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The 540 cyclists registered in the ninth edition of Brasil Ride are used to the scorching sun, but this time they had to adapt to the rainy weather that persisted throughout the prologue this afternoon (21st) in Arraial d'Ajuda, Porto Seguro, Bahia. In the men's elite, the winners were Sebastian Fini (DIN) and Martins Blums (LAT), from the CST Sandd American Eagle MTB Racing Team, and the women's category, Jaqueline Mourão (BRA) and Cindy Montambault (CAN), team Jacky & Cindy, completed the 21km prologue in the shortest time.
In the contest for the leadership of the men's elite, Sebastian Fini had his second triumph in the prologue of Brasil Ride. After winning with Hans Becking last year, with 49min42sec, Fini and Blums were able to overcome the hardships of the rain, and finished in 49min33sec, eight seconds ahead of Henrique Avancini (BRA) and Manuel Fumic (GER) from Cannondale Factory Racing, who completed in 49min41sec. David Nodermann (NED) and Grant Ferguson (GBR), also from CST Sandd American Eegle, finished in 49min58sec,completing the podium.
For Sebastian Fini, the harmony with Martins Blums was the good detail in the first of seven stages of Brasil Ride. "I think it was a difficult start for this ultramarathon. It was raining and the conditions were complicated to ride, but Martins and I managed to do well. We are cross country (XC) athletes and we are accustomed to riding in all kinds of conditions. We felt good on the course and I was quite strong, as well as my partner. We tried to be as fast as possible, but not over the limit and now we are leaders," said Fini.
For the Latvian Martins Blums, to have a companion with greater experience in the ultramarathon was the most important point."I thought it would be even harder on the first day, because it's my debut in Brazil and in my country the terrain is very different, with more stones than here, and not so many steep climbs. I was lucky to be able to ride along with Fini, because he knows the race and the course from last year. Ijust followed him," said Blums.
Favorites feel comfortable - As one of the favorites for the title, the duo Avancini Fumic was happy with the result by taking advantage against potential opponents. "The start was super positive, because it's a small difference ahead of the two guys who certainly went for the Yellow Jersey in the prologue, like Fini did in 2017 and repeated now. We tried to ride efficiently but honestly I did not feel well. It was good for tuning the duo, because Manu [Fumic] knows how to make me move faster I feel like this, just as I help him the other way around," said the current world marathon champion.
"We opened a significant gap ahead of Tiago Ferreira (POR) and Hans Becking (NED) as well as Alexey Medvedev (RUS) and Francesco Failli (ITA), both of whom are in disavantage, and now need to invest a bit more. This is good for us in the beginning of this week. "It's great to be riding with the world champion. I'm really looking forward to the next few days, especially the next two. The gap is small overall, which makes me very excited," said Manuel Fumic.
While the duo Tiago and Hans, DMT Racing Team, completed the opening of the race in fifth place in 51min47sec, Alexei and Francesco from Specialized Italy, came sixth in 52min15sec. Fourth place of the day, with 50min39sec, Brazilians Lukas Kaufmann and Sherman Trezza from Cannondale Brasil Racing are the owners of the White Jersey, as the best team in the Americas. The top 10 list was completed with Hugo Prado Neto (BRA) and Roel Paulissen (BEL), OCE/Cannondale in seventh, followed by Wolfgang Krenn(AUT) and Joris Massaer (BEL), Bike Team Kaiser, Wolfgang Olsen (BRA) and Edson Rezende (BRA), Caloi Avancini Team, and Ricardo Pscheidt (BRA) and YonathanMejia (VEZ), Trek Shimano.
Women’s elite - The start was very positive for the partnership formed between Brazilian champion Jaqueline Mourão and CanadianCindy Montambault. They started ahead seeking the Orange Team jersey, the best female team, with almost three minutes ahead of Viviane Favery and MarcellaToldi of Cannondale Brasil Women. While Jaqueline and Cindy completed the course of the prologue in 1h06min56sec, Viviane and Marcella finished in 1h09min47, currently detaining the best Jersey for best duo in the Americas. The top three was completed by Spaniards Sandra Santaynes and Anna Ramirez,Olympia/Esteve Team, in 1h09min49.
The lead of Jaqueline and Cindy however had a tense moment, after the pair witnessed a fall of the French Margot Moschetti, Raiza Goulão teammate, in the PMRA Racing Team/CST Sandd American Eegle MTBRacing Team. In a turn downtown Arraial d'Ajuda, Margot suffered a seemingly simple fall, but that cost her a clavicle injury. Since Margot could not finish the race, the current champions of Brasil Ride are disqualified from the competition.
"Competing in Brasil Ride is amazing. It was feeling at home, with a lot of mud and roots. I loved it, it was very exciting. Margot’s fall was sad, and she fell right in front of me. It was a moment of tension. We do not wish that for anyone. It took me about five minutes to recover focus and concentration, just thinking about her. From then on, I focused on not getting hurt or do anything wrong," said Jaqueline Mourão.
"The prologue was pretty cool. With all the rain and going through narrow trails, I felt in the jungle. I had an excellent first impression from Brazil. Despite the rain, I felt the heat in the course. The course was technical, Jacky was strong and I think our strategy worked," Cindy said.
Second stage of Brasil Ride - Tomorrow, Monday (22nd) the race moves from Arraial to Guaratinga, with a 121-km course leaving the arena in UIKI Parracho. The first 14 km are dirt roads, which allows pelotons to dissolve. Then they enter the singletrack called Avatar, in a protected area.
After the Pau Brasil National Park, long stretches of dirt roads begin. Wide spaces with a lot of climbs and descents, where they form pelotons, that are broken by steep dips until Km 80. From then on, they enter singletracks once again, with more ascents, towards the mountains of Guaratinga. Leaders are expected to complete the course in about 6 hours.
Guarinis breakfast - Sunday (20th) began with the traditional breakfast of the Guarinis, athletes who completed Brasil Ride three or more times. In addition to several national and international riders, the event was attended by representatives of the municipal government of Porto Seguro, such as the mayor Cláudia Silva Santos Oliveira.
Press conference - On the night of Saturday (20th), just after the meeting of the UCI athletes, Brasil Ride had a press conference. In all, 14 cyclists formed the table, telling their experiences in the race and in their carreer. The guests were: Brazilians Henrique Avancini, Raiza Goulão, Jaqueline Mourão, Kennedi Lago and Mario Veríssimo, and also Bart Brentjens(NED) Tiago Ferreira (POR), Hans Becking (NED), Manuel Fumic (GER), Ibon Zugasti (ESP), Alberto Losada (ESP), Roel Paulissen (BEL), Alexey Medvedev (RUS) and Ana Antunes (POR).
2018 Brasil Ride Stages:
Etapa 2 - Arraial d'Ajuda to Guaratinga - 131,8 km and 1.767 m de altimetry
Etapa 3 - Guaratinga - 77,4 km and 2.106 m de altimetry
Etapa 4 - Guaratinga - 101 km and 2.665 m de altimetry
Etapa 5 - Guaratinga to Arraial d'Ajuda - 140 km and 2.336 m de altimetry
Etapa 6 - Arraial d'Ajuda - 32,4 km and 664 m de altimetry
Etapa 7 - Arraial d'Ajuda - 43,8 km and 497 m de altimetry
Live Schedule - The ninth edition of Brasil Ride will follow the schedule of the last two editions, with live streaming for eight days, in the official fan page: www.facebook.com/BRASILRIDE. Check the days and times (GMT-3):
Monday - 10/22 - Start at 7:40 a.m.; Finish at 12:30 p.m.; and Prize ceremony at 8:15 p.m.
Tuesday - 10/23 - Start at 7:40 a.m.; Finish at 12:30 p.m.; and Prize ceremony at 6:45 p.m.
Wednesday - 10/24 - Start at 7:40 a.m.; Finish at 12:30 p.m.; and Prize ceremony at 6:45 p.m.
Thursday - 10/25 - Start at 7:40 a.m.; Finish at 12:45 p.m.; and Prize ceremony at 8:45 p.m.
Friday - 10/26 - Start at 9:40 a.m.; Finish at 11:25 a.m.; and Prize ceremony at 6:45 p.m.
Sunday - 10/27 - Start at 8:40 a.m.; Finish at 12:00 p.m.; and Prize ceremony at 8:45 p.m.
The event - Considered the Giro d'Italia of the world MTB, the ultramarathon scheduled for 21-27 October in Bahia offers a challenge for the 540 participating athletes from all over the world. For seven days, the participants will ride for 600 km and endure almost 11,000 m of accumulated altimetry, between tracks and dirt roads that connect Arraial d'Ajuda, in Porto Seguro, to Brasil Ride Village, built annually in Guaratinga. On the last day of the competition, on Saturday (27), another 1,200 cyclists from all over the country join the stars of the international mountain bike race for the Marathon of the Discoveries. A unique opportunity to ride side by side with the bestmountain bikers in the world.
The ninth edition of Brasil Ride has Specialized, Shimano, Caixa and Unidas as sponsors. Government of Bahia, through the SUDESB (Superintendence of Sports of the State of Bahia) and Bahiatursa (Superintendence of Tourism Promotion of the State of Bahia), also sponsor the ultramarathon, while the Municipalities of Porto Seguro and Guaratinga are among the supporters.
Brasil Ride: More than a race, a stage in your life.
Website: http://www.BRASILRIDE.COM.BR
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BRASILRIDE
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brasil_ride
Instagram: https://instagram.com/brasilride
Gustavo Coelho / Doro Jr. - Mtb 13209
E-mail: gustavo@zdl.com.br / dorojr@zdl.com.br
Phone: +55 11 32855911 / Cell phone: + 55 11 9.8457-9699
Follow ZDL in twitter: twitter.com/ZDLcomunica
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First start of Brasil Ride 2018 (Fabio Piva / Brasil Ride)
Alta | Web
ST Sandd American Eagle MTB Racing Team (Fabio Piva / Brasil Ride)
Alta | Web
Sebastian Fini (Ney Evangelista / Brasil Ride)
Alta | Web
Martins Blums and Sebastian Fini (Wladimir Togumi / Brasil Ride)
Alta | Web
Manuel Fumic (Marcelo Rypl / Brasil Ride)
Alta | Web
David Nordemann (Marcelo Rypl / Brasil Ride)
Alta | Web
Jaqueline Mourão (Wladimir Togumi / Brasil Ride)
Alta | Web
Viviane Favery (Wladimir Togumi / Brasil Ride)
Alta | Web
Raiza Goulão (Marcelo Rypl / Brasil Ride)
Alta | Web
Rain in Arraial (Wladimir Togumi / Brasil Ride)
Alta | Web |
