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Sunday, April 30, 2000 Sixty-nine teams of five competitors, including at least one woman, head off into a sand storm to compete over the 827km course of the 10th Raid Gauloises. Altitude sickness has wreaked havoc on the competitors. "Last night was difficult for Thierry Marchal," declared Jean-Louis Vareilles, captain of team Adventure Raid Passion. "Our teammate is having trouble adapting to the conditions, and he cannot take part in the race. Unfortunately, because our support crew left at four this morning, it was impossible to replace him; we will compete as a team of four." There were also problems for German team IBM Neftinity Salomon (15); Andre Hauschke, another victim of altitude sickness, was replaced with Franck Theelen, a support crewmember for the team. Most of the competitors have followed the enlightened advice of Race Director Alain Gaimard: "Start slowly at this point of the course; this is not where the victory battle will be fought. If you do not accommodate your pace, you may end up defeated." At the end of the afternoon, at CP5 (end of the mountain biking section), French team Intersport was in the lead. —Provided by Raid Gauloises
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