Starting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 26th July 2009 and finishing in Quito, Ecuador on 6 December 2009, riders on the inaugural Vuelta Sudamericana will travel 13000 km through Brazil, Argentina, Uraguay, Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. They will visit Iguazu Falls, Mount Aconcagua, the Atacama Desert, Lake Titicaca and Machu Picchu. They will cycle along the coasts of both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans and will face the Andes in between. This expedition promises a complete range of cycling conditions; extreme temperatures, mountain passes over 4000m, open desert crossings, dense jungles and every possible road surface.