RAIDARAN-LLEIDA PIRINEUS

The AR European Championship Will Start Tomorrow in Vielha

Race Release (Edited by Rob Howard) / 19.07.2016

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Thirty teams will fight for the victory in the third edition of Raidaran that will venture around all Lleida Pyrenees and will finish in Seu Vella.

The Raidaran Lleida Pyrenees, European Championship AREC of Adventure Race, will begging tomorrow in Vielha and it will dispute on a non-stop format during four days, it is expected that the first teams will reach Lleida finish line during Saturday. Behind will stay 476 km of continuous effort with constant slopes, one step over 3.000 m (Pica d’Estats) and the challenge of six different disciplines. Among them, orienteering, mountain biking, trekking, kayaking, adventure park, canyoning and via ferrata. Everything with several specificities and all kind of difficulties.

Thirty teams from more than ten nationalities will fight for the continental tittle. The most representative teams, a part from the Spanish ones, are the French and the Czechs, which with four teams enrolled have reach the same amount than the host ones, the Catalans. Also there will be teams from Sweden (2), Poland, Finland, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Estonia, Denmark, Latvia, Canada and Colombia. The Spanish teams are coming from Extremadura (3), Valencia, Galicia, Basque Country and Navarra.

All the teams are part from the same category, the elite one, and formed with four members, which at least one female component. The conditions of participation are very similar to the ones of the World Championship (ARWC) and the route is almost entirely linear, so the winner will be the one who passes the maximum task and also do it faster than the others opponents. Teams may not have their own external assistance so they will have to rely assistance and material transfer to the organization. In terms of logistics, this type of career structure allows equal conditions for all participants, wherever they come from.

During this afternoon briefing (17h) in Vielha, in Val d’Aran, raiders will know the exact route, which will take them to Esterri d’Àneu, Àreu, Alins, La Pobla de Segur, Balaguer and Lleida. Arrival will take place on the 23rd in the capital of the province, the Seu Vella. An emblematic stage that is opting to be World Heritage. The closing ceremony and the awards ceremony will be on Sunday 24th also in the capital of Segrià.

The winner of the competition, a part from the title of ARES European Championship, will get as a prize a free entry inscription to the next ARWC World Championship, which will take place next November in Australia. In addition, the organization of Raidaran will offer a special recognition to all the raiders that have dared to participate in the three events, offering an exclusive and commemorative gift.

One of the raiders that accomplish this condition is Albert Vilana, who aspires to his third title of Raidaran. In 2014 he won with the team Diedre and in 2015 with the Vall Fosca. This time he will participate in the structure of the Gods Snack Raid Team, where he will share team with Jordi Capell, Alberto Taboada and Marta Riba. The competence that they will find will be formidable, both new teams but with wider European and global experience as others who repeat, as Issy French Absolu, which will be starting very motivated after being taken out of the fight for the podium a year ago by a simple detail: they arrived a few minutes late at the end of the canyoning section and ran out a few basic points. Another notable presence is the Swedish Thule Adventure Team, world champion in 2011 and 2013, between Vielha and Cathedral of Lleida they will search for the passport to the World Championship in Australia. Also is remarkable the presence of the Phoenix Multisport-OpavaNet with the Czech Pavel Paloncy, two times winner of the demanding The Spine Race, 430 km under the most adverse conditions.

Anne-Marie Dunhill will be reporting live at the race for SleepMonsters and you can follow the race news and tracking at http://raidaran.com  

The team list is at http://raidaran.com/pages/equipos