Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race 2010
Spain Secure Second As Main Group Arrives
News Release / 17.02.2010
Team Helly Hansen-Prunesco finished the race at around 6am on Monday morning after experiencing intense conditions while kayaking across the Beagle Channel and getting lost on a tough final trek that included an ascent of Mount King Scott. Their final race time was 126hrs 8mins – five days, six hours and eight minutes.
While the British raced to the finish, most others were held in a dark zone, where the race clock stops, and they set off together from checkpoint 15 a day later. The Spaniards held a strong lead after the main trek of the race through the Darwin Range and despite a six-hour penalty they came in 16hrs 38mins behind the winners.
Team captain Jon Ander Arambalza said: “It was just a dream to come to this race, so getting to the finish in this position is just incredible for us. Every day having to think about what to do, where to sleep, how to eat, how fast we could go, there were so many experiences. It was incredible to go through this wilderness.
“The best part of the race was the trekking, and the worst part of the race was the trekking! You can be very fast on bike, or on kayak, but you must be very good in the trekking – but you must also enjoy this experience. You can finish all the races, but it is important take in everything you see and just enjoy it. And we did.�
The final run to the finish was not without drama for Spain, however, as they were slow in the kayaking section and were penalised after splitting up as a team. They also had one kayak overturn and had to be rescued as they tried hard to make it to the section start in the middle of the Beagle Channel.
Team Nord Water had to drop out of the race at PC15 after team member Toumas Sovijarvi suffered a suspected leg fracture. He slipped on a rock after the rappel section at PC9 but continued to trek through to PC15, where a doctor assessed the injury and the pain became too much to carry on.
The rest of Nord Water continued on, just for the experience, joining Switzerland, Germans Herbertz, GearJunkie.com from the USA and Canadians Untamed New England for the final kayak and trek, with Japanese team East Wind, who arrived at checkpoint 15 in the middle of the day, the only other team still in the race.
The teams enjoyed much calmer conditions than Helly Hansen-Prunesco experienced across the channel and were able to enjoy the spectacular mountain backdrops on the paddle to Wulaia, where Charles Darwin famously brought back a native who had been taken to England to become civilised.
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