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Elf Authentic Adventure
April 14-29, 2000
Five Teams Are Extreme
More drop to Discovery Class Sunday as race grinds on.

By Ari Cheren

Weary from nine days of competition, a member of Team Paul Vatine spent Sunday in second place, just minutes ahead of FujiFilm.

Tutoia, Brazil, CP29 (April 23, 2000)—The ranks of competitors continued to dwindle today in the 2000 Elf Authentic Adventure, as two more teams dropped out of competition and the Extreme/Adventure Class shrunk to only five teams—led still by Pharmanex-Spie. With so much racing remaining for the next three days, it is anyone's guess how many teams will ultimately finish this the epic adventure race.

As of Easter Sunday there were ten teams out of the race and ten incomplete teams. Teams out of the race include:

15: Loch Harris Coldwater on 4/21
11: EMA/Brazil on 4/21
02: Zip.net on 4/21
07: Terra da Luz on 4/21
36: Accor Reussir Ensemble on 4/21
14: Caloi Lontra Radical Comp. 4/21
20: ARZone on 4/22
45: Wilkinson—Go Sport on 4/23
06: Uruguay on 4/23
09: Globe Brothers on 4/23

Teams six and none abandoned on Sunday morning, just as the press was headed out on their slow boats to (unsuccessfully) intercept Team 99—FujiFilm, in third place just behind Team Paul Vatine. As the day wore on, the two teams slowly transitioned from kayaks to mountain bikes again and headed off for the coastal dunes on a long ride followed by a longer trek.

For these two teams, the race is now for second place as less than two hours separates them. With Team Pharmanex-Spie running so strongly at the front of the race and already trekking across dunes while their chasers started mountain biking, it is Pharmanex-Spie's race to lose.

Three other teams are also vying for a placing in the Extreme/Adventure category, including Reebok Endurance Team from Brazil (13) and Terra Force (05). But as both these teams are stuck behind a dark zone at the ocean-side CP28, their chances of catching third place are slim.

The Discovery Class also has only five complete teams, including Aerospatiale/Matra/RFO, Portuguese Sprit, Atenah/Pao de Acucar, Tribo dos Pes, and Sogres-Elf. Four of those five teams are presently at CP27 Sunday, with Aerospatiale at CP28, just outside of Tutoia.

From here the competitors have 62 kilometers of mountain biking through red clay and mud, arriving at the outpost of Cabure on the outer banks of the Brazilian coast. From there the classifications will split one last time, sending Adventure/Discovery classes on an additional 108 kilometers of mountain biking, and the Extreme class on a combination of trekking and paddling for that length. The classes will meet up again at A7, Primeira Cruz before sailing to the finish line outside of Sao Luis de Ribamar.