On Sunday 27 September, the first teams arrived in Corte. At Place Tuffelli, athletes, volunteers and organisers are finally together on the ground: the Adventure Racing World Championship is under way.
Suitcases, race bags and equipment are piling up around the event village. Teams are arriving from different countries, greeting familiar rivals and meeting the people who will share their Corsican adventure. For the volunteers welcoming the teams and carrying out the checks, this first day is the culmination of months of preparation.
Before they can set off, every team must complete administrative checks and have its mandatory equipment inspected, including the medical kit it will carry during the race. Technical tests continue until 29 September. These checks are particularly important for a race that will last several days, with no outside assistance.
The excitement in Corte will build as more teams arrive. On Tuesday 29 September, the teams will parade through town from 4.30 pm, followed by the racers’ briefing and opening ceremony. The next morning, the prologue through the citadel will offer a first taste of the competition.
Then comes the start: Thursday 1 October at 6 am, on Cours Pascal-Paoli. Ahead of the athletes lie some 500 kilometres of adventure through Corsica’s mountains and along its coast, all the way to L’Île-Rousse. For now, the route remains secret. But in Corte, the adventure has already begun.