Estonia ACE / La Sportiva Win the 2026 Adventure Racing World Championship

Now in their 9th World Championship the Estonian team has put past disappointments behind them to become champions in the toughest sport in the world.

BENTONVILLE, AR, UNITED KINGDOM, October 7, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- After a thrilling night of racing in which the Estonians took the lead, a morning marked by heavy rain and thunderstorms, and then a final packraft run along the coast to L'Île-Rousse, the Estonian Ace La Sportiva team crossed the finish line as the winner of the 2026 Adventure Racing World Championship in Corsica.

After more than 125 hours of non-stop racing, alternating trekking, mountain biking, kayaking, rafting, ropes, orienteering and canyoning on a 500 km course crossing some of the most iconic natural sites of the "Island of Beauty", the Estonians leapt out of their packrafts, raised their arms to the sky and crossed the finish line drawn on the beach at 14:45:22.

This historic moment not only marked the end of one of the toughest Adventure Racing World Championships ever contested and the culmination of an exceptional sporting performance. It also crowned a twenty-year quest: the quest for a world title.

Composed of Rain Eensaar, Reeda Tuula-Fjodorov, Timmo Tammenae, and Tauno Riiback, the team had just won the ARWS European Championship in Denmark, held second place in the world rankings, and already boasted several victories in expedition races. Their success in Corsica was therefore no surprise. But the Estonians had already finished as runners-up twice at the World Championships and had often found themselves in a position to win only to see victory slip away before the finish line. For their ninth World Championship, they finally put past disappointments behind them and proved they had everything it takes to become champions in one of the most demanding sports in the world.

A Title Won in the Last Stages

Leading on the second day of racing, they subsequently dropped back as the French teams Luberon MUC and 400Team Altore took the lead. But after the long trek across the island's highest peaks, which took them over 33 hours to complete, the Estonians began to close the gap on the two French teams.

During the sixth night of racing, they overtook a struggling Luberon MUC team before embarking on the final 39km trek along the Agriates coastline.
This section took them much longer than expected, with extremely difficult nighttime navigation to find the various checkpoints. 400Team Altore then made a mistake, allowing the Estonians to take the lead.

The Story from the Winning Team

At the finish line, Rain Eensaar recounted: “ We set off on the final trek without really knowing if we could catch a team as strong as 400Team Altore. Then we thought: why not? We saw their headlamps getting closer and we caught up with them at a checkpoint. After that, we went off in different directions. We chose a good route – many of those marked on the map didn't exist – and, at the final transition before the packraft, we were in the lead. ”

Reeda Tuula-Fjodorov confided: “ It’s difficult to explain, but this time there was something different. Tauno joined us to replace our usual teammate, Silver Eensaar. We won the European title, and then we came to compete in this 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 just a substitute on the team, but his arrival breathed new life into this very experienced lineup. "Ace Adventure has always inspired me and I wanted to reach a level that would allow me to join them. When the opportunity arose, I seized it ," he explained.
He is now a world champion.

The Adventure Racing World Championship continues for another 2 days, as the remaining teams make their way towards the finish at L’Ile Rousse and you can follow their progress through live satellite tracking and regular social media updates.

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Media Director
Adventure Racing World Series
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Day 6 at the 2026 Adventure Racing World Championship