Bimbache Extrem
Preparing for the Prologue
Rob Howard / 21.03.2006
Prior to the race all the teams are staying in the Hotel Isla Cartuja, which is just 10 minutes drive from the airport and is part of Seville’s main sports stadium. (It’s referred to as the Olympic Stadium, but wasn’t used for Olympic events.) Set on the riverside it has an impressive view over the city skyline and is a luxurious base in which to house all the teams. It makes life easier for everyone to be in the same place, and the teams get the chance to meet up before the race, giving the whole event a much more sociable atmosphere.
The location has also inspired Antonio de la Rosa to come up with a very special prologue, which will be held tonight (Tuesday) in and around the stadium. At the first of the race briefings he gave out a 1:10,000 orienteering map and explained the format for the prologue, which starts at 17.00 and is going to fast and frantic!
It will start with the female members of each team abseiling 50m from the roof of the stadium, all at the same time! Then they pair up with one other member of their team to complete short orienteering and in-line skating circuits outside in the stadium grounds, before coming back inside to set the remaining two team members off on cycling and canoe orienteering sections. When they return to the stadium one team member must ascend the rope to finish … and it’s all expected to take less than an hour!
With sketchy translation into English of rapid fire Spanish it was difficult for the Scandinavian teams get the details they needed ... and they needed more details than anyone else. Their more precise approach was in contrast to the easier going Spanish nature, and they wanted to know if they should wear helmets all the time, if the trails were all marked, when they’d be given the canoe orienteering maps ... and much more.See All Event Posts
