Patagonian Expedition Race

Columbia Vidaraid Has Advanced Sleep Deprivation Training

Anne-Marie Dunhill / 16.11.2018

Looking over the team list for the 2018 edition of the Patagonian Expedition Race, there is a team to watch for a potential podium place; Columbia Vidaraid.

The team members, Urtzi Iglesias Mota, Marco Amselem, Barbara Bomfim and Saul Abril, are racers with years of combined experience competing at the international level. The team captain, Urtzi, is the race director of the Basque Expedition Race; part of the ARES circuit.

As well as being a race director, Urtzi has an impressive adventure racing resume: 18 adventure races, 10 international races, and 2 Adventure Racing World Championships [ARWC]. He also raced PER in 2010.

He wrote to the race director Stjepan Pavivic to explain what motivated him to form a team and compete in this edition. “There are not a lot of races like this one that remain. We have raced all over the world and we want to live a true adventure in a wild place, to test our skills and our endurance. There are no other races like this one...”

Barbara Bomfim, a legendary name among female adventure racers, will be back to racing for the first time since giving birth to her son last year. Her last race was the ARWC in Australia in 2016 where her team was on the podium in third place.

In a pre-race interview, Barbara gave a little background on her team, saying; “ Marco is a new father and his baby is just about 2 months old. We will be both so heartbroken for leaving our babies behind is not even funny... Well, my baby will be in Punta Arenas with my husband and his parents.”

“We also have Saul Abril joining us, who raced with Urtzi in PER 2010. Saul raced with Vidaraid for numerous years and now is a mountain and skimo guide. He is really strong, nice and funny - all things you need in a team mate.”

“ We raced with him in ARWC 2012 in France, where we finished in 8th place.”

“Funny thing is to see half of the team coming from months of sleep deprivation and changes in normal routine due to baby issues going through Patagonia with two others who have no idea of what that possibly means!”

“I guess AR will make us forget life things and just focus on making it to the finish line, but anyway the family fact is definitely something that I am looking forward to see the effect on mine and Marco's racing performance, for instance.”

Barbara ended the interview by citing her teams’ aspirations for this race, saying, “We are always a competitive team and are looking forward to race well and smart, as we usually do... usually”

Experienced racers with advanced sleep deprivation training, they’ll definitely be a team to watch.