UK Arctic Team Chosen in Sulden Selection

Tuesday, 12th October 2004

The 2005 UK Fulda Challenge team has been selected following the gruelling final elimination event held in the breathtaking setting of Sulden/South Tyrol in Italy.

The ultimate two-person team Richard Jackson, an Offshore Engineer and Emmie Gribble, Marketing Manager will now face the arctic adventure of a lifetime when they represent the UK in the fifth Fulda Challenge. Runners-up Greame Hobson and Claire Blewden narrowly missed team selection but will maintain their fitness and remain on stand-by.

 The Fulda Challenge, one of the world's toughest adventures will take place in the Yukon Territory from 29 January to 8 February 2005. The Yukon is situated in the Canadain Cordillera a mountainous belt with a sub-zero climate. As well as experiencing the magnificent scenery, the team will undertake a series of demanding activities including ice climbing, cross country skiing, mountain bike racing, chasm crossing, snowshoe trekking and much more.

The two-person team was picked following a national selection event held between 30 September and 3 October. Five men and four women travelled to Italy to compete for selection and two coveted tickets to Canada.  Awaiting them were three days of intense physical challenge designed to test fitness, endurance, determination and driving ability.

In Italy, the UK competitors joined five other European countries Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands each selecting their own Fulda Challenge team.

Day one of the demanding schedule commenced with a warm up a punishing run (15km with an increase in altitude of almost 1km) along undulating mountain tracks with sheer drops to the valley below. This was a real test of stamina and fitness and the ability to cope with altitude changes. It was literally a race to the finish line for the UK contestant. Greame Hobson led Robert Smith all the way but had to be content with second place as Robert crossed the finish line just ahead. The duo came fourth and fifth overall behind German competitor Ostertag and Italians Haller and Soldaini. Emmie Gribble was the first UK woman to finish the event (third place overall in the women's race) followed by Claire Blewden.

Located in the valley at the base of the ski slopes, tree climbing was an event unfamiliar to most of the UK hopefuls. Under the supervision of Olaf Reinstadler, Director of the South Tyrol Mountain Rescue, each competitor scaled a 40-metre tree, wearing specially designed tree crampons, within a two-minute time limit. Richard Jackson recorded the fastest time of 52 seconds for the UK men's competitors. The Italian Mayr clocked the best time of 31 seconds. Becky Tovey won the event in the women's section with a time of 1 minute 15.

Next, the competitors received a break from the physical events as they got to grips with a quad bike trial. Fulda coach and former Formula 1 driver Hans Joachim Stuck, designed the technical course to test driving ability and speed control. Richard Jackson finished fastest in the men's group, Greame Hobson was second, Toby Keep third, Robert Smith fourth and finally Martin Yardley (who unfortunately let haste get the better of him and rolled the quad into some trees). Karen McDonald led the women, followed by Emmie Gribble, Becky Tovey and Claire Blewden.

At the end of day one the points total was as follows:

Day two began with Tyre Parcour (running with a tyre) below the snow-capped mountains of Sulden. The test required superb strength and fitness and the competitors had to carry a Fulda Tramp 4x4 Yukon tyre across an obstacle course through poles and tyres and up a steep 100m run and back again. With penalty points awarded for hitting obstacles, the teams had to make sure that they maintained full concentration. The men's tyre/wheel combination weighed 24 kilos and the women's tyre 12 kilos. Martin Yardley stormed to the finish line in a time of 59 seconds, Richard Jackson 1 minute 7, Robert Smith 1 minute 13, Greame Hobson 1 minute 23 and Toby Keep 1 minute 26. For the women Emmie Gribble led the group with a time of 1 minute, Claire Blewden 1 minute five, Becky Tovey 1 minute 10 and Karen McDonald 1 minute 28.

Off-road driving followed, also on a technical course, in another spectacular setting. Isolde Holderied, twice women's World Rally Champion and one of the fastest female drivers worldwide, designed and supervised this event to test skill and speed. Driving a Toyota Landcruiser, fitted with Fulda tyres for enhanced handling and performance, Toby came in first for the men and Karen came top in the womens group.

After lunch the competitors took the chair lifts up into the mountains for a 20ft rock climb. Each competitor had to complete the climb in less than four minutes. Toby Keep finished first for the UK (and first overall) with an impressive 34 seconds. Robert Smith closely followed him in 37 seconds (second overall), Richard Jackson 45 seconds, Martin Yardley 59 seconds and Greame Hobson 1 minute 37. Claire Blewden clocked a time of 55 seconds to win, Emmie Gribble 1 minute 41, Karen McDonald 2 minutes 3 and Becky Tovey 2 minutes 41.

The gruelling mountain bike race completed day two's events. 33km (men) and 22km (women) of more mountain tracks, steep descents (and even a bike carrying section) tested even the most experienced mountain biker. Greame Hobson came in first for the UK (and first overall) followed by Toby Keep, Robert Smith, Richard Jackson and Martin Yardley. The result may have been different if Robert had not missed the signs and gone the wrong way. Karen McDonald completed the course first for the women, followed by Emmie Gribble, Claire Blewden and Becky Tovey.

At the end of day two, the points totals were extremely close between UK contestants. With only one event left the mountain run Richard Jackson, Greame Hobson and Toby Keep were all in the running in the men's section. In the women's competition Emmie Gribble and Claire Blewden were still in contention for first place.

The points at the end of day two:

Day three marked the conclusion of the Fulda Challenge final elimination event. The final event was a 5km mountain run with a height increase of almost 1km from start to finish. Although the competitors were tired, there was still everything to fight for. Robert Smith was first for the men taking him into joint third place overall. Martin Yardley boosted his points with a second place finish, Greame Hobson third, Richard Jackson fourth and Toby Keep (suffering form a knee injury) fifth. Emmie Gribble once again finished first followed by Claire Blewden, Karen McDonald and Becky Tovey.

Final results:

The points at the end of day two:

Fulda UK Brand Manager Marcus White was delighted at the UK contestants' performance: "It has been a fantastic three days of sporting adventure. The UK competitors gave their all in every event and overall we faired extremely well against the other countries. We now feel that we have the strongest team yet to represent the UK in Canada and are hoping that they can go all the way".

For further information, please email anita@rbp-ltd.co.uk or paul@rbp-ltd.co.uk