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Sweden and Spain arrive together at end of second stage

Jacqueline Windh / 22.09.2007

Today was a gruelling day for all the teams. After the initial go-kart section were two tough treks, with a bike section in between. While the distances don’t seem so long (10.5 and 11 km for the treks, and 28 km for the cycling), the major elevation gains and losses and the high altitudes achieved, made for some really challenging conditions and pushed many racers right to their physical limits.

Lundhags Adventure went for an extremely fast transition after the first hike, and were first out on the bikes. Sole and Teva-La Pinilla left together just minutes later, followed immediately by the leading Colombian teams: Bosi, Ríos y Canoas A, Totto Karen’s Pizza, Columbia Sporting Team, Inder and Saferbo. The bike route took them even higher, up to 2900 m, and by the time teams had arrived at PC4, the last transition into the final trek, things had spread out a bit. Sole had a 4 minute lead on the next three: Lundhags, Teva-La Pinilla and Columbia Sporting Team. A good twenty minutes behind the lead pack came Totto Karen’s Pizza, Mareas del Fuego, Une Correcaminos, and then Bosi arrived another 16 minutes later.

The final trek was just as tough as the first one – and this can be seen by the travel times. Most of the lead teams took about 2.5 hours to cover the 11 km from El Salado, to the hill Cerro de las Tres Cruces, and down to the city centre. The four lead teams travelled together for the first part of the trek. At some point before PC3 Cerro de las Tres Cruces they separated – Sweden and Spain working together on the navigation and going one way, and Sole and Ríos y Canoas heading another way.

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