Galloping horses, blazing torches and a traditional Patagonian feast of barbequed lamb greeted the teams, media and support crews of the Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race as the group moved en-mass to the start camp at Hotel Los Torres, a stunning retreat in Torres del Paine National Park, ahead of Tuesday’s highly anticipated race start.
After all the build-up and expectation ahead of the ninth running of the race it was an opportunity to enjoy some local hospitality in luxurious surroundings and take in a spectacular show as local Caballeros waving flags ushered the teams in and demonstrated their skills in the open plains at the foot of the magical mountains.
“We are anticipating good weather for the start,” said Pavicic, as the sun set over the mountains. “It is exciting to see all the teams here now and we are pleased that the hotel was able to put on such a show. This stunning region is a fantastic place to start the race – and tomorrow is going to be a fast moving day for all the teams.”
The race begins at 7:30am (GMT -3) with a mountain bike section travelling through sections of the national park and across three bridges with spectacular views of the Torres. It will then continue with a transition in front of the spectacular Glacier Grey to kayaks for a long run down the Serrano and Grey rivers.
The first part of the race is expected to run quickly and with the late evenings of the Chilean summer it is anticipated that some fast teams could make it through the next section of trekking in time to get on the water for the second kayak section before the dark the opening day – but that will be a fast pace if any team achieves it.
Peter Jolles, of Perdido en el Turbal, said: “After seeing the course we have spent the last 24 hours splitting up all our gear and looking at the course to work out how long we expect it to take us. Looking at the distance on the map and doing the maths, we came up with five days…but this is Patagonia!
“The organisers book in 10 days for this, so you have to double or triple the time you expect to take in certain sections! Optimistically, we are expecting it to take eight days. Our initial aim is that we would like to get to the cut-off for the first paddle to get on the water on the first day. Then we’ll roll with it and see what we can do.”
