Huairasinchi
Huairasinchi 2019 Gets Underway
Press Release / 10.06.2019
At 2 am this morning, Sunday June 9th, teams were ready on buses that would transport them from Santo Domingo to the start line. After a journey of almost 3 hours, they arrived at Santa Teresa in Manabi province, and started Lock Down at 06:00. The organization delivered the maps teams were given 1 hour to trace the route. Nervousness, tension and excitement could be felt at the school classrooms that teams occupied.
At 07:30 am, the expedition elite category departed, followed by the adventure category at 08:00 am. The competition began with a 6km trek, which took them to the kayaks on the shore of the Daule Peripa reservoir. This is a much longed-for Huairasinchi route for the organizers, an epic territory of flooded land, as big as a province, that finally became a reality this year.
The Daule Peripa is the largest natural freshwater reservoir in the country and is characterized by its geography. Its shores are invaded by aquatic vegetation, invaded by common water hyacinth, that changes in quantity and position, so that the appearance of the reservoir is constantly transforming. This was an important factor in the navigation complexity of this leg.
The kayak leg was 40km for the expedition teams and 20km for the adventure teams. The weather favored the teams and they enjoyed a wonderful landscape during the crossing. The leg ended in Puerto el Mono, a point that marks the boundary of three provinces: Manabi, Los Rios and Guayas.
Expedition teams managed to complete the leg before the stipulated time limits before setting off on the stage two bike ride.
The first Adventure and Expedition teams started the mountain bike stage around 14:00. During this 138km route, competitors will cross secondary roads through the city of Quevedo, the town of Mana, and finish at the Pinllopata town in the province of Cotopaxi. During this stage, an elevation of 4800 meters will be gained, so competitors will move from a warm tropical zone to the cold mountains. Racers will experience extreme changes in temperature, elevation, culture and ecosystems within a short distance, a characteristic feature of Huairasinchi in this unique country, Ecuador.
The teams are solid, so far, the Expedition category is led by team #1 Estonian Ace Adventure Team, followed by #03 Columbia VidaRaid, #07 Life Adventure / Impek, #02 Movistar Terra Adventure and #13 Bosi Adventure. While in Aventura, the men's adventure team # 51 Equivida is first, followed by the mixed adventure team #43 Kia Motors.
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