On the first day of the race, the Red Bull Team achieved a time of 5 hours, 19 minutes and 51 seconds, securing second place overall.
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Based on the changes to the event, the lineups for both Red Bull teams this year were also adjusted. The Red Bull Team consisted of Richard Ussher, Alina Ussher, Stuart Lynch, and Peter Vos. As the outdoor sports power couple, Richard and Alina stunned audiences in Wenzhou last year, winning two of the four daily stages and finishing second overall.
Lynch also competed in the Wenzhou Outdoor Challenge last year. As the 2008 World Long-Distance Mountain Bike Champion, he excels in competing in hot weather. The Red Bull II Team was made up of Uyghur athlete Pazila Kasimu, Kazakh youngster Yersen Shiwogen, Han enthusiast Yimaxi (female), and Hu Wanze from Guizhou.
The Red Bull II Team finished the first day with a time of 6 hours, 3 minutes and 15 seconds, placing 16th overall and first among domestic teams.
The revamped event showcased its novelty right from the start, as participants first had to complete an 8-kilometer inline skating segment before launching their boats at Guogong Bridge. For these seasoned outdoor athletes skilled in mountaineering and water sports, inline skating proved to be a real challenge—Mao Shukai from the MobiGarden team even suffered a fractured elbow during this section.
The 2014 China Wenzhou International Mountain Outdoor Sports Challenge featured roller skating for the first time.
Upon reaching Guogong Bridge, competitors had to climb a rope net to get to the boat launch—a comical and chaotic scene that provided one of the few light-hearted moments in an otherwise grueling day. As they paddled onward, the Red Bull Team began to demonstrate their superior strength. Although the Red Bull II Team had been ahead before entering the water, the Red Bull Team quickly pulled ahead after just a few bridges. Known as the “Venice of the East,” Wenzhou is crisscrossed with rivers like a chessboard. Coupled with the need to navigate using maps and GPS, the 27-kilometer kayak leg became a turning point in the race. Some teams were even disqualified for straying too far off course.
During the first-day stage of the 2014 China Wenzhou International Mountain Outdoor Sports Challenge, participants had to cross a rope net before reaching the kayaking section.
The Red Bull Team during the kayaking event.
The Red Bull Team and the Red Bull II Team were neck-and-neck during the kayaking segment.
After exiting the water, the athletes ran approximately 2 kilometers before transitioning to mountain bikes at Xianyan No.1 Middle School. With Richard and Alina already strong cyclists, and the addition of Stuart Lynch—the 2008 World Long-Distance Mountain Bike Champion—the team’s biking prowess was further bolstered. Initially the third team to arrive at Xianyan No.1 Middle School, the Red Bull Team took the lead after an 11.5-kilometer ride. They then excelled in the final 14.4-kilometer trail run and zip-line segment, crossing the finish line first without a hitch.
The zip-line segment on the first day of the race was particularly thrilling.
The Red Bull Team during the mountain biking event.
Richard Ussher of the Red Bull Team climbing the rope net.
Reflecting on the first day, Richard—who already had a noticeably sunburned face—repeatedly described the conditions as “hot.” He said, “It was really hot today, whether we were skating, boating, or running. Moving fast in this kind of weather burns energy even faster. But we performed really well today.” Just then, chief judge Wei Jun informed the Red Bull Team about their time penalty from the skating phase. Richard smiled wryly and said, “Actually, Stuart, Peter, and I can’t skate at all—only Alina is okay because she moves her feet fast, haha!”
Richard Ussher of the Red Bull Team crossing the rope net.
As the defending champions from the first day of last year’s event, Richard compared the experience of leading on the first day across two years: “Last year we were a two-person team, this year we’re four. That makes it much harder to look out for everyone, check for injuries, and manage the risk of team members being affected. You really have to take care of everyone and weld them into a real team.” Although the Red Bull Team took a wrong turn during the mountain trail run, Richard was grateful for the team dynamic: “That’s the advantage of being a team. When something unexpected happens, we can discuss it together.”
Competitors holding maps during the mountain biking event.
The Red Bull II Team heading toward the mountain bike transition area after the kayaking segment.
As the awards ceremony progressed, the final results were announced. Due to time penalties during the skating segment and some equipment transitions not being counted toward race time, the Red Bull Team finished with a time of 5 hours, 19 minutes and 51 seconds, placing second. The New Zealand Adventure Team took the lead with a time of 5 hours, 10 minutes and 53 seconds. Given the many uncertainties in the race route, the Red Bull Team’s roughly nine-minute gap was negligible.
The zip-line segment on the first day of the race was particularly thrilling.
Meanwhile, the Red Bull II Team led by Pazila also crossed the finish line. The team was very satisfied with their first-place finish in the domestic category (6 hours, 3 minutes and 15 seconds, 16th overall). They gathered at the timing board, stacking their hands and letting out a brief cheer as their celebration. In the rest area, Pazila lay on the ground with his feet propped up on an equipment bucket. “I think I’m a bit cramping,” he said with a laugh. “But I felt really, really good. Skating went smoothly, and although we lost some time on the water—which isn’t our strength—that’s okay. Only the run cost us about 20 extra minutes, but we gave it everything we had. We even passed two teams in the biking segment, and we were always in control of our own pace.”
The Red Bull Team and Red Bull II Team during the kayaking event.
Although not their first time relying solely on GPS and maps, Pazila still found it a major challenge: “Especially during the run, there was a constant fear of taking the wrong path—you might only realize you’re off course after climbing a mountain.” Hu Wanze added, “In the past, orienteering maps clearly distinguished main routes from forks. This time, the sense of exploration is much stronger.”
After the upgrade, the 2014 China Wenzhou International Mountain Outdoor Sports Challenge required participants to consult maps and choose their own routes, with no volunteers or route markers along the way.
The 2014 Wenzhou International Mountain Outdoor Sports Challenge kicked off on April 12 and will conclude on April 15. Over the four-day event, participants will compete in a variety of disciplines including trail running, mountaineering, mountain biking/running relays, mountain biking, orienteering, kayaking, inline skating, and rope skills—covering a total distance of approximately 220 kilometers. Each team’s daily performance is recorded within the allotted time, with the final rankings determined by cumulative time over the four days.
Petals collected.