CUT !

The marathon, last stage of this 2^nd edition, led the Roses through unique and previously unseen landscapes. A real « movie setting » as they said.

Each panorama reminded them of a different region of the world. First, they tried to find points of reference to compare these landscapes with what they know already. Soon enough, they realized that they should not look for similarities and admitted that the Argentineans landscapes are unique, that they had never seen such panorama before.

Program of the 422.3km stage : Antofalla, Salar Arizaro, Tolar Grande, El Diablo.

These names are reminiscent of evasion. Can you imagine the sensation of being actually there? More than just names, to the Roses they meant real racing sensations, encounters with villagers and unforgettable images.

The participants started off yesterday morning from Antofagasta, wiling to battle for the competition and also eager to enjoy the panorama but not only. When this stage (the last one) ends, the overall results will be established. There was no time to rest, no matter what the ranking was; they had to give it all! So, they did not wait too long before stopping in order to set up their strategy. The goal was simple: in order to win, they had to take shortcuts. In the first kilometres, we could already see the Roses along to route observing the tracks and making an evaluation of the shortcut possibilities. Some decided to go through a field of thorny vegetation. Turned out to be a difficult option, it took them 2 hours to get out of there.

It was mandatory to stop at the break of dusk; the Roses then prepared their bivouac. Some found shelter in villagers’ homes, several met with other teams and gathered around a fire and a tent, while other participants set up their campsite on their own in order to establish their strategy and talk about their impressions. Nothing could stop the Roses and because the setting was so unique, above 3.000m they opened a champagne bottle!

Today, at the finish line, the emotion overwhelmed them. Blinded by the rally’s excitement for a week, as they crossed the finish line for the last time, they realized what they achieved.