Paraguay Prepares to Host the 18th Adventure Racing World Championship
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Loading... - muhammed mohammed
- 13 Sep 2022
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The 18th Adventure Racing World Championship begins in Paraguay on Saturday, September 17th, and teams from around the world will be arriving in the capital city of Asunción in the coming days.
The race will be hosted by Expedición Guaraní, which has been a member of the Adventure Racing World Series since 2016 and is known for the exceptional service and welcome it offers to racers, the beautiful landscapes of Paraguay, and the technical and demanding courses set by Race Director Urtzi Iglesias.
Teams know they will race non-stop, for up to 7 days, on a 550km course designed to challenge the best endurance athletes in the world. The race has promised teams will, “pass through some of the most beautiful places in the country, navigate winding rivers and reach some of the most imposing hills in the country. They will have to pedal through sand and mud, and carry out rope activities on rock walls and waterfalls. All of this, in an environment full of the exuberant vegetation which is the last vestige of the Atlantic Forest.”
Iglesias said, “The route has demanding trekking sections, a very long kayak stage and varied bike stages. There are lots of checkpoints, difficult navigation in some parts of the course and a variety of terrain.
“The beginning of the race will be very hard, starting with 122km of trekking, followed by a 94km kayaking stage. Many teams will need more than 2 days to overcome that first challenge and they will still have more than half of the journey ahead of them, so good pace, rest management and foot care will be really important to be able to reach the finish line.”
He is a member of the Vidaraid team, currently ranked #3 in the world, who are not racing this time. It is rare for a current elite racer to also design courses, and asked which was harder he replied.
“Course design is much harder and more stressful! I love designing routes, imagining what the stage would be like if I had to do it in competition and not stopping until I find the route that really convinces me. But at the same time, there is always the question of whether it will be a route that lives up to what an Adventure Racing World Championship should be.”
His course will be put to the test by 53 teams, from 18 countries and 5 continents. The Swedish Armed Forces Adventure Team will be defending the title they won last year in Spain. Team captain John Karlsson said, “Coming as title holders feels special and is a task of pride and responsibility. We have had a good year behind us and a warm summer in Sweden.” The year included a run-away win at Adventure Race Croatia and the team has high expectations of Paraguay. Read More…
