Full Tour

Rio de Janeiro to Quito

Relay Team: 10,400 € (Team of nine each doing a section)    On July 26th, 2009, cyclists participating in the inaugural edition of the Vuelta Sudamericana will depart Rio de Janeiro. Our journey will begin by traveling the Costa Verde, a series of beaches and islands along the southern Brazilian coast. Turning inland, we head for Iguazu Falls. This system of 275 waterfalls marks the borders of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. From the falls, the route meanders through the agricultural lands of Las Pampas until we arrive in Colonia.

None of our cycling tours would be complete without a boat ride. So we will sail from Colonia to Buenos Aires. This next section crosses Argentina leading us to the Andes and our first true mountain stages. After circumnavigating the 6,960 m peak of Mt. Aconcagua, we descend into Santiago, Chile.

At this point, the tour turns north, following the Pacific coast. Here we will enjoy local wines and spectacular sunsets, while camped on endless beaches. In northern Chile, the route crosses the Andes a second time, as we enter the Atacama Desert, famous for its vast white salt plains. This high altitude desert crosses into Bolivia where we head to La Paz. This marks the beginning of the most challenging section of the expedition. From La Paz to Lima, cyclists will traverse mountain passes at 4,200 m where you will encounter steep roads, thin air and extreme temperatures, while at the same time experiencing the unique cultures on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the magnificence of Machu Picchu and the enduring mysteries of the famed Nazca lines. Returning to the Peruvian coast, we pass through Lima, where the Andes appear to rise from the ocean. From northern Peru, we enter Ecuador and cross the Cordillera Blanca to dip into the Amazon basin. The final evening we will spend in Papallacta, an alpine hot spring, before we roll into Quito for the grand finale of this incredible expedition. After cycling over four months and 12,000 km, through seven countries, on Dec 6th, we will ride into Quito for our grand finale amidst the celebrations and excitement of Fiestas de Quito.