Across Andes 2022: Cynthia Frazier Wins in 68 Hours

Words by Taneika Duhaney, photos by Nils Laengner, Claudio Olguín-Parra, and Scyence.cc

The third edition of Across Andes, held from 27 November to 3 December, was as full of excitement as ever. American Cynthia Frazier, 30, took eighth overall and the solo female win. Crossing the finish line at 2:14 a.m. Chilean time, Frazier set a new fastest-known women’s time of 68 hours and 39 minutes, averaging 18 kilometers per hour throughout the race.

In preparation for Across Andes, Frazier arrived in La Araucanía a week early for an immersion course on Chilean weather, culture, and food. Frazier said, “This race was really about learning from my mistakes. When I raced in Spain [at Badlands], I didn’t know enough about the locals and what they like to eat, how they order [their food], and resupply locations. I wanted to be more prepared. I [also] needed to sleep a good bit because I didn’t prepare well, so I wanted to do better at sleep deprivation.” Coming from the U.S., where daylight is shortened and temperatures are falling as winter approaches, she needed to acclimate quickly to the rising spring temperatures and longer daylight against the backdrop of lava quietly percolating below the crater of the Villarrica volcano.

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While staying at base camp, Frazier committed to exploring the town and route. The Ride with GPS file displays the 1,000-kilometer route with 12,736 meters of elevation, of which 54 percent is paved and 46 percent is unpaved. This tells one part of the multidimensional route’s story. Starting in the city of Melipeuco, surrounded by six volcanoes, the course traverses the prehistoric Araucaria forest and the Andes Mountain range bordering Argentina, then meanders between rivers and lakes of the Andean Patagonia until finally reaching the coast of Raúl Marín along the Pacific Ocean. The lush scenic views provide the perfect paradox to the route’s unnerving climbs, loose gravel, and sandy sections.

In the days leading up to the race, Frazier visited nearby communities and identified reliable and easy-to-access food options that she could buy during the race. A churrasco minus meat—bread, avocado, and tomatoes—was a reasonable favorite. This simple yet filling sandwich could be purchased at several restaurants along the route. If restaurants were closed or wait times were too long, Frazier could make the sandwich herself to keep rest time to a minimum. If a churrasco wasn’t available, papas fritas or french fries were another filling option.

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As she learned the food, Frazier also took care to understand the cycling culture. “The cars are much better at navigating around bikes than in the U.S. They ride pretty close to you, but they’re good drivers. They’ve got places to be, so they’ll go around [you] quickly, but it’s always a safe feeling. I didn’t experience any aggressive drivers at all,” said Frazier.

Prepped and ready to put herself to the test, Frazier settled into her pre-race groove. Two days before the event, while communing with other racers at the race headquarters, she leaned her bike—named Terracotta for its color—against the side of a bike stand that was already at capacity. Unbeknownst to her, a vehicle may have unknowingly connected with her bike and fractured the frame. “I didn’t realize it until maybe a couple of hours later. This [happened] Friday afternoon, and the race was on Sunday,” said Frazier. “It was crazy and very stressful. I didn’t have enough time before the race to do some of the stuff I wanted to do,” she recalled.

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Before every major race, Frazier likes to verify details such as restaurant hours just in case anything changes. Her checklist was paused while she worked with her Velocio//Exploro team and bike sponsor 3T to get a new bike frame. “We were able to get somebody to bring a new frame from Santiago on Saturday, and a bike shop person here swapped the parts from [Terracotta] to the new bike,” said Frazier.

Understandably challenged by the sequence of events but undeterred from racing, Frazier recognized when her efforts were exceedingly close to a margin of diminishing returns. She tried to sleep for what remained of Saturday night in preparation for an early roll call on Sunday morning.

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Armed with a new bike—aptly named Villarrica, after the volcano—Frazier was determined to remain focused for her longest ride to date, but that wouldn’t be an easy task. She recalled, “I got to the start area 10 minutes before [start time], and I realized my right shifter wasn’t working. I was freaking out because the battery was dead. Thankfully, I have extra 2032 batteries.” She had what she needed, but she almost couldn’t use it.

“[I was] running around trying to find a little coin to open up the [battery compartment]. The first battery I put in didn’t work because it was dead. So I had to put in another battery,” said Frazier. To say this was a stressful start is an understatement. Through it all, Frazier remained as calm as she could. “I knew that once the race started, I could forget about everything else that [went wrong] and just focus on racing.” Moments later, Frazier compartmentalized the mishaps and distractions and “I never saw any of the [other] women after the race started,” she said.

As soon as the pace car pulled away, so did Frazier. She maintained a sizable lead in front of the next closest female rider, and this strategy allowed her to pace comfortably as the late spring temperatures rose. “It was really toasty on the first day of the race, and I did a pretty good job of fueling, but by the time I got to the first checkpoint, which is [around] mile 180, I was super tired. The heat had really gotten to me, and I felt like I had ridden two days already,” said Frazier.

Refueling at the first rest stop didn’t go as planned. Frazier recalls waiting longer than planned for food. “I went to a store, and they were going to make me some papas fritas. It took about 30 minutes, which is a significant amount of time, but I needed real food—an actual meal, not a bar or chips—once a day.”

As she consumed the necessary calories, the excessive wait time and the task of maintaining her pace with nightfall quickly approaching was discouraging. “I worked really hard to get [to the first checkpoint], and the person in second place wasn’t that far behind. Riding at night time is always pretty tough for me. I’m tired, it’s dark, and I was working on sleep deprivation, so I have a hard time keeping my pace,” said Frazier.

Before the seeds of what could have been a brutal psychological journey began to take hold, Frazier remounted her bike and rode into dusty headwinds during the bustling evening rush hour. Darkness set as she rode past Lago Caburgua, but her path was brighter than ever. “I could see the stars, and it was just absolutely beautiful. The stars were so bright, I could have turned off my lights,” said Frazier.

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Energized but equally exhausted, Frazier reassessed her sleep deprivation goal. She didn’t plan to sleep during the first night; however, the events preceding the race significantly increased her exhaustion. To remain competitive, she decided to take a much-needed but relatively short break. “I found an offshoot off the main road, and I slept at one of the public bus shelters for eight to 10 minutes,” said Frazier. As she advanced through the night, Frazier found respite at covered bus stations along the route. Each rest stop afforded her a maximum of eight minutes of sleep. Though short, Frazier recalls “[waking] up feeling rejuvenated.”

As dawn broke on the second day of racing, Frazier found her rhythm. With a sizable lead over the second-place racer, she continued to prioritize her electrolyte and caloric intake. “If [I] couldn’t find food fast, there were grocery stores where I could buy stuff to make food like an avocado bread sandwich with Doritos.” With refueling handled, Frazier focused on the task of finishing strong. She revisited her goals of minimizing stopping times, finishing in the top 10, and sustaining a manageable sleep deprivation load. “I had so much energy, and I didn’t want to stop and sleep. I would only sleep at night even though it was cold,” said Frazier.

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When pain and discomfort set in at innumerable points throughout the day, she dug deep and found solace in the beauty of the landscape. “Sometimes, it’s hard to look up when you’re racing. I wanted to pay attention to the things that I was seeing because it’s so easy to forget a lot of what happens during an ultra race,” said Frazier.

Some of the most memorable features along the course included the towering volcanoes, endless rivers, and black sand along the beach. “It was like an extraterrestrial landscape,” Frazier recalled. “Some sections of the course were so surreal, I felt like I could have potentially been on the moon for a little bit of it.” Sensory overload extended from her eyes to her nose. “The smell of this [country] is very interesting.” Frazier recounted two distinctive aromas that continue to linger. “The dust of the gravel has a very distinctive smell, and there are these trees—I can’t figure out what tree it is—that fills the air with a sweet smell in certain places. It’s very peaceful, and you can smell it for extended periods depending on where you are along the course.”

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With nightfall approaching on the second day, Frazier stayed on top of her nutritional needs by stopping at local grocery stores along the way. In less than two days, she became a celebrity of sorts. Frazier recalls locals along the route asking, “Are you, Cynthia?” Other times when she stopped to refuel at local supermarkets, shoppers would stop and cheer her on. “I didn’t speak any Spanish, and they didn’t speak much English, but we were able to talk for a little.” The community investment in the race across the expansive route helped Frazier to feel welcomed and supported. This energy propelled her into the second night.

As she rode into the pre-dawn hours, hallucinations began to set in. Frazier recalled, “I was seeing nutcrackers—like big human sized nutcrackers—in my peripheral vision. I wondered, why a nutcracker?” Frazier was fully aware that these figments of her imagination were the result of significant sleep deprivation, so she continued to pedal into the early morning.

Approaching the finish line, the culmination of Frazier’s weekly rides, off-bike training, and gravel races over the past year prepared her for this moment. After winning Unbound XL, Frazier searched for more challenging races, which led her to competing in Badlands, where she claimed an impressive second-place finish in the women’s category. With a few months left on the calendar, Frazier wasted no time after learning about Across Andes. Aware of her strength and hypervigilant of her weaknesses, her early arrival proved fruitful in spite of the numerous mishaps preceding the race.

The rugged yet breathtaking views along the course paralleled Frazier’s desire and capacity. She not only wanted to race, she wanted to win, but it came at a price that she had not yet paid at any previous ultra gravel event. With each pedal stroke came the customary riding discomfort of body aches and pain. As these stressors traveled down her periphery, mind numbing pain eventually reached the point at which it couldn’t be ignored. At that moment, and for as many moments that follow, Frazier paused and took off her shoes, massaged her feet, and remounted her bike. It’s all mind over matter until that distraction becomes the only thing that matters.

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Pushing past her limits as morning dew fell upon her face, Frazier crossed the finish line to bright lights and welcome cheers. This effort not only etched a new FKT for the fastest female finisher, but her time was impressive enough to beat the 2021 men’s solo winner.

As Frazier took in her win, she also took the time to reassess the highs and lows of the race, where she could have pushed harder, what she should have done better, and of course how this will ignite her next ultra gravel adventure. In February 2023, Frazier plans to toe the line in the Atlas Mountain Race in Morocco. With bated breath, gravel racers and supporters await another incredible Frazier performance.

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