Red Bull GerGetIt race to host local, visiting teams in Georgia’s north

Athletes aspiring to claim honours competing in the midst of one of Georgia’s most picturesque countryside locations will converge to the Kazbegi Municipality on Saturday for this year’s Red Bull GerGetIt relay race.

Held around the town of Stepantsminda, in the natural surroundings of the Kazbegi National Park, the event will see 12 teams race in kayak, rock climbing, mountain bike and mountain running.

With a 8,000 GEL (around 3,200 USD/2,700 EUR*) prize fund, the race marks its third edition in Georgia following events in 2013 and 2014.

The first leg of the race will involve kayaking racing eight kilometres on a Class III+ difficulty track on river Tergi.

It will be followed by the participants ascending 30 metres of a rock on the left bank of river.

During third leg, the cross-country mountain bike event will see contestants cover 10 kilometres around Stepantsminda, cross the river, race through the centre of the city and climb Mount Elia above the town.

Finally, the mountain running stage will see athletes cover 7,3 kilometres of track, with the finish line near the iconic hilltop Gergeti Trinity Church overlooking Stepantsminda.

A participant climbs a rock on the bank of the Tergi river. Photo: Red Bull GerGetIt.

Launched in 2013, Red Bull GerGetIt was modelled after the Red Bull Dolomitenmann competition held annually in the Austrian Alps and considered the most technically difficult relay race in western Europe.

The Georgian version involved three disciplines of the European tournament with the addition of rock climbing.

The subsequent 2014 edition involved 18 teams from six countries competing around Stepantsminda, three hours’ drive north of Tbilisi.

* Currency rates according to today's National Bank of Georgia exchange rate.