posted Sep 28th, 2007 - Thomas Hughes mentioned in the interview with the NSL News on September 26 that Airspeed Odyssey had the best jump in Round 6. Odyssey wrapped up the meet with the 24-pointer, which alone won three points over Team Fastrax Red and the Golden Knights. NSL-TV had not uploaded the Odyssey video of Round 6 so far, and it was about time to look at it after the interview.

Actually, the combination of Rounds 5 and 6 brought the gold medals already home to Arizona for Odyssey. The new US 4-way champion and national team was only two points ahead of Fastrax after the first four rounds. Then it seemed as if Odyssey picked up the pace in a way that nobody was ready to follow.

The 32-pointer in Round 5 increased the distance already by three points, and the 24-pointer in Round 6 delivered the final knock-out punch to a field that was already very impressed. The distance between Odyssey and Fastrax had grown from two points after Round 4 to eight points two rounds later, which was now more than a 1-point average.

Thomas Hughes said that Fastrax had a pretty good meet, and the team did not have bad jumps in these two rounds. Airspeed Odyssey just peaked at the right time, which was close to the end of the first competition day. Round 7 added another point to the distance, and Odyssey had the whole momentum and confidence on the team's side at the end of day one.

Fastrax Red kept up with Odyssey throughout the remaining three rounds of the second day. In fact, both teams tied their total scores of these last three rounds. But it was too late for Fastrax. The open question is whether Odyssey took it easier then and just carried the victory past the finish line or whether Fastrax had increased the pace, as well.

However, the 9-point distance after the seven rounds of the first day was still the same distance at the end of the 10-round meet. Airspeed Odyssey won with a 25.3 average.

The Fastrax performance on Sunday may have had an impact on Airspeed Odyssey's thoughts of the situation at the World Meet 2008 in France. The Arizona team has been so strong and dominating this year that it seemed to be impossible for any team in the world to keep up with the new 4-way pace and performance level.

Odyssey's current dominance in 4-way must have been tempting for the team to consider a new pursuit of the double-gold feature next year. However, the US 4-way champion has already decided not to compete in 8-way at the same time.

This is probably a smart decision, as Fastrax provided evidence throughout the last three rounds of the second day that other teams may be able to get to the same performance and scoring level.

Hayabusa Defence, the new FAI World Cup 2007 champion, and the Russian Sky Panthers have already shown the potential to reach Odyssey's new performance level, as well.

The French 4-way line-up trains and competes in 8-way at the same time and will probably be limited with its chances to reach Airspeed Odyssey in 4-way.

The NSL News will evaluate the international situation at the end of the 2007 season later. The two winning rounds of Airspeed Odyssey can now both be enjoyed on NSL-TV.