Gerard Fusil…what a man what a philosophy! After his years of experience as a reporter for Europe 1 he was able to cover such events as the Paris-Dakar (until 1991), Camel Trophy, five Americas Cup, from which was born his love for nature and sports. While working as a reporter for such competitions he also put together from scratch the famous and well established Raid Gauloises. He put this event together each year from 1989 to 1997, covering 3 continents, and eight countries. Hence Gerard Fusil does not need introduction to the world of adventure sports and events. All these years of experience gave him a dream…one to organize a sport-nature event. With a great heart for cultures, intercultural respect and visions he was able to put together the Elf Authentique Aventure. Well, today we can say for him that his dream has become reality and is now a well-known adventure event.

An Epic Adventure Concludes in Sao Jose de Ribamar

Sao Jose de Ribamar, Maranhao, Brazil, April 28, 2000 After 14 long, difficult days of competition, the 2000 Elf Authentic Adventure came to a close today when the last team, completing the 90 kilometer sailing leg from Primeira Cruz, reached the beach here. Sailing, sea kayaking, horseback riding, mountain biking, trekking, climbing, rapelling, and at times swimming, were the modes of transport used by the 120 competitors on 30 teams that began the adventure on April 14 in Camocim, Ceara. After traveling 847 kilometers along the Extreme class course, Terra Force, a North American team, landed on the tranquil shores of the Baia do Sao Jose at 10 :20 am to conclude what was the longest expedition-style adventure race in the history of this young sport. Because of the extremes of climate, weather and topography, this adventure was also one of the most demanding races to date, perhaps setting a new standard of difficulty for multi-day sports-in-nature competitions, a concept introduced by Elf Authentic Adventure director Gerard Fusil.

After staging the race in the modern city of Fortaleza, the adventure began in Camocim, a small coastal fishing town where the prologue regatta took place and site of the first sea kayaking leg. The regatta placed the four racers from each team on a traditional fishing boat with local Camocim skippers. Held in memory of 1999 Elf Authentic Adventure finisher Paul Vatine (a world class sailor who perished at sea last year), the prologue was won by Varig Airlines, an American /Canadian team. Hot on their heels were Pharmanex-Spie and Fujifilm, two teams that would battle back and forth for the lead in the early days of the race. Edmar Ferreira, skipper of the Varig boat, took home a cash award of 500 reais for his efforts.

Sea-kayaking was the next leg, and while short, was a difficult one. Teams were required to paddle 33 kilometers up the Rio Coreau to Granja. Recent heavy rains had turned the river into a muddy torrent, slowing down even the strongest paddlers. Pharmanex-Spie, whose racers came from the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand, completed it first to make the transition to horseback riding, followed by Fujifilm of France. What was to be a three hour paddle took most teams in excess of six.

The horseback section, beginning in Granja covered 113 kilometers, with teams setting out for the small town of Ubauna, a planned two-day ride. There was concern among the teams early on about the condition of the horses, and how they would fare in the exteme heat, as temperatures soared to 100+. There were many climbs, creek crossings, and most teams had to get off and walk their horses for extended periods

This was for many racers the beginning of foot troubles that would plague them for the rest of the race. Again, heavy rain was a factor, forcing organizers to move Check Point 7 at the flooded Rio Itocolome and to conclude horseback riding at Check Point 9 rather than at Assistance 2. Fujifilm arrived at Assistance 2 leading the field, with Pharmanex-Spie in fifth.

The trekking, which due to route modifications started at Check Point 9, was the beginning of the truly physical part of this test. The 110 kilometer section was lengthened with the route change, and included a challenging climb and rappel on the beautiful rock faces above the village of Carqueijo. After running on the roads and up the pass leading to Check Point 12, Pharmanex-Spie had closed the gap on Fujifilm and arrived at the base of the climb just after them. Both teams, along with Sao Jose de Ribamar, Maranhao, Brazil, April 28, 2000

Team Paul Vatine, and Ford-Raca-Forte, would complete the climb that afternoon and proceed on foot into the night of the full moon. Racers on this section, concluding in Tiangua, were slowed by rainfall and problems with the feet began to play a major role as well. Before completing the long, draining walk into Check Point 19 /Assistance 3, the racers completed another rappel, down the lush rock faces adjacent to Cascada Pocao, a 300 foot waterfall at the gates of the Ubajara Natural Area, undoubtedly one of the most stunning parts of the course.

Mountain biking followed, and was possibly the most physically taxing part of the course. Aside from the long climbs where racers had to portage their bikes, rain and swollen streams made the going tougher than anticipated. The route, from Tiangua to Fazenda Varzea, covered 175 kilometers over the scorched Sertao landscape. Mud and sand gummed up chains qnd derailluers, flat tires were frequent, and at this point many individuals began to abandon the race. At Fazenda Varzea, on the banks of the Rio Parnaiba, Pharmanex-Spie had a commanding lead as they began another leg of paddling, this one 116 kilometers to Tutoia.

At Tutoia, teams got back on their bikes to begin crossing the Lencois Maranhenses, a vast, stark desert butting up to the Atlantic, punctuated by large dunes and offering little if any relief from the tropical heat. All teams would travel to Cabure by bike. From there, Extreme class racers traveled on foot and in their kayaks the 108 kilometers to Assistance 7 in Primeira Cruz. Whether by foot or bike, this was another extremely demanding section and for nearly all the competitors, the most visually beautiful. By this point, Pharmanex-Spie had a huge lead on Fujifilm and Team Paul Vatine, the French teams that had developed a friendly rivalry after more than a week of racing through Ceara, Piaui and now Maranhao The adventure would finish, as it had started, with sailing, this time a 90 kilometer stretch from Primeira Cruz to the finish. Teams again joined local fisherman to journey through the twists of the Rio do Alegre, the Rio Peira, and finally across the straits of the Baia de Sao Jose to the beach at San Jose de Ribamar. Winds unpredictable and most teams had to combine paddling with sailing to cover the distance. Pharmanex-Spie (Steve Gurney, Cathy Sassin, John Jacoby and Tim Grammar) arrived here on April 26 at 5 :45 pm after 847 kilometers and 12 days of travel through the wilds of the Nordeste to win the race. The following morning, Reebok-Endurance of Brazil (Said Aiach Neto, Carmen Da Silva, Fabrizio Giovannini, and Luiz Ishibe) completed the course to win the Adventure class (808 kilometers), and Aerospatiale-Matra-RFO (Bruno Rey, Cathy Guegen, Stephene Toussint and William Chastan) finished first in the Discovery class (784 kilometers).

The final tally among 30 teams starting the 2000 Elf Authentic Adventure: Four teams finished in the Extreme class, one team finished in the Adventure class, five teams finished in the Discovery class, eight incomplete teams finished, four teams were taken off the course after missing check point closing cutoffs, one team was banned from continuing after taking a dangerous route, and seven teams abandoned the race of their own accord.

Result 2000