Patagonia Expedition Race
The Russians Arrive Early
Jacqueline Windh / 09.02.2005
I had a chance to catch up with the Russian team this morning. They were the first team to arrive here, flying in on the 6th, a full three days before the opening ceremonies. Their early arrival should give them an advantage over the other teams, most of whom are arriving here today and tomorrow – just in time for the opening ceremonies tomorrow evening and the rope and kayak tests the next day.I spoke with the Russian captain Artem Rostostsev, as he and team-mates Andrey Ivanoc, Mischa Pershin and Sascha Kontorina worked on their bikes in the upstairs hallway at the Hotel Calafate.
Artem told me that this is the first time that the whole group has raced together as a team. “I have raced with Andrey and with Mischa, but never with Sascha. As you know, the girl is the most important part of the team – every team tries to find a girl with good strength in each discipline – in biking, in running, in paddling. We have never raced with Sascha before but we saw her in some Russian races. We saw how she raced and she is good, a good part of our team�.
As for the team’s training, Artem adds “As you know, in Russia it is winter now, with temperatures around minus twenty degrees. It is hard to train on the kayak, but we spent two weeks in Crimea, on the Black Sea. We had a chance to paddle there, to trek in the small mountains, and to train on the mountain bikes�.
The Russian team’s main goal is to get to know the country, this last southerly point of land before Antractica. Artem says that if they win or place that would be great, but that really their biggest challenge was just getting from Russia to Punta Arenas – and they have managed to do that!See All Event Posts
