The weather forecast did not look promising when we headed to the start line this morning and it just kept getting worse and worse throughout the day. The rain began to fall soon after the start of Raid Temiscamingue this morning and it only intensified throughout the day. As temperatures dropped into the low 40s in the afternoon and the winds began to pick up, race organizers made the tough decision to cut the race short for the day.

While the teams at the top of the leaderboard finished the full course, roughly half the field was transported back to the finish in Notre Dame du Nord as the paddling conditions had simply become too dangerous. We are experiencing quite an extreme weather phenomenon here as a storm system hovers over Quebec for a few days. During the opening ceremony, the weather was stunningly beautiful and it’s supposed to be sunny and warm again on Monday but tonight? Chance of snow.

Teams are camping indoors, safely tonight at the Timiskaming First Nation’s youth center gym and with similar conditions expected tomorrow we’ll have to keep an eye and an ear open for any last minute course changes.

In photos and video: Day 2 of Raid Temiscamingue