Adventure racer Kristina Anglem expects New Zealand teams to be "tough to overcome" when competing for the world crown on their own patch.
The 30-year-old Christchurch athlete will join her Balance Vector teammates Nathan Fa'avae of Nelson, Richard Ussher of Queenstown and Marcel Hagener of Germany for the adventure racing
world championships starting in Westport on Monday.
She has mixed emotions about the race which will be her final sojourn into the bush, for her immediate future at least.
The non-stop week-long event in the Buller region will end a successful career in multisport and adventure racing -- the sporting competition which pits teams against each other on bike, foot and kayak across rugged terrain.
When her team crosses the finish line -- on the yet-to-be disclosed course -- it will mark the start of something new.
Anglem has her sights set on competing at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in the women's K1 kayaking event.
She started her kayak training this year but has also had multisport and adventure racing commitments to complete.
She will take two weeks after the adventure race to recover before relaunching herself into kayaking.
Sprint races in Rotorua on December 3-4 will be Anglem's first real competition in the water.
She said she was looking forward to being able to concentrate completely on kayaking.
"I'm excited about the world (adventure racing) champs for two reasons," she said.
"Firstly I get to race in such spectacular rugged country with my boys. The other reason is that I then get to commit totally to my kayaking."
She expected the hardened New Zealand teams to be tough to beat on home soil.
"New Zealand adventure racing is so much more brutal than other places in the world."
Team Balance Vector competed in France in September where competitors were often greeted with trails to follow.
Anglem said that was not the norm in races in this country where athletes were more hardened to the terrain.
"They don't look for the easy routes. They're happy to keep moving and barge through and not dependent on there being a road or track," she said.
American team Nike ACG Balance Bar won the title last year and along with Balance Vector are expected to be the main contenders for the world spoils.
"You just get the feeling that it's going to be a really tough course and then the weather will no doubt throw something at us too."
- nzpa
