Patagonian Expedition Race
At The First Transition
Rob Howard / 16.02.2016
Transition one was set up at Estancia Los Pozos, and it was here that teams completed the coastal trek and set off on their bikes for stage two.
The beach trek on soft sand and loose rock, walking into the wind, had spread the teams out considerably and it was Yogaslackers and East Wind who took the initiative and let the way. Yogaslackers had been leading but East Wind pushed hard to catch them and they arrived at the transition at the same time.
This is set up at a small cluster of wind blasted buildings in a sheltered spot in the grasslands, with some small gas pipes and installations scattered around it. The two lead teams were side by side assembling their bikes and preparing for the ride, surrounding by the all the race media and the sizeable Japanese TV crew.
It was US team who were quicker and left in the lead (12.46), with the Japanese team 8 minutes slower in the transition. Race Director Stjepan Pavicic was pleased to see two teams racing so early. “East Wind took the rucksack off of the girl to run in,” he said with a smile.
There was then a long gap until the 3rd team arrived. It wasn’t until 13.27 that Team Godzone Adventure walked in, but they were not concerned. Nick Gracie said, “We were surprised they were going so hard at the front because in those conditions it’s really tiring.” When I asked Warren Bates if he’d enjoyed his beach walk he just laughed before adding, “I can’t lie. Walking on soft into the wind isn’t my favourite!”
Chris Hope had been happy to take things steady by the sounds of it. He’d been to dentist in Punta Arenas on arrival and had root canal work, and when I asked how it was he said, “It’s fine, but I’ve picked up a bug and been vomiting for the last 24 hours and right up to the start. Setting off having eaten only a packet of biscuits in the last day wasn’t ideal. I hope things can only get better!”
They were not rushing through transition, and well aware of the very, very long bike ride ahead. “I think we may break our record of 27 hours in the saddle set at Primal Quest,” Warren Bates said. The team were checking they had enough lights in case they were out riding for 2 nights and all busy packing as much weight as they could into the storage pouches on the bike frames and behind their saddles. “Having less weight on our shoulders makes a huge difference,” Gracie said.
The team left at 13.53 and soon after 4th placed Mila Finland came in. Pavel Paloncy wasn’t so negative about the beach trek. “At least we could run a little,” he said, “maybe for the only time in this race!”
They were followed by a rush of teams then, including PRS Fit, Merrell Adventure Addicts and Norcal Odyssey, then the remaining US and UK teams. Vaucluse Evasions of France had one racer lagging behind with his pack being carried by a team mate. All were in transition together so it was very busy for a while.
[At this point our transport insisted on leaving so I didn’t speak to those in transition or the later teams in.)
Out on the dusty gravel roads the leading teams were making steady progress, all taking turns in the front as they got used to riding into the wind. It’s all relative, but the wind wasn’t anything like as bad as it can be in the afternoons here, and for the first part of the ride was not directly head-on either. With luck the conditions will hold as the ride into the first night of the race.
[For those wondering about live team tracking, there is none at present, but a couple of days into the race it’s hoped all the teams will be issued with trackers – they’ve just not arrived yet! A couple of teams also have their own trackers.]
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