Wenger Czech Adventure Race 2017
Day 1: Tough Nav in Narrow Gorges
Press Release / 31.08.2017
Day 1 of The Wenger Czech Adventure Race has already shown big differences between the teams. The first teams are pushing hard, but the end of the pack is progressing really slowly. It is also clear that teams are moving slower than organizers expected as the terrain, and mainly the navigation, is very difficult.
Everything started with a five kilometer prologue on an orienteering map .The terrain was difficult but the fastest teams managed to run through the course in 30 minutes. The Czech teams had better knowledge of the terrain and showed at the top of the pack. The last team, however, needed more than two hours to get through the prologue.
The next part was a 110 kilometers long biking stage. Finish team Multisport.fi started to move slowly through the field and at the end of the stage had 30 minutes lead. Behind them three teams arrived within five minutes: Slovenian Salomon PR, French SPORTERA and Czech EPO/Sport nás baví, with two more Czech teams twenty minutes behind.
The biking stage proved to be difficult for some teams at the back: three teams decided to cut the course short. There were some issues caused by the heat during the day (some of which were miraculously cured with the onset of the night) and one team broke their bike.
With the approaching night the next 30 km long trekking stage proved critical. The terrain here is very difficult to navigate. There are high sandstone rocks with gorges so narrow you can hardly pull your shoulders through. It is important to follow the tracks as you might end up on the 10 meter high cliff with no way down. These paths are hard to find in the dark and hard to run on even during daylight.
The first team left the transition area at six and by seven o`clock the forest was already too dim to see properly. Teams progressed slowly and it took them three hours to get to the middle of the stage. There, six checkpoints were marked on the orienteering map that consisted mainly of contour lines. The contour lines were so close to each other that nothing else would fit on the map anyway.
Teams slowed even more. In total the stage took almost eight hours for the fastest team.
First to come back from the trek was the Finnish team Multisport.fi. They started to move faster towards the end of the stage and raised their lead from 30 minutes to fifty. The next two teams came very close to each other: Salomon PR and EPO/Sport vás baví.
The first night has already taken a toll on some teams. Igor of team ColcaPeru/Team360 had some health issues and had to withdraw. The rest of team continued back to the TA but decided to pull out there.
You can follow the race live on www.adventurerace.cz/live.
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