 hours at CP2. The teams must during this long section take at least rest for 8 hours at different Checkpoint and it up to the teams themselves to decide on which ones.
It´s very hot now during the midday and very hard to find any shadow at all. The teams are looking forward for the night to come now and to turn on the headlamps and continue the hard pace in a much cooler enviroment.

At this moment we don´t know the final ranking from this stage, since they will arrive to the finish tomorrow.


Early start.  Photo: Andreas Strand


Johan Skärskog racing hard.  Photo: Andreas Strand


Per Vestling handling the navigation. Photo: Andreas Strand


In writing moment the teams is in the middle of the Liwa dessert  Photo: Andreas Strand

More info at:
www.abudhabi-adventure.com
www.multisport.se

Dec 11

Abu Dhabi – continue strong!

It was an early start this morning with teams taking off from the bivouac before sunrise this morning for adventure running. After the adventure running they picked up their mountain bikes and a grueling section on tarmac followed with a 13.8 km up hill climb to the top of the Jebel Hafeet, the highest point in Abu Dhabi. They then left their bikes at the top of the mountain and took off for 11 km mountaineering section, having carried their mandatory climbing gear with them on the bikes.

Team Explore had a good day today also, but they, like most of the teams, ran out of water in the end of the race. They are all feeling good and strong, but lost one place on the long uphill biking when John Karlsson got problem with his bike that he had to cope with during the entire biking leg.

Tomorrow the teams will go in to the dessert of Liwa, and the monster section of 116km running in the sand will begin, but this after almost 100km of biking in the sand.


The teams going hard up the Jebel Hafeet, important to get first to the ropes.  Photo: Andreas Strand



Jari Kirkland on her way down.  Photo: Monica Dalmasso

John Karlsson.  Photo: Monica Dalmasso


Team Explore with Per, Johan, John and Jari on the shapeegged mountain.  Photo: Andreas Strand

For full leaderboard and info:
www.abudhabi-adventure.com
www.multisport.se

Dec 10

Abu Dhabi first day - top 3!

As expected the first day have been a super fast prologue with a swim, paddling in the “red” inflatable canoes, and a fast flat biking and then the teams left their bikes and continued for a short run uphill for then doing a repell of 30meters before crossing the finish line of day one.

-" We were superstrong today, but we got separated on the swimming. The plan was that Jari was supposed to pull me during the swim, but with the separation I had to swim by himself, but that went pretty fast anyhow. After that we didn´t make any misstakes and we felt strong the whole way", said John Karlsson

Team Explore ended the first day on a great 3rd place, and had also the second fasted biking leg of the day.

John Karlsson superexcited before the start  Photo: Andreas Strand


The start went off and Team Explore with strong Jari Kirkland takes a good position in the race.  Photo: Andreas Strand


During the swimming with the Abu Dhabi downtown in the background.  Photo: Andreas Strand


Per Vestling carries the teammates equipment around the beach meeting up with the others after the swim (one had to carry all teamequipment while the others were swimming) Photo: Andreas Strand


Sprinting towards the Checkpoint after the swimming.  Photo: Monica Dalmasso

More info and pictures:
www.multisport.se (only swedish)
www.abudhabi-adventure.com

Dec 09

Team Explore in Abu Dhabi.

The team has now arrived to Abu Dhabi and are very excited for the race to start now. The team with John, Johan and Per arrived from Sweden, and Jari from US - and good news is that they received all their equipment.
Today they have done the registration, shown their equipment and their ropeskills.


Per Vestling, Johan Skärskog, Jari Kirkland and John Karlsson ready to rock.   Foto: Andreas Strand

Tomorrow the race will start with a very fast prologue in the downtown of Abu Dhabi.

More info about the race:
www.abudhabi-adventure.com

Dec 06

Team Explore to Abu Dhabi

Today Team Explore have started the travel to this years final adventure race that will be; Abu Dhabi adventure race. The race is a stage-race, 4 days, in a very extreme and special environment and with a great organisation.

The team that will be racing is; John Karlsson, Jari Kirkland, Per Vestling and Johan Skärskog. And the name of the team during Abu Dhabi adventure will be, Netcompetence Traning Portal / Explore.

-“We expect a hard and fast race with many fast teams on the startline, but we are well prepared so this will be great and also nice to come from a cold and snowy Sweden to race in the dessert in very warm climate”, says John Karlsson.



Mikael Lindnord, teamcaptain for Team Explore who was supposed to race will follow the race on internet from Sweden, since he just are totally recovered from Costa Rica that was held in August and are now back in training again since two weeks.

More info:
www.abudhabi-adventurerace.com
www.multisport.se