The race is getting more and more exciting as the heading teams approach the finish line. All day Wednesday, Sweden´s Explore (team 17) have been in first position since day 1 , followed by the French Quechua ( team 12) who have been gaining positions throughout the race, leaving the other teams behind them, and are now in second place.

The French team, Quechua, arrived first at point control 20 in La Fortuna of San Carlos, where they had to spend 4 hours at the sports center, due to a foot injury of one of its members, caused by the edge of the drum in which they keep their equipment. Therefore he needed special medical care.

But they were on the go feeling stronger than ever leading the race, with the goal to reach the Swedish. They managed to get to the kayak point barely 20 minutes behind the Swedish. At the kayak task, they had to row hard for 24 km and start the mountain trekking starting at Rancho Margo Hotel in Lake Arenal to the sky trek in Monteverde.

The Swedish and French teams, who both set out late afternoon, arrived at the entrance of the sky trek, point control 26, at the same time: 7.20am. Team Explore finished the mountain bike trail heading the race, but barely 9 minutes before the Quechua, at 8.37p.m.

Early evening they started the bike cruise of 171 km from Monteverto to Carrillo Beach. The heavy rains have caused many land slides along the way and Quechua tried to find an alternative way, at the cost of precious time.

At 5 am today, Explore had 2 hours advantage as they rode passed Puerto Morenos and are still going strong towards the finish line. Still ahead of them, 2 km of kayak in Carrillo beach and 2km of trekking along the beach till Villas Playa Samara, the final point.

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New events have developed during the race, this time it is the withdrawal of one of the favourite teams, Multisport.fi (team2) from Finland. The Finnish team quits at control point 22 at Mirador Cerro Chato, when they were heading towards the kayak section. The team’s captain has suffered severe sun burns during the last few miles of the trekking section, prompting the team’s decision to quit the race. He has received medical care at the Fortuna’s sports center, The Finnish have really had a hard time in this race. Already they carried a 10 hour penalization for skipping a task. Maybe next time!

Bad news, again, this time from USA (team 13) Checkpoint Zero, who quit the race today at 10 a.m. One of the members has suffered excessively during the race and had to literally drag himself into the sports center at La Fortuna. His feet totally shattered.

Few teams remain. Time keeps flying. The next task is the sky trek followed by the 171 km mountain bike trail.

At the top of the race are the French Quechua and the Swedish Explore, who have left control point 22 and were heading towards the sky trek. Continued by the kayak task, they remain very close to the Colombian team Bossi and the Costarrican team Safety, who are struggling for third and fourth positions.

The heat has been merciless throughout the day, which has not helped the teams during the long sections. Lets see how our competitors face up to tonight’s tasks, which, once again, are not easy. Don’t give up!!!

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Hot!!! Everybody agreed, as they ended their mountain bike task, in stage 6 at Pedacito de Cielo in San Carlos. A remote place surrounded by mountains, and very hot. At some points, the bikes had to be carried over the mud and the swamped trails. Exhaustion is starting to set in. The teams took between 30 minutes and an hour to complete this stage.

The next stage is the longest trekking section of the race, under a merciless sun. This must have weighed in Brazil´s decision to retire from the race, once they concluded the mountain bike section in control point 14. This decision leaves Quasar Lontra, one of the favourite teams, to be out of the race. As with the Finnish Omjakon, the remaining members Rafael Campos and Sabrina Gobbor have decided to continue the challenge without Xuxa and Victor Lopes.

The race has been full of expectations. The Swedish Explore has remained first throughout the day. When they crossed the San Juan river mouth, they were three hours ahead of the team Safety Smart Wear (team 16), that has had an amazing take over. Although they have lost precious time due to navigation issues, they have been quick to overcome them and remain in second place. Amongst the members of this team is Costarrican Ligia Madrigal, considered the best mountain bike cyclist of the country.

Along with team 16, the other Costarrican team Real Costa Rica Coastal Challenge, team 5, have stood up for Costa Rica. They have done a great job during the 8 stages of the race so far. Antonio de la Rosa has stated that although Safety Smart Wear are very powerful, the Coastal Challenge team are very careful and faultless.

Night spread over bringing a much awaited fresh breeze. On arrival at control point 16 in Cocobolo, the Swedish Explore took the strategic decision to rest and sleep for an hour. But their 3 hour advantage was shortened to barely 3 minutes as the Safety Smart Wear team were treading at their heels. Knowing that they were close to the Swedish team, the Finnish Multisport.fi (team 2) and the French Quechua ( team 12), speeded up and they managed to set a 30 minutes distance between them.

The race continues. La Fortuna is next. All teams will have to rest for 2 hours, take a bath, be interviewed, or just, sleep. Tonight everything can happen.

GPS Tracking and Leaderboard at http://www.arcostarica.com.

Sweden’s Explore team (17) has been leading the race followed 30 minutes behind by Costa Ricc’s Bosi Zom Radio team, and barely a minute behind, is the Finnish team Multisport.fi (Team 2).

Unfortunately the Finnish Omjakon Multisport.fi (Team 1) has been forced to withdraw from the race due to captain Tekka’s unexpected physical indisposition. Even though the team will not be able to classify, the three remaining members will continue in the race.

After the rafting, mountain bike, and canopy sections all teams arrived at Lake Hule in Rio Cuarto. Tonight they will be travelling through the canon of Lake Hule Rio Cuarto. This task is a very technical one which is made more difficult due to weather conditions. The major obstacles being¸ rain and mud.

In tomorrow’s early morning we will know if Sweden keeps the head of the race.

GPS tracking and Leaderboard at http://www.arcostarica.com.

After a long and hard first day, already the teams are setting the pace differently between them. Although during the rafting section, of the first stage, the teams were quite even, it was not until the biking task that timing became an import issue. Once they came out of the river, the teams were struck by the heat and navigation dilemmas started to arise.

At the canopy La Linda of Sarapiqui, a great thunder storm broke out and although nobody was injured, the electrical lightning affected some of the members of the teams, who could feel small electrical discharges from the cables above the trees.

For the next task, the teams took hold of their bikes to get ready for the third stage, and head towards the daring nocturnal task of the descent of the Ravine of Caños, in Río Cuarto. This task was a proof of team work, in which they had to deliver between what was safe and what was risky and faster competition wise. This was undergone during the night and in very harsh weather conditions. Only one third of the teams managed to accomplish this task before the end of the day. The rest of the teams arrived to the control post #12 early this Tuesday morning, thus completing 10 miles of trekking.

Every aspect is taken into account. The captain of the Swedish team, who leads the race, commented about how complicated and technical this task had been. The Argentinean team Tierra Viva, said that the team’s security was the main issue during the river and canyon crossing without ropes. The Finnish team Multisport Omjakon (team 2) were the only ones that decided not to cross the canyon and headed for their bikes at 9.45 p.m. This will result in a penalty that will amount to twice the longest timing in this stage, probably 10, which will make it very difficult for the team to classify in the first places.

GPS Tracking and Leaderboard at http://www.arcostarica.com.