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Rebecca Rusch: Keepin’ it Tranquilo

  • By Singletrack.com
  • Published Feb. 11, 2010
  • Updated Dec. 2, 2011 at 9:19 AM UTC
  • Rebecca Rusch, right, and Heidi Volpe riding at Chapelco Ski resort with Lanin Volcano in the background. Photo Michael Darter
  • The locals giving me the grand tour of their trails above San Martin de los Andes.

By Rebecca Rusch

Rebecca Rusch, right, and Heidi Volpe riding at Chapelco Ski resort with Lanin Volcano in the background. Photo Michael Darter

I am in my final days of a month-long training and racing camp in the lakes district of Patagonian Argentina and Chile.

This is my first winter cycling excursion in this part of the world and it has been a fantastic way to get in some early season riding and connect with the ultra-friendly and cycling-fanatic community down here. I have honestly never felt so welcome in a foreign place and have never experienced such varied riding in such a condensed area.

There are bike parks, jumps, sweeping singletrack and long adventure rides all around here.  The scenery is a mix of Lake Tahoe and Yosemite Valley all wrapped into one. I have also been semi-adopted by a wonderful Argentine family who loves to ride,  ski and be outside every day.  It’s quite a paradise.

One More Race

However, a month is a long time to be away from home and I am missing Idaho a wee bit. I’ll be home in the snow by next week, but first I have one more race to top off the training.  I already did the TransAndes Challenge and won the women’s division for that six-day race.

Next, I am racing a three day stage race called Tour de la Patagonia. By the time I leave here, I will have crossed the Argentina/Chile border seven times.  They are starting to question me at the border crossings about my wanderings.

I’m competing in Tour de la Patagonia as Los Chicas de Specialized (team #318) with Heidi Volpe from the U.S.  Heidi and I have never raced together and she is not a pro athlete.  But she’s fast and experienced and we are doing this event together as a media and training event.  We’re both writing a few stories on our adventure and also hoping to keep spreading the enthusiasm for female cyclists in this part of the world.  Heidi’s husband and well-known photographer, Michael Darter, is also with us on the trip, so we’re getting some great photos and videos to add to the experience. It’s a long way to travel down here, but we all agree that it’s worth the effort.

The locals gave Rusch the grand tour of their trails above San Martin de los Andes.

There are rumored to be nearly 500 two-person teams signed up for this race.  It’s only the second year for the event, but it’s already one of the best attended and most prestigious mountain bike race in the country.

The format of the race consists of three cross-country length stages, interspersed with glorious lakeside camping sites, a ferry ride and two border crossings.  The majority of the competitors compete for the travel and camping experience, but there is also a top echelon of serious athletes who will be racing for stage wins and the overall title.

We are told that we will also be racing against a Giant women’s team and a Trek women’s team,  so it will be the battle of the big bike companies.

The stages are relatively short for Heidi and me and I cannot envision 1,000 people in a mass start trying to dive into a singletrack trail.  However, we’ll just take it as it comes.  We’ve discussed race strategy,  dialed in our S-Works Eras and packed all of our camping gear for three days.  No matter how prepared we attempt to be, there are still quite a few unanswered questions about the course, the terrain, the logistics,  our competition and how the whole experience will unfold.

Part of the excitement of these foreign stage races is the unknown adventure that lies ahead.  Of course, we are both competitive and want to ride our best, but there is just no way to be 100 percent prepared in a situation like this. I think flexibility, a sense of humor and a few phrases in Spanish will all come in handy.

Stay tuned for our day-by-day account of the Tour de la Patagonia. We will share our experiences and images from each day, but since we are camping in remote areas during the race, you might not get to read all of the results and stories until we finish on Sunday, so be patient. This is South America after all — tranquilo!  (translation: chill out!)

Rebecca Rusch is the reigning three-time World Solo 24-hour Champion. In 2009, she stood on the podium next to Lance Armstrong after winning the women’s division at the Leadville Trail 100.

Homepage photo by Michael Darter

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