Col de Bavella, Corsica - 2 October 2026 Through the first night of racing and the second day of competition at the Adventure Racing World Championship there have been significant changes amongst the lead teams.
Going into the first night of racing, with the teams paddling in darkness along the coast from Aleria to Solenzara, the lead pack was dominated by the strongest French teams. By dusk on day two, it was all change, with world #2 team, Estonia Ace/La Sportiva, opening up a lead as they trekked across the high Cuscione plateau, heading toward TA5 in Zivaco.
A second Estonian team (Tactical Foodpack), and teams from Spain, Finland and Canada also pushed into the top 10 places, with world #3 team, Kailas Fuja of Brazil on the charge to regain a top position. The Brazilians have staged a magnificent comeback following their costly navigational error early in the race.
Overnight the sea conditions were ideal for the off-shore paddle, and the biggest challenge teams faced was staying awake in the long hours of darkness. Adam Rose of Beacon AR (UK) said, “My team mates were singing and asking me questions to try and stop me falling asleep, and not always succeeding!” Teams were glad to see the sunrise and daylight revealed stunning vistas of the granite peaks of the Aiguilles de Bavella, which they would soon be climbing up towards.
The paddle ended at Solenzara with teams portaging their kayaks over sand dunes to access Transition Area 4 and switch from kayaking to trekking. On this first night of the race sleep strategy started to come into play. 400team Altore opted to sleep two hours at the transition, rather than trek in the dark, and because one of the hardest stages lay ahead. Some of their rivals didn’t stop and pushed on through. Teams have to take a mandatory 10 hours of sleep at any manned checkpoint or transition area during the race, and where, and when, they take it will be a key tactical decision.
By the afternoon of day 2 all of the teams had finished the paddle and had begun Stage E, the Queen stage of the first part of the race. The 72km trek takes teams over some of Corsica’s most iconic mountain areas, the Aiguilles de Bavella and Monte Incudine. The stage features complex navigation as well as 4320m of elevation gain, taking teams off-trail into wild areas of mountain scrub and technical, rocky terrain.
Early on the stage they passed through the Fiumicelli Canyon. This section required teams to swim, jump, climb and walk downstream between high cliffs and over the boulder strewn riverbed. It was a section where technical proficiency could gain a team significant time. Another decisive factor on the stage is the pinpoint navigation required to find the checkpoints in the challenging terrain of this stage.
During the afternoon, Estonian ACE/La Sportiva opened up a significant lead, and by the time they had passed the Col de Bavella (checkpoint 5) their compatriots, Team Tactical Foodpack, had moved into second place. If day one belonged to the French, day two was Estonia’s.
Through the second night of racing all of the teams will be high in the mountains facing the daunting challenges of stage E in the darkness. This stage is predicted to take the fast teams more than 24 hours, and the slowest over 40 hours. The weather has also changed, with storm clouds cloaking the mountains, heavy rain showers and dense mist.
There will be more dramatic changes to teams’ fortunes on this formidable World Championship course in the days ahead. The race is still in its early stages and there is a very long way to go until teams reach the finish line at Ile Rousse. The winners are not expected to arrive until Tuesday Oct 6th at the earliest.
You can watch the teams progress via the live satellite tracking and follow their adventures through the photographs, videos and reports on the official race website and live social media channels.
www.arwc2026.com and www.arworldseries.com
#corsicaismagic #arworldseries
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