| Gerald Fusil is a man who always puts his ideas into | | | | locals. |
| action and others follow. The founder of the Raid | | | | December 2005. A barmy evening camped by the |
| Gauloises, The world's first true expedition race is | | | | sea saw Gerard Fusil briefing the gathered teams |
| always on the lookout to expand the sport. The cost | | | | from France, Oman, UK, Réunion, Austria, |
| of competing in adventure racing has reached a level | | | | Holland and Australia. Most teams had arrived in the |
| that few teams can now afford. Organisers and | | | | morning so had little time to prepare. Support vehicles |
| adventure racers are faced with high travel and | | | | were shared by two teams, so competitors spent |
| insurance costs. One way to attract racers is to | | | | the night poring over maps and packing gear into the |
| offer large sums in prize money, and top teams can | | | | vehicles by torchlight. |
| make a living, but what about the average racer. | | | | The following day at dawn a convoy of vehicles |
| Last Year, During the annual Reunion D'Aventures | | | | transported the team to the start line in a nearby |
| race, Gerard Fusil added a bike and run discipline | | | | Wadi. The first day included a section of running only |
| which required the four person team to share two | | | | along goat tracks and this proved to be decisive as |
| mountain bikes during a couple of legs of the race. | | | | the Australian and one local Omani team got lost |
| The trial was a success as teams were forced to | | | | allowing a French team to build an unassailable lead. |
| think of tactics to complete the legs in the fastest | | | | Later in the week Gerard Fusil had mapped out the |
| possible way. Some teams doubled up on the downhill | | | | course with a 17k twisting climb from the sea to |
| sections, others stayed, whilst the more successful | | | | 1500 metres and also a section of canyoning with a |
| set up a relay system with the rider going a set | | | | number of swims. |
| distance before leaving the bike at the edge of the | | | | Gerard Fusil had arranged camping or bivouacs in a |
| track for their team mate, who would get on and | | | | number of scenic areas, with the stages starting in |
| then leapfrog them. | | | | the early morning most teams would finish around |
| Gerard Fusil saw an opportunity to return once again | | | | mid-day or early afternoon. |
| to the basis of Expedition Adventure Racing. | | | | The terrain in Oman is varied from lush oasis to harsh |
| Providing teams the chance to explore a country, | | | | rocky hillsides and of course seas of sandiness where |
| interface with the local population and race in exotic | | | | the teams finished the race. Gerard Fusil held the |
| locations with out the need to transport large | | | | prize giving in Muscat the winners being a husband |
| amounts of gear. Gerard Fusil announced his ideas at | | | | and wife team Wilsa Sport Helly Hansen from France. |
| the Reunion D'Aventures prize giving and the world | | | | Second place went to the Australians and a Local |
| waited with bated breadth. | | | | Omani team came in third. |
| September 2005 saw Gerard Fusil Launch the Bike | | | | Teams came from many different backgrounds, |
| and Run Concept to the World with the Oman | | | | Adventure racers, tri-athletes, marathon runners, |
| Adventure. Details were brief, two person teams to | | | | mountain bikers; the final count saw adventure racers |
| share one bike with only one person to be on the | | | | however leading the way. |
| bike at one time. The race would be run in a number | | | | Virtually all teams adopted the general tactic of leap |
| of stages including a night stage and teams had to | | | | frogging, however there were at least a couple of |
| be prepared to camp in the wild. Time was short so | | | | incidents when teams missed the bike, including one |
| Gerard Fusil used the course notes from the 1992 | | | | on the long climb for an all female team which |
| Raid Gauloises for parts of the course. | | | | required an extra 4k to be covered to collect the |
| Gerald Fusil made one other departure from the | | | | bike! |
| norm by pre-announcing the lengths of each stay and | | | | The Inaugural race proved to be a success and now |
| the names of the overnight camps. The race was to | | | | Gerald Fusil has announced the second race of the |
| take place on the East Coast of Oman, however | | | | series which will return to a diffrent area of Oman at |
| some of the place names were only known to the | | | | the end of November. |