The race is part of the Adventure Racing World Series Europe calendar and this year is the host to the 3rd ARWS European Championship. The series this year has included races in Denmark, Spain, France, UK, Poland, Estonia and Finland with the series race winners taking a free place in the Championship final. The winners of Raid Lowlands will claim the title and the coveted prize of a paid place in next year’s Adventure Racing World Championship, to be held in British Columbia, Canada.
The series winners from the year will be amongst the favourites and include the Euskal Raid Adventure Team from the Basque region of Spain. They have won two races this year and came close to winning the first ARWS European title in 2022. They were beaten on that occasion by Team FMR (French Mountain Raiders), who also won last year, and will be going for their 3rd title in a row.
Other series winners are Bull Adventure Team (Finland), Saltamontes (Spain) and Team Spirit (Denmark) and there will be many other challengers in the elite race line up. Team Estonia ACE La Sportiva are the team with highest world ranking (#4) on the start line. In total racers from 14 European countries will take part, plus one team from South Africa!
The best represented nation will, of course, be The Netherlands. Adventure racing has grown in popularity in the country in recent years, and there is now a well established Adventure Racing Association and event calendar. Dutch teams are regular participants at many international races and the top teams and racers in the Dutch the national ranking will be participating at Raid Lowlands. Over half of the competing teams will be Dutch – a level of home entries other European countries can’t match.
The race is organised by members Team XPD Holland, who have raced at ARWS international events for many years. This year will be the 3rd Raid Lowlands and from the start the event has attracted the biggest entry in Europe and built a reputation as a challenging and well organised race. Not surprisingly, entry for the European Championship edition quickly sold out.
The race promises to offer “an unforgettable physical and mental challenge, testing your team to the limit on foot, mountain bike and kayak in the most beautiful surroundings of the Lowlands. Finishing is an enormous achievement for you and your team!”
The race partners who help make the event possible are the Shimano Experience Center, which is the race HQ and finish, and the town Valkenburg, which is now preparing to welcome all of the international teams.
The race will open on Friday when the organizers from Team XPD Holland will lead the teams in a flag parade through the heart of Valkenburg before a welcome dinner and the race prologue , which will take place in the streets and parks of the town. The race will start at an still unknown location after a bus ride of about two hours, after which the teams will have to find their way back to Valkenburg in nine stages of hiking, kayaking and mountain biking, with special stages including a climbing/ropes stage and a swim challenge. Teams will navigate their own route and are allowed a maximum of 36 hours to complete the course.
The winners are expected to cover the 200km route in 20-24 hours of non-stop racing and when they cross the finish line at the Shimano Experience Centre will be crowned European Champions and claim their place at next year’s World Championship in Canada.
The race will have extensive live social media coverage @teamxpdholland and @arwseurope and teams can be followed by live satellite tracking at; https://sportrec.eu/gps/raid-lowlands-2024
For more information on Raid Lowlands see; https://www.raidlowlands.com/raid-lowlands
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