The Thule Adventure Team from Sweden has won the Adventure Racing World Championship 2013 in the host county of Costa Rica. 60 international teams began this 850km journey on the 2nd of December.
The Thule Adventure Team took 168 hours and 23 minutes to complete the 850k course that visited both the Northern and Southern borders of Costa Rica, climbed the highest mountain in the country (Cerro Chirripo 3,800m), and saw both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts.
Myriam Guillot said “It was a long race and we pushed very hard, there were no easy legs”.
Stuart Lynch said “I think that is the longest race I have ever done!”.
Team Thule previously won the AR World Championship in 2011 in Australia, and placed second in 2012 in France.
Just 3 hours and 7 minutes behind were the Spanish team Columbia Vidaraid who took second place. Their total race time was 171 hours and 25 minutes.
Urtzi Inglesias said “We felt good and had a consistent race. We made three mistakes though and we can be much faster next time.”
Their 2nd place at the AR World Championship rounds out a successful year for team Columbia Vidaraid whose results also include a first place at the AR World Series Qualifier in Brazil in August, and a second place at the Qualifier in Argentina in March.
Third place at the AR World Championship was shared by team adidas TERREX Prunesco from the United Kingdom and team Tecnu from the USA. Both teams had raced closely over the final two days of the race, neither able to open a significant lead on the other team. They were still together coming into the final rafting leg, which provided no real opportunity to open a gap on the other team, and they decided to travel to the finish together.
In a display of camaraderie and respect, two athletes from each team swapped rafts to join the two athletes from the other team, completing the leg together. Arms around each other they crossed the finish line after 176 hours and 1 minute of racing.
Of the 60 teams of four athletes, from 27 countries who began the race in Costa Rica, half are estimated to complete the full course through to the 12th of December. All teams will have experienced the incredible environment and landscapes of Costa Rica and will take home memories of a lifetime.
The AR World Series unites in competition the worlds best endurance athletes at premiere Qualifier events around the globe. The top two teams at each of these races gain a coveted position on the start line of the annual pinnacle of the sport, the AR World Championship. The AR World Championship in 2014 will be hosted in Ecuador.
For more information on the AR World Series please see www.arworldseries.com
Live Site including tracking and reports: http://www.arworldchampionship.com/
Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/ARcostarica
Twitter; #arwc2013
For more information on the AR World Series please see www.arworldseries.com