Estonian Ace La Sportiva finally claim the Adventure Racing world title

After a breathless final night on course, a storm-lashed morning and one last packraft section along the coast to L’Île-Rousse, Estonian Ace La Sportiva crossed the line as 2026 Adventure Racing World Champions in Corsica. They had finished runner-up at the previous two editions.

After 152h45 of non-stop racing across trekking, mountain biking, kayaking, rafting, ropes, navigation and canyoning on a 500 km course through some of the most iconic landscapes of the “Island of Beauty”, Estonia’s Estonian Ace La Sportiva team leapt from their packrafts, threw their arms into the air and crossed the finish line on the beach at 14:45:22 on Wednesday, October 7.

This historic moment marked more than the end of one of the toughest Adventure Racing World Championships ever held and the culmination of an outstanding sporting performance. It also brought a 20-year quest to an end: the pursuit of a world title.

Made up of Rain Eensaar, Reeda Tuula-Fjodorov, Timmo Tammenae and Tauno Riiback, the Eastern European team had just won the ARWS European Championship in Denmark. They currently sit second in the world rankings and have also claimed several victories in expedition races. Their success in Corsica was therefore no surprise. But the Estonians had already finished runners-up at two World Championships and had often found themselves in position to win, only to see victory slip away before the finish.

At their ninth World Championship, they finally put the disappointments of the past behind them and proved they had what it takes to become champions in one of the world’s most demanding sports.

A title won in the Agriates

They led on the second day of racing before slipping down the standings as French teams Luberon MUC and 400Team Altore took control. But after a long trek across the island’s highest peaks, including Monte Cinto, Corsica’s highest point, which took them more than 33 hours to complete, the Estonians began clawing back time on the two French teams.

During the sixth night of racing, they passed a struggling Luberon MUC team before setting out on the final 39 km trek along the Agriates coastline. The section took far longer than expected, with extremely difficult night navigation to locate the various checkpoints. 400Team Altore then made a mistake, allowing the Estonians to retake the lead.

The culmination of a career

At the finish, Rain Eensaar explained: “We started the final trek without really knowing whether we could catch a team as strong as 400Team Altore. Then we said to ourselves: why not? We saw their headlamps getting closer and caught them at a checkpoint. After that, we went in different directions. We chose a good route. Many of the routes shown on the map didn’t exist, and at the last transition before the packraft section, we were in the lead.”

Reeda Tuula-Fjodorov added: “It’s difficult to explain, but this time something felt different. Tauno joined us to replace our regular teammate, Silver Eensaar. We won the European title, then came here to race. He asked us why we were doing all this and what we were really looking for in these races. After all these years, I asked myself that question again.” Tauno Riiback was initially only a substitute for the team, but his arrival injected fresh energy into this highly experienced squad. Enough to carry them to the top of the adventure racing world.

French teams take the other podium spots

The French 400 Team Altore team, led by Sébastien Raison, crossed the finish line after 154h12 of racing in second place. The final podium spot was decided by a paddle-in-hand sprint after more than 158 hours of racing. It went to Estonia’s other team, Tactical Foodpack, who edged out France’s Luberon MUC.

TOP 5

1) Estonian Ace La sportiva (Estonia): 152h45

2) 400Team Altore (France): 154h12

3) Tactical Foodpack (Estonia): 158h53

4) Luberon MUC (France): 158h59

5) Subaru Expedition Canada (Canada): 159h04

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