The 4 month ranking cycle was due to update on December 1st, however this was delayed a little to include the result of World Championship in Ecuador, which finished on December 7th.
The new update is cycle #40 of the ARWS rankings, which have been running for over 13 years, and 26 new race results were added. Points are scored across a rolling two year period and in this cycle 138 race results are counted across all regional and Qualifier races.
The Swedish Armed Forces Adventure Team (SAFAT) may have lost their world title in Ecuador, but keep the #1 ranking with 5200 points.
Vidaraid moved up to second place just 400 points behind them, so the margins at the top are close. SAFAT's total includes 500 points for a win at the ITERA-lite European Series race in Wales, which was their first ARWS regional race, and without those points they would not be world #1.
Up to two Regional scores can be carried into World Rankings (with 4 scoring races to count) and elite teams are now recognising the benefit of racing in regional events, and particularly Regional Championships, where points are equivalent to a World Series Qualifier.
Third placed Team Brazil Multisport count 1000 points as South American Champions and 4th placed Estonian ACE/La Sportiva include 850 points from their second place in the European Championships at Raid Lowlands.
In 5th are the new World Champions, 400team of France, and the double points win in Ecuador moved them up from 39th and back amongst the world elite. (They had dropped down the rankings after missing a checkpoint at the last World Champs.)
Then come top US team, Bend Racing/4 Hour Fuel and just 70 points behind them the kiwi young guns of FEAR Youth, who continue their rise up the World Rankings to 7th place. (The two teams will both be racing against each other at The Magnificent in New Zealand in a month’s time.)
The Estonian Tactical Foodpack team move into 8th after their 3rd place at the World Championship and two Ecuadorian teams make up the top 10. Life Adventure Imptek slip one place to 9th, and Andes Racing Ecuador move up from 24th to round out the top 10 in the world.
Estonian teams have a remarkably strong presence in the World Rankings, with 4 teams in the top 25.
Estonian ACE /La Sportiva has been one of the world’s top teams for a decade, and an inspiration to others, and Estonia has its own ARWS European Series race (The Tactical Foodpack Expedition race) to help bring on new teams.
The population of Estonia is 1.3 million (Sao Paulo is more than 8 times as big), winter training is difficult at 59 degrees North and the highest point in the country is a mere 318m . Despite this Estonia is now a powerhouse adventure racing country with more strength in depth at the top of the World Rankings than Spain, New Zealand, USA or France.
Remarkably there is no change in any of the top teams in the regional rankings in this update. All of the #1 regional teams kept their top positions!
Team Merrell Songlines stay top in Africa, with 3 scores counting, and if second placed Truffle Hunters can record a 4th score they may be able to move into top spot. (Songlines have used far more than the 7 racer squad limit so will now find it harder to score points.)
In Asia, Team Shershah of India stay at #1 with Skyrunners moving up to second. Shershah has already won the first race since the new update (the Namma Adventure Race 3.0) to strengthen their position.
In Europe team Euskalraid (Spain) keep the #1 position with 3 wins and a 6th place at Raid Lowlands (double points as the European Championships).
Masanga Racing (Denmark) jump from 10th to second helped by 3rd place at Raid Lowlands, while Bull Adventure Team (Finland) move up to 3rd. New European champions, Cap ‘Opale (France) go into the rankings at 13th on the strength of that win.
North America is the biggest region with the rankings including 844 teams. (It’s currently the only region to rank pairs and teams of 3.)
Strong Machine Adventure Racing remains top without adding any points in the latest update, and is another team with a big roster. No Complaints move up to second after being runners up at the Two Rivers AR/North America Championship, and Women of AR move up to 10th with 4 scoring results.
The new North America champions, Team Canada Adventure, come into the rankings at 21st, and but for a DNF at Wilderness Traverse would have been much higher.
Thunderbolt stay top in their region and are the Oceania Champions after their win at X-Marathon scored them 1000 points.
Team ‘Are we there yet?’ move up to 3nd from 6th and Broken Compass are 2nd, with three scores in the last 4 events, including 4th place at the Oceania Championship. This consistent run moved them up from 26th place.
In South America Brazil Multisport remain immovable at #1 and San Juan Aventura (Argentina) move up to second from 5th . They were winners at Raid Guarani in 2023, and won the Desert Challenge in Chile this year.
Team BOA – Brasil Outdoor Adventure jump to 6th place from 31st . They were winners of the first ARWS Brazil series this year (which counts as one race in South America Series) and second at the Malacara Race Qualifier.
Due to the scheduling of the World Championships this year the 2024 South American Championship, hosted by Charrua Extremo, is pushed back to mid-February next year, so the South America rankings may be shaken up when a new update is made next April.
You can see the ARWS rankings at; https://arworldseries.com/world-rankings/world-rankings
To find out more about the rankings process see; https://arworldseries.com/world-rankings/about
