TransPortugal Garmin Race 2012, the biggest and hardest endurance race held in Portugal has started, and it will only stop roughly at parallel 37 N, in Sagres, at the southernmost point of the country.

 

At 07h54, Robin Willard (CAN), Robert Jackson (RSA) and David Rawlinson (RSA), age 65, 63 and 63, were the first to leave the huge KTM starting line, at the São Lázaro Hotel, in Braganza.

Almost 40 other athletes would follow progressively, ordered according to the handicap system, until the remaining 20 plus athletes left together at 9h00, the official departure time.  (Download a copy of the handicap system and race rules here.)

 

Right from the start, it was obvious that the utterly wet conditions of the tracks would mark the day, as they did. There were puddles everywhere and the softer ground made it harder to roll. One of the hardest stage of the race was set to be even harder.

 

At the first control point (CP), around km 25 of the stage, Kate Aardal (NOR) had taken the lead, followed by Robin Willard and Henk Welvaarts (NED). It seemed it was 2011 all over again for Kate, with an imposing pace right from day 1.

 

Soon after, at the crossing of the river Maçãs, under intermittent showers, racers were starting to get very spread-out. At the second CP (by km 55), Vitor Gamito (POR) had jumped to second position and Henry Hayes (RSA) appeared in third, 12 min and 13 min behind Kate.

 

Around km 80, with some 62 km to go, the same three held their positions, but Vitor was about to overrun Kate and take the lead, never stopping building minute after minute ahead of her. Slowly, the final configuration of the race was starting to appear, as Marco Macedo (POR) and Kaj Slenter (NED) climbed steadily towards the first positions. Could they threaten the otherwise solid pace of Kate and Henry?

 

Many runners were by then already in the rolling high-plain of Miranda do Douro, under some patches of blue sky, and the weather seemed to be improving, except for the wind. TransPortugal Garmin Race had left the Terra Fria, or Cold Land, and was passing the Terra Quente, or Hot Land, both within the Trás-os-Montes region (meaning "behind the mountains" region). Orange groves are common and olive trees are everywhere, but especially vineyards appear to dress every hillside from now on. We're entering the great and ancient Douro wine region.

 

At about km 125, Gamito rushed isolated under the rain at the last CP, surrounded by hail filled bushes, remnants of a nasty storm that morning. Right after that CP, surely too concentrated and tired to see it in full, racers would pass one of the most spectacular views of today's stage as they descended to the sleepy village of Mazouco, with the river Douro valley in the background and clouds gusting up the Penedo do Durão, a cliff further up in the distance.

 

Vitor Gamito won the first stage, 28 min ahead of Kate, who finally held her second position, as Kaj and Henry Hayes sprinted side by side through the finish line, 30 min after the first. Marco followed them, 32 min after the first.

 

The finishing line closed at 20h23m. Not much after Rodrigo Alfaia (BRA) and Patrícia Alfaia (BRA), and a bit before them Toru Watanabe (JAP), had crossed it. Happy, we believe, for finishing a tough stage, a stage well done.

 

Much less fortunate was Katy Curtis (CAN), who saw her rear wheel's spokes braking loose, rendering her bike completely useless after a while.

All in all, congratulations to everyone, without exceptions, for this tough and great first stage!

 

DAY 2 – FREIXO TO GUARDA

 

Once all the GPS have dried, we can expect an easier stage tomorrow, some say the easiest, if any one stage can be called that in TransPortugal Garmin Race. Shorter, smaller total climb and less rain expected, although not necessarily drier, which could provide for a risky descent of the Calçada de Alpajares. Probably one of the most technical sections in the race, that can be as challenging and beautiful as it is dangerous.

 

The preserved fortified villages of Castelo Rodrigo and Almeida will provide the historical background, as well as the corresponding steep climb in the first case, to a stage that will ultimately take us to Guarda, the highest city in Portugal, right at the door step of the Estrela Mountain Range, with a full moon above us.