Discussion: 2021 Nordic Islands Adventure Race

One of my personal favorite races just started this morning.

They've creatively combined a 24-hour race with an expedition race, and five of the top 20 teams in the world are competing. Should be some very exciting dot-watching. You can find the tracking here:

https://niar.io/

Looking at their tracking page...only 6 or so teams competing?

Yes, there were more in the 24-hour race but only 6 in the XPD. It's a shame more teams don't do this race, although there's lots of paddling this year, and some get scared away by that. But I think Staffan heard the word that his races were too long and scary and dialed it back a bit this year. Looks like he also added pro points in to keep the field closer together. Team FAR from Belgium are wonderful people, we raced with them for two days in Fiji and we're cheering them on.

Looked like a fantastic race, very close amongst the Scandinavian teams. SAFAT took the victory by pushing through three days and nights of racing with no sleep, while Estonia napped but held off Orbital (formerly ARSweden) by just a few minutes for second. Anyone have any idea what happened with Naturex?

Also, if you have a free moment, check out the size of the map! It was 4 meters long. Great photos on NIAR's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/nordicislandsadventurerac...

One more thought: this really shows that home-field advantage is a real thing in AR. SAFAT has been racing NIAR's races since the beginning, and Estonia has done most of them as well.

In addition to the long map, I also saw a photo of a cube-shaped map. Fun! (Although it must be interesting getting them into a map case.)

A great video from Team FAR...the race looks pretty fun, especially the first 24 hours. Not sure if many teams would be up for that much kayaking, but apparently Bend Racing wouldn't have a problem with it (referencing their recent WA360 win).
https://www.sleepmonsters.com/video.php?article_id...

Orbital's Robert Lindberg bruised or broke two ribs in the first day of the race. And "world #1 ranked Raid 400 Team of France, who had a new, young, team member in Gratloup Adrien, were further back, lacking the kayaking power to keep up with the Scandinavians. (They are stronger in the mountains!)"
Per Sleepmonsters:
https://www.sleepmonsters.com/races.php?article_id...