Ecomotion Pro
When the Going Gets Tough
Rob Howard & EcoMotion Reporters / 20.10.2004
The speed of the first day of competition may have surprised the organisers, but with extended trekking sections and injury or illness affecting some teams the pace has slowed through day 2. The hot climate, difficult trekking terrain, and hazards including biting crabs and infection from cuts are starting to take their toll, and teams who can progress steadily might come off best in the end.The top of leaderboard changes regularly, and US team Epinephrine are up and down as Gary Sutherland copes with an illness.
After a fast start in the canoes the harder work began with the first long trekking stage which included a short motor boat trip to the island of Boipeba, where black sand fens and bogs really slowed down progress, especially for the later teams. They had another boat ride off the island to move round to transition at PC5 at the town of Cairu, where Meridianoraid of Spain were ahead. They passed through just after midnight and most of the teams arrived in the early daylight to transition and switch to using double kayaks.
This next stage was 29km down the rivers Cairu and Itiúca, finishing in Taperoá, the next transition to bikes. After losing ground and falling back to 6th place on the first long trek Epinephrine regained the lead here and explained what had happened. “We lost 4 hours when Gary had bad diarrhoea and vomiting�, said Paul Romero. It seems they’d been lost for a while too, and though they were back in front at PC6 it was only temporary as later in day 2 they fell further back again.
At this stage both the Spanish teams looked strong and the Czech team Salomon/Opavanaet Ad were gaining, as were the Brazilians Financial Paranaventura Renault and Clight Salomon Atenah. UOL Track and Field, were one of the teams doing well and placed around the middle of the field but may be the first withdrawal on the second day. When they reached PC7, the end of the bike ride and the start of another canoe section on the ‘River of Souls’ Eduardo Sarhan needed medial aid due to an injury suffered in a fall from his bike.
Those teams further back, who arrived late at PC5, will have the canoeing stage of the course cut, partly to keep the race logistics moving, but also to avoid paddling at night later on. Teams who took over 18 hours to reach CP5 at Cairu will complete a much shorter paddle so they can keep up with the race. These include Team Fred, Mandala, Aroeira Auditech Paramédica, Wild Spirit, Runner Adventure and Suvinil Terra Brazil.See All Event Posts
