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Race has started!

Wladimir Togumi (SleepMonsters Brazil) / 12.11.2006

Teams received their maps only two hours before the start. Some athletes said this was a short time to mark 29 checkpoints and trace the best trails and routes. All the teams wanted to take their maps first and it caused a flurry of activity in the organizers tent, but in few minutes the teams got back to their hotels to get ready for the start.

With backpacks on their back and paddles in their hands, teams started to came back to the bridge where they could see the start line in the middle of it and double kayaks on each side.

With helicopters in the sky local citizens started to appear and ask what was going on, with boats on the bridge and not in the river.

A draw took place so teams could choose the boat of their preference and each half of the field left the bridge by one side. At 19h30 teams left the bridge and struggled to put their boats in the water.

It was dawn and strobe lights and head lamps created a striking visual effect in the Paraíba do Sul river.

Lights faded on the horizon and with just 11.2km until the first Transition Area, support crews had to accelerate away to reach their team in time with their mountain bikes.

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