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In November, the southernmost region of Bahia will host the 11th edition of Santander Brasil Ride Bahia, the world’s main premium MTB stage race. Between November 7th and 13th, 500 riders from Brazil and some of the best in the world will be taking part in the race, which has venues in Arraial d'Ajuda, Porto Seguro, and the municipality of Guaratinga. On the last day, Saturday (13), another group of athletes join the participants of the ultramarathon, during the Discovery Marathon, bringing the event to a perfect enc. A unique opportunity to ride along with the best mountain bikers in the world.
Considered the Giro d'Italia of the MTB world, the ultramarathon offers quite a challenge for the participants. For seven days, riders will face about 600 km and 13,000 m of accumulated climbing, between trails and dirt roads that connect Arraial d'Ajuda, in Porto Seguro, and the Santander Brasil Ride Village in Guaratinga.
The first stage takes place within Arraial, and is called The Prologue. The second and fifth stages are the round trip between the two venues. Stages 3 and 4 are raced around Santander Brasil Ride Village, while stage 6 is once again a circuit in Arraial. The closure takes place along with the Discovery Marathon, in a fast stage between Arraial and Trancoso.
In terms of structure, Santander Brasil Ride really stands out, with full service to participants. Among the highlights is the Shimano Neutral Support service, which provides free mechanical assistance to all riders during the race, regardless of the brand of components on their bikes, and the bike wash station, offered in Squirt’s tent, where the athletes leave their bikes after each stage, and come back later to pick them up clean, free of cost.
Santander Brasil Ride Village under construction – The Santander Brasil Ride Village is already under construction in Guaratinga. The place is virtually a city for 1,100 people, on a farm 14 kilometers from the city center, where 5,400 high standard meals are served, with fresh fruit juice and desserts. It has a gigantic structure, with 80 tons of equipment, assembled in a 25-acre area for four days of competition.
There are 1,100 tents, two 100-meter deep artesian wells, with five pumps that extract and distribute 800,000 liters of water to various areas of the camp/city, tents for restaurants, including one for 700 people, 10 km of underground wires, 48 hot water showers, sponsors' tents and a medical truck with beds and an ICU.
For two months, the event team transforms a pasture area into a complete city with underground wiring, cafeteria, restaurant, bathing and toilets and three different areas with tents for athletes, race staff and restaurant staff.
World sports stars – In its ten editions, the Santander Brasil Ride Bahia ultramarathon received athletes from different parts of the world, with a peloton filled with international cycling stars. Olympic champions, such as the Dutchman Bart Brentjens and the Czech Jaroslav Kulhavý rode the trails of the competition, as well as renowned cyclists who made history in the sport by winning world titles, such as the Swiss Christoph Sauser, the Portuguese Tiago Ferreira, the greatest star of Brazilian MTB, Henrique Avancini, among others.
In the 11th edition, the current champions, Tiago Ferreira and Hans Becking (NLD), will be on opposite sides, disputing another ultramarathon title. While Ferreira, alongside Belgian Wout Alleman, races for his third title in the competition, Hans will try to isolate himself as the greatest champion of the event, in the fight for his fourth win, competing with Portuguese José Dias, current bronze medalist in the Marathon World Championship (XCM).
Growth and recognition – The fight for the win will be intense on the trails, as it welcomes some of the best cyclists in the world ranking, yet out of the trails the event is also remarkable. In addition to granting naming rights for all the Tour Brasil Ride races to Santander bank until the end of 2022, other world-renowned companies reinforce the team of brands that support the event, such as Jeep and Continental Tires, joining strong companies such as Unidas, Specialized and Shimano, among others. Facts like this justify the growing interest of the media, sponsors and, of course, participants, who form an eclectic peloton.
"At Santander Brasil Ride Bahia we have some of the best cyclists in the world with some of the main global brands in their segments. This gives us the certainty that once again the sport lovers will be presented with an event of the highest level during seven days. I want to thank Minister João Roma, from the Ministry of Citizenship, for the support of the Federal Government through the Sports Incentive Law, for the holding of prominent international events in the country, and to the Government of the State of Bahia, which for the 11th year receives the largest mountain bike ultramarathon in the Americas", comments Mario Roma, founder of Santander Brasil Ride.
The 7 stages of the ultramarathon:
1st stage, on November 7 – 20.8 km and 327 m accumulated ascension in Arraial d'Ajuda
2nd stage, on November 8 – 132 km and 2,350 m accumulated ascension from Arraial to Guaratinga
3rd stage, on November 9 – 58.7 km and 1,350 m accumulated ascension in Guaratinga
4th stage, on November 10 – 103 km and 2,377 m accumulated ascension in Guaratinga
5th stage, on November 11 – 143 km and 2,336 m accumulated ascension from Guaratinga to Arraial
6th stage, on November 12 – 31.7 km and 564 m accumulated ascension in Arraial d'Ajuda
7th stage, on November 13 – 46.7 km and 548 m accumulated ascension in Arraial d'Ajuda
Santander Brasil Ride: More than a race, a stage in your life.
Website: http://www.BRASILRIDE.COM.BR
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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
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