A magical day for the Roses of the Andes, offered by the Rio Grande

Fiambala, April 10th 2014 – 5th day of the first Trophée Roses des Andes, today’s stage the Rio Grande Tour has offered a magical day to the Roses. They enjoyed the white sand dunes and have been able to put their driving skills into real practice.

This morning, during the briefing Jean-Jacques announced that the original stage had to be cut short due to road evolutions after the route reconnoitring. The Roses understood that change and left for the race with a smile on their face and their feet on the floor ready to gear up. The drivers had a lot of fun facing the sand stairs, the soft white dunes and the off-track sectors. Once again, they proved their solidarity is strong while helping the teams who got stuck in the sand using their shovels and straps. The competitors arrived to the bivouac with a clear satisfaction feeling, many of them were nervous about this particular stage.

For Manon Robinson, from team n.3, it was a deeply emotional day « I’ve had goose pumps during more than 6kms; we were in the Rio Grande. It was incredible: the Rio Grande! »

Around 4.30pm, the last teams arrived to the bivouac of Fiambala. Fiambala means the valley of the wind and it has proven that its name is adequate with a very strong wind coming from the Andes. At dusk, the Roses were enjoying a barbecue with delicious Argentinean beef. Smiles were on every face and anecdotes flew from every table. All the Roses enjoyed this friendly atmosphere, a few hours before another unique stage in the heart of the volcanic region of the protected national park Campo De Piedra Pomez.