The Incredible Traverse of Madagascar

Rob / 01.01.2004

A new race has been launched in one of the most exotic venues you can think of – Madagascar. It\'s called \"The Incredible Traverse of
Madagascar\" and will take place between Saturday 22 May and Saturday 05 June 2004, on a course linking Tamatave on the East Coast with Morondava on the West.

If you are going to go and explore Madagascar it\'s worth setting some time aside, and in this race you’ll have to. The full course is 17 days and covers 3000km, but there are shorter options. The West Coast version is 9 days, as is the East Coast version, and all involve jungle trekking and riding and use of some local watercraft. (There also some shorter \'adventure\' courses for pairs as well.)

Stages will be held in daylight only and the French organising company are stressing it\'s not an impossible challenge and is open is regular racers, not just the elite. Out of the teams of 4 only 3 will race at any one time, with the 4th (described by them as a \'joker-assistant\') being given a transfer to the next transition.

They will be flexible if you want to miss a stage and then resume, and by the sound of it the night time rest stops will be entertaining. They are talking about the locals putting on \"rickshaw, pirogue, horse and bicycle races, \"moraingy\" (wrestling) tournaments, music shows and traditional dancing competitions\". They also mention a \'joro\' of a zebu, which does not sound quite so entertaining when you realise it\'s an animal sacrifice!

Entry fees include food, transfers and the provision of canoes, a rickshaw, a horse, a pirogue, and, more mundanely, camping gear and a GPS! Entry fees are 5,200 Euros for a team of 4 on the shorter courses and 10,400 Euros on the longer course. There will be the cost of airfares, visas and insurance to consider as well, though for the competitive teams there is prize pool of 48,000 Euros.

The organiser is Didier Le Méhauté (a Frenchman based in Madagascar), who has previously put on the \'Mada Raid\' in Madagascar, \"La Grande Traversée\" in Reunion Island (now known as \"Le Grand Raid\"), and also the \"Karthala Run\" in La Grande Comore, in the Comoros islands. (Get the Atlas out – they are all in the Indian Ocean.)

It sounds like the race is well named and the Incredible Traverse is going to be adventure racing with a capital A, and with plenty of surprises in store.

If you are interested all the details are on the website and entries close on Friday 30th April. The English Language newsletter is here.