Ecomotion/Pro 2009
The Most Challenging Ecomotion Pro Ever
Manoela Penna / 01.12.2009
Quasar Lontra first won in Serra do Dendê/2004. Previous winners were Merianoraid.com/Chapada Diamantina 2003, Buff Nike AG/Serras Gaúchas 2005, Team Sole/Paraty 2006, Buff Coolmax/Búzios 2007 and Orion Health/AR World Championships Rota das Emoções 2008. The race, which is part of the AR World Series, shared US$ 30 thousand prize money, US$ 17 thousand for the winner, who also qualifies for the AR World Championships 2010 in Spain. The event brought together 31 teams with athletes coming from 10 different nations.
"The biking and trekking sessions were very technical, and so was the orienteering, which offered many different solutions. It was important also to know to read the river properly ... I am sure the most complete adventure racing team won here", said Said Aiach, organizer of the race.
Ecomotion/Pro 2009 was held in six days (22-27 November) in the state of Minas Gerais, in the beautiful mountains of Serra do Espinhaço, the only mountain range in Brazil, and Serra do Cipó. The site was claimed by UNESCO National Reserve of Biosphere, with the highest number of endemic flora in Brazil. The 470km long course was the most challenging ever in Ecomotion. Words from Paul Romero, who has been racing in Brazil for a long time and with Team Sole won Ecomotion/2006.
"It was a great race, the most difficult in any Ecomotion and one of the hardest I've experienced", says Romero, who joined Team Oskalunga International this year with Frederico Gall (BRA), Karen Lundgreen (USA) and Mikael Lindnord (SWE) to get the 3rd place this year. "The organization was simply great and I thank all the volunteers and people we met along the way for this experience", he adds.
The second team to cross the finish line was Adventure Camp Repelex, which featured Ian Edmond (NZL), Nora Audrá (BRA), Mateus Ferraz (BRA) and Sergio Zolino (BRA) in their lineup.
"I lost my dad a couple of months ago and decided to give myself a present: to race Ecomotion again. But the gift was better than I could have expect, with this beautiful race and healthy fight for the first place", says Zolino.
"I was surprised to race in Brazil away from the sea! The country has wonderful locations for adventure races and the course was very challenging. It was really interesting to see the walls built inside the river by the gold searchers from the past centuries. The kayak session was hard and although it was a bit disappointing to be caught by the dark zone, it was necessary for security reasons. At least Quasar Lontra also couldn't continue until next day", says Edmond.
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