The winners of this year’s Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race will be rewarded with a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Antarctica, the race organisers revealed at the opening ceremony on Sunday evening.
The race is known for its lack of prize money, as it aims to draw in teams purely through the unique opportunity it offers them to experience true wilderness in Chilean Patagonia. The winning team is simply awarded the Wenger Trophy and all the finishers receive winning a wooden medal for their efforts.
But news that this year will offer an Antarctica trip for all four members of the winning team was greeted with gasps of excitement and race director Stjepan Pavicic said: “It is with great thanks to DAP Airlines that we can announce this amazing prize to experience the stunning white wilderness of Antarctica.”
Punta Arenas, where the opening ceremony took place, is Chile’s gateway to Antarctica and is a regular starting point for cruises to the great white southern continent, as well as a stopping point for longer cruises around the world.
“The trip to Antarctica has got to be the only prize that would equal the experience of doing the Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race,” said GearJunkie racer Jason Magness, whose team finished fifth last year. “Anything else would be a let down after the amazing experience of the race.”
For many newcomers, simply the experience of racing here is enough to leave them already dazzled, and Elvir Sulic, of Ad Natura-Karibu, joked: “The prize (to go to Antarctica) is amazing, but we didn’t bring our equipment for the South Pole! We are here to have fun and to finish the race. We are not chasing any result.”
