Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race 2010
Pavicic Praises Teams In "Special" Race
News Release / 19.02.2010
Last year’s winners Helly Hansen-Prunesco raced into the distance after overcoming the close competition in the middle stages, but the rest of the finishing teams were all extremely close, with the final podium place eventually being shared by two teams, Switzerland and German team Herbertz.
Pavicic explained: “This race was special because usually the teams come to compete with nature but this year there were many of them looking for position. Helly Hansen-Prunesco were in a league of their own, but there was a group of six teams looking for the podium and that showed by how close the times were at the finish.�
The race was one of the coldest in history but although strong winds cancelled the opening kayak and blew racers off their bikes on the way down through Chilean Tierra del Fuego, the racers generally experienced good conditions for most of the race – and Pavicic believes that is also down to the strength of the teams.
“We had snow fall just when the teams were going through one of the passes in the Darwin Range – so the teams had winter conditions in summer,� said Pavicic. “This was one of the races with the lowest temperatures we have ever had but we had three helicopters – from DAP, Carabineros and the Navy – and we didn’t have to use any of them because the teams were so strong.
“In the end, fifty percent of the teams arrived to the finish line and half of them had abandoned the race around the half-way point, just before the beginning of the hardest section. The strongest teams were the ones who confronted the hardest conditions in the Darwin Range but I was impressed with the strength and will of all the teams that entered this year’s race.�
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