Lawrence Foster snoozes, loses

Saultite Lawrence Foster (shown) and his Salomon Canada team remain in first place at the 2003 Eco-Challenge North American Championship, although his lead diminshed considerably after members dozed for about 90 minutes Tuesday on the shore of the Montreal River.

On Monday, Foster was running up to five hours ahead of his nearest competitor, Team Eastern Outdoors.

By late Tuesday, Team Eastern's strong paddling skills and Salomon Canada's snooze had reduced that lead to about one hour.

The team's 90-minute rest break occurred at Checkpoint 5 at the Mad Moose Lodge, located where the Montreal River enters Lake Superior.

By 12:15 a.m. on Wednesday, five teams had arrived at Checkpoint 5 and left for Checkpoint 6 on the Batchawana River.

SooToday.com photo coverage

Team Salomon Canada #1 Team Salomon Canada #2 Team Salomon Canada #3 Team Salomon Canada #4 Team Salomon Canada #5 Team Salomon Canada #6 Team Salomon Canada #7

Montreal River currents

Locals familiar with the ways of the Montreal River expressed concern about strong swells where the waterway empties into Lake Superior.

The swells, which are consistently visible from the shoreline, could easily capsize any small vessel that happens on them unawares, the locals told SooToday.com.

Here, as supplied by the Eco-Challenge organization, are the latest results as of midnight:

1st place - Team Salomon Canada (Ontario) 2nd place - Team Eastern Outdoors (New Brunswick) 3rd place - Team Algoma's Water Tower Inn (Sault Ste, Marie) 4th place - Team Simon River Sports (Quebec) 5th place (tie) - Team Level 9 Productions (Quebec) and Team Salomon U.S. (Colorado) 6th place - Team Capital Cops/AR Equipment (Ontario) 7th place - Team Sunsweet Plum (California) 8th place - Team Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) 9th place - Team Adventure Racing Calgary (Alberta)

Lawrence Foster gets cranky

Team Salomon Canada arrived at Checkpoint 6 on the Batchawana River at 7:53 p.m. on Tuesday,

Carrying their kayaks to the transition area, team members expressed considerable disgruntlement over an alleged failure to notify them that they had to complete an additional 11 hours of kayaking before proceeding to the next bike leg of the race.

As a result, the team failed to carry enough supplies and found itself paddling for hours without food.

However, the race book provided to competitors said nothing to rule out back-to-back kayaking sessions.

Algoma's Water Tower Inn

For those wishing to encourage the third-place Team Algoma's Water Tower Inn, the most current information received by SooToday.com indicates that the paddlers are expected at Checkpoint 6 on the Batchawana River around 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

Please be advised that such predictions are estimates only and actual arrival times could differ significantly for a wide range of reasons.

Broadcast in September

The Eco-Challenge North American Championship will be broadcast in September on Canada's SportsNet network.

There will be two one-hour programs.

Any announcements regarding U.S. broadcast will be disclosed at a future date.

The Eco-Challenge organization is also trying to arrange a special promotional event in the Sault prior to the event.

A SooToday.com completely irrelevant factoid

When Team Leatherman's Jack Crawford suffered an abraised cornea on Monday, his three female teammates applied first aid using a maxi-pad.

Even through painfully injured, Crawford managed a smile over that one.

A second SooToday.com completely irrelevant factoid

Lawrence Foster, leader of the first-place Team Salomon Canada, has for several years been dating Trisha Westman, leader of the third-place Team Algoma's Water Tower Inn.

"I’m bound and determined to beat Lawrence [Team Solomon Canada]," an Eco-Challenge news release quotes Westman as saying prior to the race.

"I’m tired of Lawrence winning all the time! We’re a very competitive couple and I would like a turn winning!"

EDITOR'S NOTE: SooToday.com has moved our newsroom to Searchmont this week to allow us to provide in-depth coverage of the 2003 Eco-Challenge North American Championship. Under a unique partnership between SooToday.com and the Eco-Challenge organization, news director David Helwig has joined the production team as senior web writer. His insider coverage can be accessed here on SooToday.com and on the official Eco-Challenge website. Go there