The Swedish Armed Forces Adventure Team (SAFAT) is the new adventure racing world champion by crossing this Wednesday in first position the finish line of the Raid Gallaecia-AR World Championship 2021, located in A Coruña, four minutes before 2:00 p.m. and four days, one hour and 56 minutes after departure at Monforte de Lemos In the past week.
The Swedish army team took the lead through sector 5, a 65-kilometer trek through the Natural Park of Las Fragas do Eume and the Biosphere Reserve Mariñas Coruñesas and Terras do Mandeo. The Scandinavian team surpassed the Estonians of the Estonian ACE Adventure-La Sportiva in the heights of You will see, around 23:00 yesterday, before starting the descent towards Aranga Bridge to go to Betanzos by the river bank Mandeo.
In Betanzos the section 6, a short 10 kilometer kayak trip to Sada. La Perla das Mariñas is the starting point of the seventh and last section, a new walking route along the Coast of Dexo. The teams will cover the last 25 kilometers passing through Lorbé, the natural monument of the Coast of Dexo, Mera, Santa Cruz, Bastiagueiro, Santa Cristina and Passage Bridge before crossing the finish line in the Paseo Marítimo de O Parrote de A Coruña.
The new world champion is captained by John Karlsson, who they accompany Oskar Svärd, Emil Dahlqvist and Malin Hjalmarsson as a female component. The Scandinavian team won this year an Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS) race, the Nordic Islands Adventure Race (NIAR), which took place in their own country in early June. It is the second time in 17 editions that Sweden conquers the adventure racing world championship, after the Thule Adventure Team won in Australia ten years ago, in 2011.
Arrival of participants to the Herculine city
The Estonia ACE Adventure-La Sportiva Estonian, who led much of the toughest race in the world, reached the finish line in second position. The Baltic team reached the finish line at 17:53, covering the course in a time of 4 days, 5 hours and 53 minutes. Silver Eensaar, Rain Eensaar, Timmo Tammemäe and Reeda Tuula-Fyodorov they crossed the finish line almost four hours after the champion.
At 19:38 hours the NIAR Adventure Racing Team, completing a podium with a double Swedish presence. The Scandinavian team, made up of Staffan Björklund, Sonny Peterson, Rickard Norlin and Johanna Bjørcke Edman, invested an hour and three quarters more than the quartet that preceded it, for a total of 4 days, 7 hours and 38 minutes.
The Torpedo Vidaraid it was the next team to cross the finish line, the first Spanish, and the only one to reach it before midnight, in fourth position. The 400team Naturex French, who commanded the race in section 1, and the Blizzard Russian, leading at the beginning of section 2, dropped out at As Pontes.
The French team decided to continue to A Coruña with three components due to the injury of Nicolas seguin, so it will not enter the final classification. A total of 13 teams that did not pass the Quiroga cut (Monday at 4:00 p.m.) were re-caught by the organization and continued the race from As Pontes, although it was not in the official ranking. Throughout this late night they will reach the finish line in A Coruña.
