Team Brazil Multisport proved once again that they are the toughest and fastest adventure racing team in South America, but this time the world #3 ranked team faced a tough fight and the race was very close until the finish line.
Charrua Extremo in Uruguay hosted the championship race, which turned out to be a challenge even for the strongest teams on the continent. The course included between 270 to 290km, according to the competitors’ Garmin watches, and an altitude gain of nearly 6000mts!
In the early hours of the race, the lead changed 7 times between San Juan Aventura (Argentina), Brazil Multisport, Brasil Outdoor Adventure and Novopan Andes Racing Ecuador. Along with this power pack were local teams Uruguay Ultra Sports and Sirius.
As predicted by the Race Director, Alen Pujol, the 7th stage turned out to be the defining point of the race. This was a long packraft section on Laguna del Sauce, where the Brazilian and Ecuadorian teams gained an advantage, but then Brasil Outdoor Adventure and Novopan Andes Racing Ecuador took a portage option that didn't pay off.
Brazil Multisport continued to push the pace and arrived at the last trek (stage 9) with a one hour advantage. They kept their lead and crossed the finish line after 31hs 30 minutes of adventure racing in the hilly regions of Lavalleja and Maldonado. "We were surprised by the altitude gain" admitted team captain Camila Nicolau, “and thought it was a fantastic course.”
The Brazilian team once again wins a free place at the Adventure Racing World Championship, this time in Canada in September, where they will compete as South American champions and continue their quest to be first Brazilian team to win the world title.
Most of the teams were racing a 40+ hour event for the first time, and were thankful to be able to participate next to these world class teams. Fourteen teams crossed the finishing line in the beautiful environment of the campground Arequita.
In a very emotional prize giving ceremony, 3 special prizes were given for sportsmanship, which is a tradition in every Charrua Extremo race, as a tribute to former athletes.
The "Tati y Nati" award was given to the Tierra Indòmita Vulcania team from Chile. Nelson Yañez is the captain and is well known as a Race Director and competitor for many years, while David Britos holds a unique record of participating in 9 regional races in South America since 2019.
The "Alejandro Fynn" award was given to A220 team, which is the largest team in Uruguay and had 4 quartets competing in the race.
The "Nando Arbelo" award went to staff volunteers Leo Borba and Benito Brocca from the Malacara race. They brought the race boats to Uruguay, programmed the trackers and also built 5 transitions during the race!
"Being part of the ARWS family was a key ingredient for us to hold a successful race,” said Pujol. “Teams and staff came from neighbouring countries to help and we had the full support of the referee Thiago Bonini. An experienced high level athlete, he checked every aspect of the map and route book prior to the race, helped with time calculations, tested some of the course and gave penalties and bonus times after talking to every team involved."
The top five positions were;
1. Team Brazil Multisport
2. Brasil Outdoor Adventure
3. Novopan Andes Racing Ecuador
4. Uruguay Ultra Sport
5. Black Mamba (Brazil)
The ARWS South America calendar for 2025 will be announced next week and teams will meet again for the next South American Championship at the Non Stop Imptek race in Ecuador by early December.
For more details of the race visit https://charruaextremo.com/
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