Viva Espana
Pyro / 10.10.2010
So, the 2010 Adventure Race World Championships is finished, with Buff Thermocool the victors. How has it gone?
<br><br>
At the prize giving, and in Madrid airport ready to fly home, the conversations have been much the same: The course itself was beautiful, majestically scenic, challenging for all teams with enough scope for backmarkers to shortcut forward to reach the finish on time. <P>Much praise was heaped on Antonio de la Rosa for making the most of the local area, using the historic heritage sites of Avila and Salamanca, the high peaks of the Guadarrama and Gredos mountains, the huge network of farms tracks and gravel roads on which to trek and bike, and the long-but-satisfying kayak down the Rio Tormes to the finish.<P>
The area certainly has been a delight to travel through and to photograph, with many fond memories for both the racers and the following media and organisational circus.
<br><br>
The event has not been without its low points though. The numerous optional loops, bonuses for split stages, and protests and penalties available have made tracking the team positions difficult, both for the marshals, the organisation, the press and those at home who were trying to follow what was going. (Almost 3 days after the winners crossed the line there are still no official results on the race website or any account of bonus and penalty times.)<P>
After Antonio’s promise at XPD Portugal to make this an A-to-Z type race, many racers were frustrated at the complications and convolutions of the route. Though the transport distances between transitions were generally short, the logistical complications that have arisen meant that Buff Thermocool more than once arrived at a transition to find their kit barrels were still on their way. (The resulting time neutralization while they waited will have helped ease their minds while being chased down hard by the America/New Zealand foursome hot on their heels.)
<P>
Some of the later teams even arrived at the last kayak transition on the final night to find there were not enough kayaks, and had to ride to Salamanca. Meanwhile one volunteer marshal positioned on one of the river rapids wasn't picked up by the organisation and ran 35km along the river to get back!
See All Event Posts
