7 Cerros Medellin Urban Adventure Race
7 Cerros Medellin, Colombia - Update 2
Jacob Thompson / 24.01.2010
In an effort to minimize some of the chaos, teams were lined with their carts based on their standing. Different approaches were considered; some planned to carry their cart through the crowds before getting on them, while others tried to push from the very beginning, but all the groups found themselves caught up in the initial pandemonium– crashing into each other and the carts. Two dozen teams were then zipping down the contours of the mountain, trying to keep control of the switchbacks, and passing by quiet country homes with their inhabitants enthusiastically cheering them on.
Colombian flags were waved proudly in the tiny village they got off the carts and began a lengthy trek across the Colombian Andes to their next checkpoint. A dominant feature of the race would turn out to be navigating across such extreme topography. Many teams would find themselves having to take alternative routes and backtracking in order to find the checkpoints.
Teams looked strong as they made it to the first transition point and switched to bikes and began grinding their way up the heavy climbs. Early in this stage the clouds cleared up and brought out the full force of the tropical sun - another prominent challenge teams had to overcome, as every pedal stroke became that much more exhaustive as the temperatures climbed.
After crossing the finish line, Outti from Team Multisport from Finland shared, “For us, the most difficult thing about the race was the heat. And, well, the hills. They are so big here. And then you have the heat and the hills. Very difficult combination.�
Early in the day, half a dozen teams established a distinct lead from the other groups. Safety, the returning champions from the previous year kept a remarkably strong pace, opening a tremendous lead that they kept to the very end of the race. Los Marinillos (Colombia), Multisport (Finland), Saferbo (Chile/Colombia), Team Cristagua Tierra Viva (Argentina), Tattoo 360 (Bogota) all raced hard but failed to match the pace of Safety.
As darkness set in, leadings teams were arriving in Checkpoint 10 Cerro Nutibara for an orienteering task that involved finding a couple dozen mini-checkpoints scattered across the park. The Argentine team suffered a defeating blow to their morale when they arrived and discovered that they had lost their passport and were going to incur another heavy penalization atop the 5 hour penalty they received the day before – and they decided to retire from the race. “They said we could continue, but after yesterday´s penalty and now we lost our passport, we have lost the motivation to continue,â€? said Adolfo Contreras looking pretty disappointed.
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