On the eighth day of non-stop racing at the Adventure Racing World Championship the majority of the teams are still making their way to the finish line
On the eighth day of non-stop racing at the Adventure Racing World Championship the majority of the teams are still making their way to the finish line; a goal they have been striving for, day and night, as they cross Corsica’s mountains and paddle around the island’s coastline.
The podium was completed on Wednesday, on the 7th night of competition, with 400team Altore finishing in second place behind the new World Champions, Estonian ACE / La Sportiva, and with a remarkable race for third place.
After 6 days and 15 hours of intense racing, two teams emerged from the darkness on the water of the Gulf of Saleccia in their packrafts, paddling furiously in a sprint finish! Team Tactical Foodpack (Estonia) and Luberon MUC (France) jumped out of their rafts and carried them over the finish line on Napoleon Beach at L’Ile Rousse together, collapsing on the sand in complete exhaustion. With only seconds between them the teams agreed with the Race Director they should be ranked equal 3rd.
Wednesday saw stormy weather on the west coast of Corsica, and there was another huge thunderstorm in the night to make life even more difficult for the teams and, with high winds forecast for the day ahead, the final packraft stage on the coast and river packraft were cancelled. Further changes to the course were also announced by the race organisation to enable more teams to finish the epic 500km course, removing the last, long coastal trekking stage for the slower teams and allowing them to cycle instead.
Teams who were ready to start the last river packraft stage were held in place overnight and resumed at first light to continue their race on their bikes, and by nightfall all will have reached the coast at Transition 10, set up by the marina at the coastal port of Saint Florent.
By the evening of day 8 only the top 10 teams, from 98 starters, had reached the finish line, including two teams from Estonia, six from France, and two from Canada. The first team from outside Europe to finish was Team Subaru Expedition Canada, taking 5th place, followed by Bend Racing/4 Hour Fuel, who finished the following morning in 7th place. The Bend Racing/4 Hour Fuel team captain, Alex Provost, said on the finish line, “Corsica was definitely Magic! We had many ups and downs, and lots of emotions. The scenery was beautiful and the people were so welcoming when we stopped in small villages.”
Almost all of the teams have stories of generous hospitality from the people of Corsica. Robert Le Brun of Team Terra Mater from South Africa said, “We were up in the hills last night, miles from anywhere, and when we asked for some water a kind man gave us some food as well, and allowed us to use an apartment. He was so kind and we were very grateful as one of our team mates was ill.” He added, “We were doing well, flying the flag for South Africa, and pushing for a top 20 place, but by this morning 3 of the team were sick, so it wasn’t meant to be.”
Every team still on the course will have more high points and low points before they reach the finish line. The majority won’t arrive there on day 8 and will have one more night on this remarkable race course, making their way along the coast by bike and on foot to collect the last checkpoints. The race will close Friday (Oct 9th), with the prize giving ceremony that evening in L’Ile Rousse at 18.30, when the achievements of all of the teams will be celebrated.
Follow the teams as they finish ARWC2026 - Corsica is Magic on www.arwc2026.com and through live social media coverage from the Adventure Racing World Series.
#arworldseries #arwc2026 #corsicaismagic
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