Day one wrap up

21:30

As night falls on day one of XPD the lead teams have headed out into the stage 2 mountainbike, while the teams at the back end of the field are still up on the Mount Buffalo plateau. Bull of Africa was the first team through TA1, heading out on their bikes at around 6:30pm. They were followed by Blackheart then Blackheart/Salomon and Tangerine at 7pm. The three kiwi teams followed in quick succession from 7:30pm, Nga Rakau in 5th, Securify.co.nz 6th and 4TC 7th. All looked to be in good spirits. It’s now 9pm and Girls on top have just reached TA1 and are transitioning for the mountain bike ride. It’s a steep learning curve for their two new teammates, however they seem to be going at a good steady pace so far.

This 60km ride is expected to take between 4 and 7 hours and after that teams are into the 85km trek which will take them over Mount Feathertop, through Falls Creek and over Mount Bogong before descending to Mount Beauty. The lead teams should get to the end of the stage with plenty of time to spare before the dark zone for the following paddle is lifted at 6am on Friday.