The North FaceŽ establishes its first athlete team in Asia

Adventure racing is becoming increasingly popular. Established this year, The North FaceŽ Greater China Team is the first The North FaceŽ athlete team in Asia. It comprises 10 of the best adventure sports athletes in the continent, with a variety of talents in outdoor sports events. All are Asian nationals or permanent residents in the region. Throughout 2007 the team will be taking part in different outdoor race categories, including adventure racing, mountain running, orienteering, mountain biking and expeditions, in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

In the first quarter the focus of the team was on Hong Kong. They succeeded in coming in as overall champion 9 times out of 13 races, in men's and women's and mixed team categories.

The seven triumphs included three mountain running events - NE Mountain Marathon, King of the Hills - Lantau (Male Youth Full Marathon) and Green Power Hike (Male 50k), and 2 mountain biking event – Lamma Enduro and Huangshan Mountain Bike Festival, all in the men's category. In the PowerBar Bonaqua Action SPRINT, an adventure sprint, the team took both Overall Men's & Women’s Champion and 1st Place in their categories. They also beat competing adventure racing teams in the Porsche Outward Bound Adventure Race.

In the second quarter they will race both in China and at international level. Four of the team are preparing to participate at the end of May in the Adventure Racing World Championships, held in the United Kingdom. This is an international race where they will encounter many excellent and experienced athletes, including other The North FaceŽ athletes from the US and Europe.

The North FaceŽ Greater China team was the only Asian team competing in the event. They had to meet the requirement that at least two members of the team have completed an Adventure Racing World Series or other relevant event. (Stuart Sharpless and Ryan Blair had participated in different international adventure races and with successful records in Asia races.)

They will be mountain biking, paddling, abseiling, swimming and running over 500 kilometres of Scottish wilderness, navigating the while.

Team member and Hong Kong resident Tsang Siu-Keung has an outstanding record in mountain running. He was 2006-7 champion of Hong Kong’s King of the Hills series. He said: "We are very excited to have the opportunity to compete against the best teams in the world. I will try my best as the first Hong Kong Chinese to compete in the World Championships."

During the seven-day event the Championships team will have no outside support. They will need to decide when to sleep and to eat. Tan Ching Yin, from Singapore, is a Navy underwater explosives expert. Like her colleagues, she is well aware that, "Anything can happen in a race like this where we may average 2-3 hours sleep per day...one twisted ankle could be the end for the whole team...we have to be constantly looking out for each other."

American Ryan Blair won this year's GreenPower 50-km trail race and other regional adventure races. He hopes that their taking part in the World Championships "will help raise awareness of adventure sports in Hong Kong and China and help people value more our spectacular outdoor areas."

The last member of the quartet is Englishman Stuart Sharpless. He noted that weather conditions for the race "will be much, much colder than Hong Kong and Singapore." Hence they appreciate all the more the support from The North FaceŽ, with its "quality gear and apparel made to handle all the elements thrown our way."

They hope the inevitable challenges they will meet will enable them to exceed their present limits, inspired to "never stop exploring™".