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Confusion at Airport Check-in-points

Pyro / 11.05.2008

Today, the teams began to gather at the Hotel Venta Juanilla near Segovia to begin their preparation for this year’s Bimbache Extrem. At Madrid Barajas airport, there were a few moments of mild chaos as five teams (and one Sleepmonsters reporter) landed at three of the four separate terminals, leaving the organisational staff to dash around collecting people, bags and kit from the far corners of the huge space.

Driving north away from the wide flat plain around the city, and towards more mountainous terrain, and first-time teams got a good idea of the landscape; scrub woodland and grassland, interspersed with large open rock outcrops and craggy areas. Last year’s race featured serious extremes of temperature which caused many teams difficulty. With the racing moving north from Andalucia to Castille y Leon, the temperatures should be less brutal on the teams, but the heat could still cause some upsets.

There are 16 teams within this year’s starting line-up, but one small surprise is the absence of any British teams - Sleepmonsters/Inov-8 were originally on the start list, but when they were faced with a last-minute scramble on the forum for two replacement team-mates, they withdrew.

Team Finland will be competing hard against the new Multisport.Fi team, led by their old team captain Petri Forsman. U.E.Vic -RaidsAventureBlogspot.com, who placed second in last years race, will be fighting to go one better this year but will also have the teams they beat into third (Teva -La Pinilla –Trangoworld) and fourth (LaFuma Sport2000 Vibram) hard at their heels for the duration.

So, while we wait for the course details to be released, and with tonight’s communal meal awaiting, all betting is very much open as to who might be the winners. But for tonight, the teams are thinking only of their own prep and tactics.

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