The Raid Gauloises or The Raid is considered by many to be the first modern adventure race and was first held in 1989. Its creator, Gérard Fusil, took the existing concept of long distance endurance races, and focused on the team aspects, requiring each competitor to be part of a five-person co-ed team. The Raid had no set course, with competitors being required to rely on their wits and judgment to reach the specified checkpoints. The Raid was named after its original sponsor, the Gauloises Cigarette Company.
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In 1996, Fusil left the Raid to begin a new adventure race series, the Elf Authentic Adventure. Patrick Brignoli and Alain Gaimard continued to organize the Raid with their company RGO and Saga d'Aventures (The 1997 Raid in Ecuador was the first raid organized without Fusil). 2003 was the last year for the Raid Gauloises. In 2004 the Raid Gauloises was retooled into the Raid World Championship.
Raid World Cup
The current format (since 2004) is that of a series of events called The Raid World Cup culminating in a world championship event called The Raid World Championship. This final championship event is supposed to be similar to the original events and were held in the following locations: