24-hour Desafio, Brazil (Novembre 15-16, 2008)

Against the wind

By Sara Taglialatela

The 24-hour Desafio takes place on a 13-km circuit that runs for the most part along the coast of Porto das Dunas, located 35 km south of Fortaleza, a metropolis of about 2.5 million people and the capital of the state of Cearà in northeast Brazil. Fabio raced this World Ultracycling Cup trial, which is also a qualification trial for RAAM, next to the Atlantic Ocean and always against the wind. The direction of the race, in fact, is designed so that the ultracyclers always go against the wind, in a movement contrary to that of the wind turbines that crowd this section of the coast, famous worldwide for its white beaches wedged between the blue of the sky and sea.

While Fabio pedalled the 49 laps (637 km), for a total of 8,085 miles of climb at an average of 26.7 km/hour, which brought him to third place, the first foreigner after the two home cyclists, the wind turbines, which rise on the light sand dunes, never really slowed their whirling. They have been designed and built for this: to indulge the movement of the wind, to harmonize their movement with its force and in this way take away its power that will then be transformed into energy. Instead, the ultracycler, had to oppose the movement of the wind with a contrary and constant force in the 24 hours of racing in order to be able to travel the greatest number of kilometres along the course.

A race against the wind and the dry heat that makes this Brazilian region stand out, which is wedged between the arid Sertao desert, famous for its tropical temperatures that remain stable year-round, and the equator, where the sun is at the zenith for a good part of the year and there is no true defence against the rays burning your skin.

Click here for the photos of the race.

In order to see a film of the circuit, click on this link link.