Success of the Spanish equipment in the Red Bull Cape Town Man

[21/10/05]
[Cultura]
The Spanish representatives in the first Red Bull Cape Town Man, celebrated in Cape Town, have been classified very well, taking into account the stature of the participants. Red Bull Cape Town Man is the greater competition of extreme sports never made in Africa. An extremely hard relay that combines disciplines expectaculares and.
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Photographies: Red Bull

Red Bull CAPE TOWN MAN

Worthy paper of the Spanish equipment
The tradition of the alpine countries in extreme mountain sports was made notice in the first edition of the Red Bull Cape Town Man, the greater competition of extreme sport of the history of Africa, that has paralyzed Cape Town during this Saturday 19 of November. 52 equipment arrived from 16 different countries has faced in this extraordinary combination of extreme sports (kite surf, mountain bike, mountain race and parapente) that has taken to some of the best athletes of elite by earth, sea and air in one of the most beautiful cities of the world.

The winning equipment has been combined of three Austrian athletes and neozelandés, secondly classified combining of Austria and Italy, whereas the third position was for the Swiss equipment. The Spanish equipment only could be fourteenth, in spite of the great performance of Rubén Ruzafa, present champion of Spain de Mountainbike, that was able to enter fifth its relief.

Changes in the program
Cape Town is a gorgeous city, but the climatology can change from a little while to another one completely. During the previous days to the competition the wind blew with force, but the morning of Saturday disappeared completely. The first slug, a race of kite surf, had to be cancelled. An authentic pity, because Cape Town is considered like one of the three better places of the world to practice kite surf. The experimented one kiter Spanish Jose Luengo, who was one of the favorites in his discipline, could not cover 15 km with distance that would take to him to surround the island by Robben (where the mythical prison is located that locked up during 18 years to Nelson Mandela). A first misfortune for the Spanish equipment. “One suffers, because no of first classified almost had good “kiters” in their equipment”, Jose opposed Luengo commented.

Rubén Ruzafa was one of the best ones
The cancellation of the relief of kitesurf forced to a massive exit in mountainbike. From the beginning, the young pilot malagueño was placed in the head group, covering the route with 30 km that took mountainbikers to pedalear by sand, earth and asphalt. Its circuit began in the beach of Sunset crossing the port and the Castle of the Cape of Good Hope with arrival in the skirts of the mythical Table Mountain. Ruzafa entered fifth place debilitated by the crossed duro, marking a great time. “It does not have been bad, because it was the hardest route, but I have left regusto bitter because she even could have been left some position ahead”, commented Rubén, hungry of victories.

Albert Balcells gave the face
Then the turn arrived from the mountain runners, who had to cross 12 steep kilometers with more than 1,000 meters of unevenness until the top of the mythical Table Mountain. The best mountain runner of the world, Jonathan Wyatt (New Zealand), marked the difference in favor of the winning equipment, removing a great advantage to the rest from countries. Albert Balcells, experienced running of mountain and raids, underwent physical problems due to the extreme heat (the temperature went up to around the 33 degrees at any moment) and lost some positions in the last part of the ascent. “Very I am displeased by my yield, because we could more ahead have been left many positions. It gives much pain me by the rest of the equipment”, commented when arriving a fighter Albert Ballcels, who fought until the end.

Flying over Cape Town
In the last relief, arrived the turn from the parapentistas, that had to cover two kilometers with race with the 25 kg of weight of their parapentes to the backs until the zone of takeoff, located in the high call “Head of Leon”. David Scaffolding, made be worth his good preparation in triatlones and races of mountain overcoming a pair of positions in his race, before descending at full speed to land in the goal, located in the bay of “Camps Bay”. “It has been a precious flight, flying over a hallucinating landscape. Pity that has not served to be above”, told to David Scaffolding after landing.

In Cape Town some of the best athletes of the world have been moderate, reason why the Spanish equipment counted on first figures in the different disciplines. In fact, although some of the sportsmen had less name than the equipment that the last year competed in Rio de Janeiro in the Red Bull Giants of River, has managed to equal that fourteenth position. The Ruzafa, Luengo, Scaffolding and Ballcels, have been reaching he himself since the Iván Raña (swimming), Luismi Berlanas (athletics), Jose Antonio Hermida (mountainbike) and Harry Castrillón (wing delta) in the extreme relay celebrated for a year in Brazil.

SPANISH EQUIPMENT

• Kitesurf: The veteran of the scene of kitesurf Spanish like Jose Luengo (Seville, 32 years) was the chosen one to sucar the bay. Five great years of experience in Freestyle and waves will allow him to confront with guarantees the strong surge of Cape Town. “Although kitesurf is an individual sport, the fact of being part of an equipment motivates to give me the maximum” comments Jose Luengo, classified between the “Top Ten” of the Glass of World in the 2003 and 2004 and champion of the world of Waves in 2005.

• Mountain bike: Rubén Ruzafa (Malaga, 21 years), champion of Spain of MTB and 5º in World-wide sub-23 were in charge of the route in bicycle: a circuit very hard technician and, who mixed different surfaces. “Even in the beginning of the season, to travel and to compete in an event therefore it has motivated to me to do it the best thing than I have been able”, tells to the star in blossoming malagueña.

• Mountain race: Albert Balcells (Barcelona, 32 years) could compete in any discipline that seted out, since always it has moved between the MTB, duathlon and the mountain races. Not in vain, he has been champion of Spain of MTB and champion of Spain de Raids by equipment. “The philosophy Red Bull in this type of events is a great motivation to take your limits beyond, although it could not have been in this occasion”.

• Parapente: The Spanish David Scaffolding (Been born in Caracas, Venezuela, for 38 years) has enjoyed the privilege to fly over the city from the mythical Table Mountain. Scaffolding, a specialist as much in the sky as in earth, (it has participated in numerous triatlones and maratones of mountain), has demonstrated its advantage with respect to the rest of participants in both kilometers that the parapentistas have to cross with the 25 kg of equipment to hills. “Every second in earth has been key, because in the air the times very have been fit”.