Río Negro, final stage: Pinta and Mozzicafredo reign over Río Negro for the 13th time. Alonso claims his first victory

Río Negro saw yesterday afternoon  the final of the XL edition of its Regatta with the traditional stage between San Javier and Viedma, with the arrival to a crowded river promenade full of people who could enjoy a great sunny day by the river.

Néstor Pinta and Martín Mozzicafredo celebrate their record 13th absolute victory in Río Negro. Photo: DeViedma.info

In the race itself, no surprises. The last stage followed the expected script. On the entrance to Viedma there was a leading group of five boats, where Balboa and Guerrero marked the pace downstream, looking for the buoy where they would have to return back to Viedma to face the finish line upstream.

It was clear that they were tightening the pace and the group started losing units. Finally, three K2s faced the sprint in front of the crowd at the Viedma shore.

Río Negro, day 4: Pinta and Mozzicafredo, one step closer to final victory

The 4th stage of Río Negro saw how its route, by problems with the access to the river, and modality were changed on the intended plan by the organizers, finally been raced over 57 km (14 more than the stipulated) and with a elapsed start every 15 seconds for senior K1 and K2, which was something initially programmed for the 3rd stage.

Balboa - Guerrero (left) and Pinta - Mozzicafredo (right) during yesterday's stage. Photo: Diario Río Negro

So, after the draw, the fact was that Balboa and Guerrero were meant to start just 15 seconds ahead of Pinta and Mozzicafredo. They had no other chance, then, to push hard and try to put some pressure on their rivals.

Río Negro, day 1: Victorious return of Pinta and Mozzicafredo

Pinta and Mozzicafredo facing the finish line. Photo: Matías Subat

The first stage of the 40th edition of the Río Negro Regatta (Argentina) recovered the starring of the river kings, Néstor Pinta and Martin Mozzicafredo. The 12-time champions returned to the water after an absence of two years and cutted from its roots the expectations about their duel with the defending champions, Franco Balboa and José Luis Guerrero, who yesterday, in the first assault, lost more than three minutes despite being the second boat through the finish line.

For the second time in history, the race began in the town of Cipolleti and not in Neuquen, the usual starting point. With some unstable and cloudy weather, Balboa and Guerrero took the lead just after the start and set a blistering pace.

Pinta and Mozzicafredo face as leaders the last stage of Río Negro Regatta

After holding stages 3 to 6 of the Río NegroRegatta, the favorites, Néstor Pinta and Martín Mozzicafredo, face as the last stage in the leadership, to celebrate in the city of Viedma. This time there's a new course, replacing the usual arrival to Viedma by circuit between the bridges of the city, with eight portages along the 30 km.

Photo by Carolyn J. Cooper

 
The leadership of Kiko Vega and Santiago Scalesi after the first two stages was frustrated during the third, the longest of the competition with 68 km. At one point during the race, Vega took the wrong path through a longer route, something seized by Pinta and Mozzicafredo using their very good knowledge of the river to launch their attack and get away. After their mistake, Vega and Scalesi were relegated to third place, behind the U23 Balboa and Guerrero, and finished the stage with a minute and a half disadvantage, which also relegated them to third place overall.

And after the stage, before facing the well-deserved day off, there was the great controversy of this year, when a complaint was officially set against Vega-Scalesi by skipping a mandatory flag when they were trying to recover the time lost. After an entire day of investigation, they were penalized with five minutes, practically ruining all their options for overall victory.

The 4th stage (the shortest, only 22 km.), 5th and 6th were established following the same script from the first day, with the K2s main triplet in the lead and tight sprint finishes. 

Kiko Vega and Santiago Scalesi lead the Rio Negro Regatta (ARG) after two stages

Vega and Scalesi after winning 1st stage. Photo: Claudio Espinoza

It began last Saturday the 36th Río Negro Regatta, in Argentina: 7 stages adding 277 km. Entries record, with 128 canoes, including the great champions of this race, the Argentinians Néstor Pinta and Martin Mozzicafredo, 11-time winners. However, this year, a new duo formed by Argentinian Santiago Scalesi and Spanish Federico "Kiko" Vega are trying to cut off the reign of the Patagonians, along with the promising young pair formed by U23 Franco Balboa and José Guerrero.

Saturday was the opening stage between Senillosa and Neuquén. Under hot sunny weather, the first kilometers of the stage were as usual at Río Negro, with a large number of K2s in the front bunch, as the race is long, with not much rest options from one day to the next one, so nobody wants to expend unnecesary fuel from the start.

However, at half stage it got clear that this year, unless major surprises, the podium will be decided among the three favorites, the thrill is just knowing what the order will be. Ahead were Pinta-Mozzicafredo, Vega-Scalesi and Balboa-Guerrero, leaving behind, in no man's land, the locals Vázquez & Reyes, who seem to e the only one able to seize any mistake from the leaders.