The Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race was formally opened last night in a spectacular ceremony in the new Dreams Casino in Punta Arenas – where Helly Hansen-Prunesco team captain Nicola MacLeod returned the winner’s trophy to race organizer Stjepan Pavicic.
In a location that seemed a world away from the wilderness of Patagonia awaiting the racers, the 56 competitors from 14 international teams were gathered with the attending media as Pavicic then unveiled his carefully planned route for the 2010 race, which will begin in less than 24 hours.
Teams were welcomed by race sponsor, Wenger, whose Chief Communications Officer Dennis Piretra described the essence of the race perfectly. “The purity of the challenge that lies before the teams is very special and in today’s day and age, very unique,” said Piretra. “The prize is not monetary, the prize is pride and glory. This spirit of this race harkens back to times that were very different and people sought adventure not for financial gain, but to feed a primal need for discovering the unknown and finding our personal limits.”
The challenge of the world’s wildest race had began much earlier than expected for three of the teams entered in this year’s race, however, as missed connections and a mid-Atlantic emergency delayed German team Herbertz, Scandinavians Nord Water and Japanese team East Wind from arriving. The German female competitor Melanie Hohenester was the only team member missing from the ceremony, but arrived later that night to reunite with her team-mates.
Race director Stjepan Pavicic revealed the route, which includes two major mountain bike sections and more than 200km of trekking for this year. The racers and attending media were then given the chance to sample wine from sponsors Yali before heading back to the hotel to prepare kit for the race itself.
The race will begin on the Strait of Magellan at 10:30am on February 9.
