Leaders Avancini and Fumic put pressure on Ferreira and Becking, on Brasil Ride 5th stage

Porto Seguro (Bahia) - Brasil Ride 5th stage, with 140 Km between Guaratinga and Arraial d’Ajuda, in Porto Seguro was intense between the contenders to the win of the main mountain bike ultramarathon in the Americas. Portuguese Tiago Ferreira and Dutch Hans Becking, DMT Racing Team, won this Thursday (25), but finished with the same time as the leaders, Brazilian Henrique Avancini and German Manuel Fumic, Cannondale Factory Racing, after riding for 5h21min27sec. The podium had Russian Alexey Medvedev and Italian Francesco Failli, Specialized Italia, completing the course in 5h23min46sec.

The day did not start well for Ferreira and Becking, with a flat in the Portuguese bike, making them put an extra effort to chase the peloton after the fix. On the hydration point in Km 78, Ferreira and Becking strategy was not to stop, and move on in order to take some distance from the contenders. The escape was quickly neutralized by the chasers, and the decision was made in the final sprint.

“For us, this was the best stage to try and recover the gap. We were all strong, and leaders did not demonstrate any weakness. Thus, we remain one minute behind, although we know we have done our best. We even played dirty, and attacked on the hydration point, We had a flat, and they didn't wait for us. This is a race, and we're not here to make friends. We're here to fight for the win”, said Becking.

“We tried to keep calm until Km 70, but near Km 60 I had a flat, and the front peloton tried to leave us behind. Problem solved, we got their own back on the third assistance point, because we were feeling good and we didn’t need any water. We opened a gap and made the rivals put much effort to catch us. In the final 40 Km, Hans pushed hard, and we kept together until the end with their team”, told Ferreira.

Keeping the lead, Henrique Avancini and Manuel Fumic are a little more than one minute ahead, with the advantage of having their favorite stage this Friday: the Olympic Cross Country (XCO). “It was the longest day in Brasil Ride. In the beginning, we thought it was going to rain all day. But heat came suddenly, brutally. It got really hot, and in the end we just tried to control Tiago and Hans, because they came in second, and tried to recover the leader jersey. We attacked and managed to neutralize. We got to the shore, and now we have to face the XCO, that suits us”, assessed Fumic. 

“Our goal was to control Tiago and Hans. They tried everything they could, and I was surprised at Km 78, when they attacked in an assistance area, and used José Dias, from other team, to help them. They went by, non stop, and that shows certain despair. We managed to recover, and control the race. The goal was to cross the finish line together, safely. We go on with the objective of holding on to the yellow jersey in the next two days”, said Avancini.

Women's Elite - The fight for the Yellow Jersey was balanced among the leaders, Spanish Sandra Santaynes and Anna Ramirez, from Olympia / Estevez Team, and Brazilians Viviane Favery and Marcela Toldi, from Cannondale Brasil Women. After a fast start, Favery and Toldi caught the European duo, and won in the last meters. 

Just like in the men's elite, the GC kept the same. “Our goal was to hold on to the jersey today, because it was very long. We wanted to manage the gap, and in the end we finished together, because they were very strong. I'm happy for the day”, said Ramirez. “It was a long stage, and the one I dreaded most. It was important to be together once again, and it was very hard for me. In the end, the four of us won”, highlighted Santaynes.

Zimbabue / Norway duo début - In their first time in the country, team number 202, formed by Zimbabwean Stacey Hylsop and Norwegian Marianne Bergli are out of the top 5, but they can't hide the joy of being part of the main MTB marathon in the Americas. Hylsop and Bergli met in the beginning of the year, in the Stellenbosch (RSA) stage of the UCI World MTB Cup, and then had the idea of racing Brasil Ride. 

“It's the first time I bring my bike and ride in Brazil. I’ve heard so many good things about this race. Some friends in the social networks were here in the previous years, and I saw pictures of people mentioning the race. I noticed it was something I had to do some day”, said Bergli. “In the beginning I was afraid, because I'm a XC rider, used to 1h30 races. We looked up in the Internet, and found information that it was really fun. The prologue was hard, because we do not have mud in Zimbabwe. I had so much fun in the two dry stages, with lots of singletracks”. told Hylsop. 

“This is a beautiful country, and I'm happy to see it”, completed Hylsop, who is the African XCO sub-23 champion. “What I like here is that I have the possibility to ride in places I would never come, with beautiful landscapes. We are enjoying this place so much”, said Bergli, who is a marathon specialist, and recently moved into XC.

Top 5 after Stage 5:

Men's: 
1-Henrique Avancini (BRA) / Manuel Fumic (GER) - 18h01min06seg
2-Tiago Ferreira (POR) / Hans Becking (NED) - 18h02min09seg
3-Alexey Medvedev (RUS) / Francesco Failli (ITA) - 18h11min10seg
4-Hugo Prado Neto (BRA) / Roel Paulissen (BEL) - 18h19min38seg
5-Sebastian Fini (DIN) / Martins Blums (LAT) - 18h23min00seg

Women's:
1-Sandra Santanyes (ESP) / Anna Ramirez (ESP) - 24h34min18seg
2-Viviane Favery (BRA) / Marcella Toldi (BRA) - 25h01min33seg
3-Paula Gallan (BRA) / Franciele Almeida (BRA) - 25h28min20seg
4-Ilda Pereira (POR) / Mayalen Noriega (ESP) - 26h01min20seg
5-Ivonne Kraft (GER) / Agnes Naumann (GER) - 27h04min47seg

2018 Brasil Ride Stages:
Etapa 6 - Arraial d'Ajuda - 32,4 km and 664 m de altimetry
Etapa 7 - Arraial d'Ajuda - 43,8 km and 497 m de altimetry

Live Schedule - The ninth edition of Brasil Ride will follow the schedule of the last two editions, with live streaming for eight days, in the official fan page: www.facebook.com/BRASILRIDE. Check the days and times (GMT-3):

Friday - 10/26 - Start at 9:40 a.m.; Finish at 11:25 a.m.; and Prize ceremony at 6:45 p.m.
Sunday - 10/27 - Start at 8:40 a.m.; Finish at 12:00 p.m.; and Prize ceremony at 8:45 p.m.  

The event - Considered the Giro d'Italia of the world MTB, the ultramarathon scheduled for 21-27 October in Bahia offers a challenge for the 540 participating athletes from all over the world. For seven days, the participants will ride for 600 km and endure almost 11,000 m of accumulated altimetry, between tracks and dirt roads that connect Arraial d'Ajuda, in Porto Seguro, to Brasil Ride Village, built annually in Guaratinga. On the last day of the competition, on Saturday (27), another 1,200 cyclists from all over the country join the stars of the international mountain bike race for the Marathon of the Discoveries. A unique opportunity to ride side by side with the bestmountain bikers in the world.

The ninth edition of Brasil Ride has Specialized, Shimano, Caixa and Unidas as sponsors. Government of Bahia, through the SUDESB (Superintendence of Sports of the State of Bahia) and Bahiatursa (Superintendence of Tourism Promotion of the State of Bahia), also sponsor the ultramarathon, while the Municipalities of Porto Seguro and Guaratinga are among the supporters.

Videos and slideshows: youtube - wetransfer

Stage 1:
Vídeo - https://youtu.be/CcduJ8RGGww
Slideshow - https://youtu.be/8lbrO1xTLMU
Wetransfer - https://we.tl/t-t644YMd1G3

Stage 2: 
Vídeo - https://youtu.be/_oBSy4DLihU
Slideshow - https://youtu.be/zMYfhZZr0F0
Wetransfer -https://we.tl/t-5rewGncXHP

Stage 3:
Video - https://youtu.be/4Lb_0CwSxdU
Wetransfer - https://we.tl/t-1k2RknUEd0
Slideshow - https://youtu.be/yldPy3EzMk4

Stage 4:
Vídeo youtube: https://youtu.be/rK1qIgAtIJQ
Vídeo wetransfer: https://we.tl/t-AbXRi4ro2o
Slideshow youtube: https://youtu.be/UjEbJul_5mQ
Slideshow wetransfer: https://we.tl/t-43UqTsDkXb

Stage 5:
Vídeo youtube: https://youtu.be/WIUyNgmJx2c
Vídeo wetransfer: https://we.tl/t-2yMyRIvZBh
Slideshow youtube: https://youtu.be/IwEQiby08Ms
Slideshow wetransfer: https://we.tl/t-U7Cb0pTaLT

Results on www.brasilride.com.br

Brasil Ride: More than a race, a stage in your life.

Website: http://www.BRASILRIDE.COM.BR
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BRASILRIDE
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brasil_ride
Instagram: https://instagram.com/brasilride

Gustavo Coelho / Doro Jr. - Mtb 13209
E-mail: gustavo@zdl.com.br / dorojr@zdl.com.br
Phone: +55 11 32855911 / Cell phone: + 55 11 9.8457-9699

Translated by: Rosita Belinky - robelinky@gmail.com

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