Püschel became champion after fighting for the top spot over several stages with Spain’s Joan Llordella, who won the final stage on the last day of the competition settling for second place overall. Canada’s Kevin Massicotte finished just off the podium in 4th.
The race started in Termas de Menetúe and took riders through a long climb between the beautiful mountains near the Villarrica volcano. Then, competitors faced a rapid descent through internal roads near Los Ojos del Caburgua. The final section traversed Eco Parque in Pucón for a total of 47 miles/75.2km and 2,300 meters of altitude.
In third place on the day and taking first place in the Men’s Team category was Spain’s Antonio Rovira and Pau Zamora from the Buff Pro Team with Canada’s Matthew Hadley / Benoit Simard in second; in Women’s race it was Rebecca Rusch keeping her 2013 title while the American duo of Mary McConneloug and Michael Broderick took first place in the Mixed Team category, followed by Argentina’s Elisa Chichi Garcia and Claus Plaut.
The Transandes Challenge is a real mountain bike party in Chile with demanding roads and routes for all competitors that make this competition an epic race taking place in the heart of the country’s Patagonia region. This year the race ended with a record number of competitors, coming from five continents, confirming that the Trans Andes Challenge is a leader in South America for epic MTB stage races.
Results (brief)
Men’s Team
1. Antonio Ortiz / Pau Zamora (Esp) 3:29:20
2. Matthew Hadley / Benoit Simard (Can) 3:39:39
3. Robert Schmitt / Joe Kirch (Lux) 3:54:52
Mixed Team
1. Mary McConneloug / Michael Broderick (USA) 3:56:02
2. Elisa Garcia / Claus Plaut (Arg) 4:14:46
3. Mitchell / Corse ( ) 4:43:53
Solo Men
1. Joan Llordella (Esp) 3:29:19
2. Javier Puschel (Chi) 3:29:19
3. Orlando Alves (Bra) 3:29:39
4. Kevin Massicotte (Can) 3:31:26
Solo Women
1. Rebecca Rusch (USA) 4:26:15
2. Sonya Looney (USA) 4:26:15
3. Florencia Espineira (Chi) 5:03:1