HUAIRASINCHI
Terra Aventura Finalin Lead Into Day 2
Jessica G. Cedeno / 01.05.2017
Activity for elite teams truly began throughout the night as the cold weather and rain took its toll on some teams and began to separate them into groups. The first team to arrive to transition zone 1 was team #10 Terra Aventura Finalin from Ecuador, who arrived at 3:10 am, followed by French team Agde Raid Adventure who demonstrated a very different strategy from team 10. Whereas Terra Aventura Finalin left after a quick transition to MTB, team Agde Raid Adventure decided to sleep a couple of hours. Throughout the night, elite teams continued to arrive, quickly setting the pace and pattern for the race.
Day 2 continued as the sun rose, and the first elite teams to have left TA1 soon completed their first short, but tricky MTB leg. Though this leg was only 21 km long, teams faced a number of problems, particularly in terms of orienteering. There were several small paths in the hills that were very difficult to identify. The first team to finish this leg, team 10, also had the best time, finishing the 21 km in just under three hours. After TA2, teams entered the trekking loop around Cusin Hill, a beautiful dormant volcano where teams faced the unique challenge of summiting all of its peaks in a single trek. This was made additionally difficult by the constant rain which plagued all the teams throughout the day. At this point, there are still four teams completing this leg.
Teams transitioned back to the same point where they picked up their bicycles and began a quick 11 km cycle to the second lake in this race, San Pablo Lake, located in the Imbabura province. Team Terra Aventura Finalin continued to lead the pack, followed by teams 2, 21, and 3, from France, Ecuador, and the Czech Republic respectively. In a big turn of events, Team Movistar Ecuador had to drop out of the race due to a hand injury in their female racer. As a result, the leading teams have brought an unexpected by exciting twist for the race.
Having completed the short leg towards the lake, teams transitioned once again to begin the kayaking section of the race. This leg takes teams across the lake, as they located 6 orienteering flags in the reeds and bushes on the shore. The first team to begin this section set off at 7:12 pm, making an already challenging leg even more so in the complete darkness.
In addition to the dark, today’s sporadic rain increased as the sun set, meaning tams were already feeling the effects of the cold before entering the water.
In a complete turnaround from day 1, where all teams were trekking through the first leg, day 2 was a hub of activity for teams and organizers as the race began to truly space out. The first few teams are expected to reach the finish line after noon on day 3, and after the night’s events, the top three positions are wide open.
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