Team Cyanosis Return to Bimbache Extrem

Team Cyanosis / 06.09.2013

The Raid Bimbache is back after a 3 year hiatus and South African Team Cyanosis will be there to take it on. The adventure race returns for the first time since hosting the Adventure Racing World Champs in 2010, where Team Cyanosis finished a credible 13th position.

The Raid Bimbache forms part of the Adventure Racing World Series and this year will cover 570km of tough terrain in the Catalunya region of north-eastern Spain. Twenty-one international teams of 4-persons have entered the race from a variety of countries including Columbia, France, Switzerland, the UK, Ireland, Slovenia, Denmark and Sweden, including some strong competition that will test Team Cyanosis in their goal of finishing on the podium. 

Cyanosis will be fielding a strong team comprising of team captain Clinton Mackintosh, Jane Swarbreck, Nathan Thompson and navigator Nicholas Mulder. Both Nicholas and Clinton competed in the World Championships 3 years ago when it was held in central-western Spain and are eager to return to an beautiful country and an enjoyable race.

The team members are all in good shape after recent strong performances in local South African trail running, kayaking and adventure races. Cyanosis recently finished 4th at the South African event in the World Series, the Expedition Africa race held in the Drakensberg in May and will be hoping to go better this time round.

This year the Raid Bimbache will start and finish in the town of Playa D'Aro, on the Costa Brava. The region will allow the race to take in lot of coastal scenery with a balance of beaches and rocky cliffs dropping into the sea. Nearby are also the foothills of the Pyrenees, so the race should also feature plenty of ascent, with teams expecting to go as high as 3000m above sea level.

Although the region is famous as a tourist resort, this isn't going to be any old holiday. The teams already know that the race will feature 380km of mountain biking, 130km on foot and 52km of kayaking, for a combined ascent of approximately 20'000m, but the exact course with the checkpoints will only be revealed on Monday evening. Via Ferrata, coasteering, snorkelling and stand-up-paddleboarding will also feature in the race that will start at 6am on Tuesday 10th of September.

The race winners are expected to complete the course in 3 full days with only a 4-hour compulsory stop at approximately half way. This means it will be an exceptionally fast course compared to some other World Series races. The weather is expected to be mild. It is the end of summer in Europe, essentially autumn, so temperature ranging from 12' - 25'C are expected, with it getting a lot colder in the mountains.

The race will feature live tracking of the teams, who will be carrying a GPS transponder. For more details, visit the race website at http://www.bimbachextrem.com/ or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bimbache.arwc

Team Cyanosis is proud to have the following sponsors supporting them:

- First Ascent outdoor apparel, Foodstate vitamins, Salomon footwear, Petzl headlamps, Form and Fitness sports supplements, Specialized bikes and accessories, Concept Cyclery in Melrose Arch and Race Foodnutrition.

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