Elf Authentic Adventure
April 14-29, 2000 Course Splits In Two
Discovery route is created late Tuesday night; six teams fly in lead group By Ari Cheren
Team Ford Raca Forte moved all the way to third place Tuesday, crossing the river at CP9 early in the morning.
Tianguá, Brazil (April 18, 2000) - Racing finally hit full stride on Tuesday, when a six-pack of teams moved full speed to distance themselves from the field and stretch their legs on the granite cliffs of checkpoint 12. FujiFilm of France held on to their lead in Tuesday's competition, but their time at the front was
short-lived, as five other teams sailed down the rappel, racing for the lead at breakneck speed. Team Pharmanex-Spie, who lost their lead on the horse leg two days ago, made up for their mistake by passing all other teams on foot and re-assuming their place at the front of the pack. Two distinct races were created Tuesday, as the Elf Authentic Adventure
began moving at full tilt and punishing the slower teams with two heart-breaking cut-off deadlines. The Elf Adventure does a good job of keeping its teams together in a tight pack by giving slower teams shortcuts, allowing them to catch up - and prevent the course from stringing out to an unmanageable point. The downside for those slower teams, however, is
a demotion from the Adventure class of racing to the Discovery class - and in several days the extreme class will be created as well.
Enter here for two free tickets on Varig Brazilian Airlines for an authentic adventure of your own. [more]
The deadline for teams to remain racing in the adventure class was midnight Tuesday/Wednesday, causing a headlong rush for the mountain ridge and CP12. This checkpoint also gave six talented teams more than 12 hours' head start off the rock climb and rappel. Any teams that didn't make it to CP12 by 3:00 p.m. were forced to camp for the night at CP12 -
enough incentive to get the field running.
Team FujiFilm from France emerged from the morning dew outside CP9 in the lead for the second day but - with five other teams within an hour of their time - no one relaxed for a moment. On the contrary, teams redoubled their efforts to ensure an on-time arrival at HQ2 and then the all-important CP12. The effect,
after several days horseback riding, was a rush down the rugged road between CP9 and CP10, teams aiming for an 11:00 a.m. arrival to assure a three o'clock check in at CP12. FujiFilm was the first to go bounding down the trail from CP9, but not before transporting their gear across the river on a tyrolean rope, then jumping in the murky brown waters of the
fast moving river to continue on the other side. Team Pharmanex-Spie was still back in 6th position, handcuffed by the strict regulations on the horses. But once on foot and able to move at their own speed, the four veterans ran straight through the murky river and didn't stop running until they knew they'd make their cut-off for the rock climb. Not only
did they erase a 1:10 deficit to two minutes by CP12, they overtook the lead late Tuesday night as FujiFilm got either lost or in trouble between 12 and 13. Meanwhile, all but the first six teams were stopped at CP12 after missing their deadline of 3:00 p.m., and were forced to make camp for the night up on the mountain ridge. At 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday they
are allowed to progress, hiking a half hour to the base of the granite rock climb, then spending another 12 hours on the valley floor, ascending again to a ridge and waterfall rappel. With Pharmanex-Spie firmly in the lead as of Wednesday morning, it is now up to the five remaining lead "extreme" teams to make up as much time as possible on the trek,
managing their sleep wisely and not burning out. Twelve hours back, a pack of teams has their own secondary competition for the lead of the adventure class, which will be created in a couple of days vis-à-vis additional time cut-offs. The third group of racers, the newly created Discovery Class, was routed around the climb and rappel, meeting up with
the field at CP13 and continuing to the waterfall rappel. With teams now on foot for a couple days and then on mountain bikes for 147km, the real racing begins. Teams can go as long, hard and fast as they wish, with nothing to slow them down until they are on the water again near CP27. It is now as much a race of strategy and mental skills as physical will,
and so far it is team 27 - Pharmanex-Spie is proving the pundits correct by tapping that will and heading into Wednesday in total control.
