Downhill Taxco, Mexico 2015 - Photo Epic

Nov 22, 2015
by Dave Trumpore  



For the second year in a row the City Downhill World Tour came to a close in the Mexican silver mining town of Taxco, where the grand finale went off in perfect Latin American style. Without a doubt Downhill Taxco has earned a reputation for being the biggest and best race on the calendar, not only for the quality of the course but also for the organization and the atmosphere of the entire town. Everyone gets behind the event with an enthusiasm not easily matched in mountain biking creating a festival like atmosphere for riders that travel to attend from all over the world. Adding to the DH race was the crowd favorite best trick competition that would see riders flying upside down and sideways in front of over 20,000 fans.

The DH track this year would be shortened to keep the racing tighter, and also to eliminate some of the extended flat and pedally bit from years past. A few new sections were mixed in with a combination of features from years past to make what one could call a "best of" Taxco, much to the delight of the racers. And with a best of two run race format riders were able to push to the max, knowing they had a second chance to correct a mistake or to pull back precious fractions of seconds that may have slipped away.

Welcome to Taxco Mexico.
Welcome to Taxco, Mexico.

2015 Downhill Taxco

2015 Downhill Taxco

2015 Downhill Taxco

2015 Downhill Taxco
2015 Downhill Taxco

Taxco is famous for it s silver much of which is still hand crafted in small shops all over town.
Taxco is famous for its silver, much of which is still handcrafted in small shops all over town.

2015 Downhill Taxco
2015 Downhill Taxco

2015 Downhill Taxco
2015 Downhill Taxco

The two favorites lead the way during track walk.
The two favorites lead the way during track walk.






TAXCO DOWNHILL





Finn Isles was the first to kick things off in the early morning practice.

As always the usual City Downhill powerhouse riders like Filip Polc, Bernardo Cruz, and Thomas Slavik were the heavy favorites coming in, but as is always the case in racing nothing is ever certain. Slavik flatted on his first run and Polc made a crucial mistake that allowed Bernardo Cruz set the early fast time and put pressure on the others. It also allowed Matt Walker and Neko Mulally to mix it up at the front as well. During their second runs, Polc would step it up to better the time of Cruz from the first run, and Matt Walker would pull seconds out of Mulally and Slavik to ensure himself at least third with only one rider to go.

With all eyes on the timing clock as Bernardo Cruz scrubbed the final two jumps it became apparent it was going to be an extremely close race. As Bernardo crossed the line the cheers of the crowd told the story, and by 0.56 of a second the Brazilian would win the prestigious Downhill Taxco and its 6k euro prize purse for the second year in a row.

2015 Downhill Taxco

No one hits stairs as fast as Bernardo Cruz.
No one hits stairs as fast as Bernardo Cruz.

2015 Downhill Taxco

2015 Downhill Taxco

Mexican National Champion Javi Lopez.
Mexican National Champion, Javi Lopez.

Local favorite Javi Lopez.
Local favorite, Javi Lopez.
2015 Downhill Taxco

A flat tire would ruin Tomas Slavik s first run but he would come back strong on his second run to take 4th.
A flat tire would ruin Tomas Slavik's first run, but he would come back strong on his second run to take 4th.

2015 Downhill Taxco
2015 Downhill Taxco

Fox News Mexico was on hand covering the event for national TV.
Fox News Mexico were on hand covering the event for national TV.

2015 Downhill Taxco
All the boys are psyched to kick things off in Taxco.
All the boys are psyched to kick things off in Taxco.

Safety first
Safety first.

9th place for Mexican favorite Alberto Gonzales.
9th place for Mexican favorite, Alberto Gonzales.

Top Mexican rider and local legend Ricardo Preciado in 8th.
Top Mexican rider and local legend, Ricardo Preciado in 8th.

Matt Walker styling up the final jumps in training.
Matt Walker styling up the final jumps in training.

Ethan Nell.
Ethan Nell.

2015 Downhill Taxco
2015 Downhill Taxco

Finn Iles sprints to the line.
Finn Iles sprints to the line.

Andrew Neethling s bag and race kit was lost in transit but he made due with this custom job.
Andrew Neethling's bag and race kit was lost in transit, but he made do with this custom job.

Neko Mullally threads the needle down one of the narrow alley ways en route to 5th.
Neko Mullally threads the needle down one of the narrow alleyways en route to 5th.

Kiwi privateer Matt Walker surprised many with an amazing run that would land him in 3rd.
Kiwi privateer, Matt Walker surprised many with an amazing run that would land him in 3rd.

2015 Downhill Taxco

Alway the man to beat Filip Polc drops into the main square.
Always the man to beat, Filip Polc drops into the main square.

Filip Polc gave it everything he had to beat Bernardo s first run time.
Filip Polc gave it everything he had to beat Bernardo's first run time.

Bernardo squashing the final kicker trying to chase down the fast time of Filip Polc
Bernardo squashing the final kicker trying to chase down the fast time of Filip Polc.

All eyes on the clock as Bernardo sprinted across the line.
All eyes on the clock as Bernardo sprinted across the line.
2015 Downhill Taxco

2015 Downhill Taxco

2015 Downhill Taxco

2015 Downhill Taxco
Bernardo Cruz is the king of Taxco for the second year in a row.
Bernardo Cruz is the king of Taxco for the second year in a row.

2016 Downhill Taxco podium.
2015 Downhill Taxco podium.







BEST TRICK





2015 Downhill Taxco
2015 Downhill Taxco

With the crowd now properly stirred into a frenzy, the best trick contest took place as a rapid fire 30 minute jam session that saw 10 rider whip trains, flips, spins, and even a few spectacular crashes. Ethan Nell would be the first rider to really throw down and set the bar early on. Soon after Antoni Villoni dropped jaws with a massive cliffhanger that looked to be unbeatable until Cam Zink unloaded a perfect nack/back flip. And with that the competitive side of the 2015 Downhill Taxo came to a close, leaving plenty of time for what some consider the real main event.... The infamous afterparty.

Massive crowds greeted riders once again in Taxco.
Massive crowds greeted riders once again in Taxco.

With Geoff Gulevich still in the hospital with food poisoning it was up to Noah Brousseau to throw down for the Rocky Mountain crew.
With Geoff Gulevich still in the hospital with food poisoning, it was up to Noah Brousseau to throw down for the Rocky Mountain crew.

Ethan Nell
Ethan Nell.
Ethan Nell and a superman seatgrab.
Ethan Nell and a superman seatgrab.

Bas Van Steenbergen.
Bas Van Steenbergen.

Ropelato amp Needles.
Ropelato & Needles.

King of Crankworx Bernard Kerr.
King of Crankworx, Bernard Kerr.

Andrew Neethling flying sideways.
Andrew Neethling flying sideways.

Mitch Ropelato and FinnIles.
Mitch Ropelato and Finn Iles.

Antoni Villoni s cliffhanger.
Antoni Villoni's cliffhanger.

Cam Zink nack backflip.
Cam Zink nack/backflip.

Cam Zink takes the top spot in best trick.
Cam Zink takes the top spot in best trick.

Results here.


MENTIONS: @davetrump / @polcster



Author Info:
davetrumpore avatar

Member since Feb 26, 2008
269 articles

65 Comments
  • 60 1
 It's nice to see coverage of the local competitors and not just the pros we see everyday!
  • 16 2
 Safety First???
Motorcycle… no helmet… machine gun… what could go wrong?
  • 22 6
 Hey Pinkbike, what is this new fashion of sizing photos larger than the screen height? Recently a vertical video was voted a fail of the month so please don't do the same to the photos - having to scroll a photograph to see it top to bottom doesn't do the viewing experience any good.
  • 5 4
 It's not :. Not on my ipad, or any of my screens
  • 12 6
 The photos are fantastic. Maybe @AdventureQuest needs a bigger screen?
  • 3 2
 all the photos are responsive, just make your browser a little more narrow and you'll get pictures that are exactly the visible height.
  • 9 0
 Can't wait so see some of the pov videos from this event, they're always gnarly!
  • 1 1
 Lol at the end it says if you want more action like this visit Slovakia, how stupid do they think that people are?
  • 1 2
 How come we never hear about Polc in world cups? If he can win these, he should do all right in world cups too, no?
  • 1 0
 @jaame DH world cups are vastly more competitive and urban DH is also very different from traditional DH in terms of track length, event formatting and terrain.
  • 1 0
 @Dano98 - That last sentence backfired quite abysmally, didn't it? I hope it was just some useless bureaucrat's absent-mindedness, because if it wasn't, I'm afraid there are more of these "bombshells" to come...
  • 10 1
 I'm sorry, but how did Villoni not win best trick?!
  • 1 0
 Coz hes not sponsored by monster ;p Just kidding. Cam zink nac backflip looks rediculous but wouldnt be suprised if Villoni would take the win
  • 2 0
 His Cliffhanger was mean!!
  • 1 1
 It looked amazing in the photo. And not diminish Zink's ability, but I don't give a damn about backflips, with the exception of McGarry's canyon gap. They're so overused now. Anything that's different, is welcomed in my eyes.
  • 2 0
 Great coverage PB, thanks! Great concept to bring this sport to the masses living in the cities. I can only hope there'll be more events like these in the cities around the world. Can PB help to organize such event? Users can submit interesting locations and then can vote for the winning city...
  • 4 0
 I might be more stoked on total stairset destruction than anything else lately
  • 5 0
 Yeah MATT WALKER !!!!!! Killing it
  • 2 1
 DownTaxco began in 2003 sponsored by RedBull as a copy of DH Lisbon Downtown, but with better track. Runs 2003, 2004 and 2005, with only a few personalities, once Kyle Strait won (some kilos ago, lol!) then Altius Events organised again in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 with the sponsor of Monster Energy. This is the 4th consecutive year!
  • 1 0
 Good to know some history about it... thanks for the history lesson. I remember some pics of those days. Always a good track.

Cheers.
Beer
  • 3 0
 Look - a Marzocchi on the top step of the podium!!! I sure hope Fox doesn't make them become low-end crap. Long live the big red M!
  • 5 0
 Poor thing Gulevich
  • 5 0
 Cliff Hanger !
  • 1 0
 Insane trick to be pulling!
  • 3 0
 Gulevich should make a review bazooka of what he ate there.
  • 1 0
 Friday practice GoPro clip with Ray Syron, Cody Johnson, Alfonso Garcia, Bruce Klein and Jon Buckell:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RRDGa1OD3M&feature=youtu.be
  • 1 0
 Friday practice GoPro clip with Ray Syron, Cody Johnson, Alfonso Garcia, Bruce Klein and Jon Buckell:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RRDGa1OD3M&feature=youtu.be
  • 3 0
 Why so many guys sporting long pants? It must be damn hot there...
  • 3 0
 Taxco rules for urban races!
  • 3 1
 Cam throwing down some heavy moves as usual!!
  • 1 0
 can't believe police need that kind of gun to protect this event in mexico…
excelent coverage!
  • 4 1
 do you see the news? That is not Canada Holy ground!
  • 2 0
 That's one heck of a photo coverage! Great job
  • 1 0
 Great Bernardo, bichampion, congratulations! Villoni win the best trick for me!
  • 1 0
 Vlw Bernardo você merece parabéns fez por onde....representou o nosso o Brasil haaaaa
  • 2 1
 Is mitch ropelato not sponsored by specialized anymore, cause he doesn't have any specialized logos on his jerseys?
  • 2 0
 are you starting a rumour? :-)
  • 2 0
 He is still riding a demo, and still has on specialized shoes so I would doubt it!
  • 3 2
 Looks like Ropelato takes the "Whip Off Crown" away right in front of Iles.
  • 1 0
 Great job Bernardooooo. Hope to see you soon in the top 10 on the DH World Cup next year! Nice race
  • 1 0
 Which Kenda Tire is Neethling running. Oh wait
  • 1 2
 Also Cam Zink run on 26"
  • 2 0
 Yeah Ethan you slayer!!
  • 2 0
 Yeah @EthanNell !!!!
  • 3 2
 "2016 Downhill Taxco podium" ??? We still in 2015?!?!?
  • 3 3
 Pinkbike stoned editor
  • 11 5
 Or just a tired photographer who ran around shooting the photos all day, wrote this story, all the captions and then did the web coding to make this feature look unique, finishing at 3am..... And missed one number on a caption. Deal with it ;-) but don't be rude and disrespectful.
  • 3 6
 Oh my good I feel so sorry for him working till 3 AM and blablablabla what a Poor worker maybe he is doing slave work... Sorry this for me is an amateur mistake, no revision or text editor in Pinkbike? There are to many mistakes in PB texts but who cares if PB is a first world or third world website....
  • 2 1
 I think Mr Trumps reply was supposed to be good humoured ! Hence the wink at the end.
  • 3 1
 Awesome coverage Dave Trumpore! You work your ass off. Sick photos and stories....and you pull an all-nighter so you can post it for the riders and fans.
  • 2 1
 No editing software will point out 2015 v 2016 and the two number look almost the same on the small font of comment line, so was missed by me and the editors.... So by mudmanbrazil's logic it's laziness and this post is "amateur work"despite all the other work and accuracies. Could you be more insulting mudman? You should have a look at your own post, it is atrocious and full of errors ;-)
  • 1 3
 I am not paid to write right
  • 1 0
 Parabéns Bernardo!
Mais uma vez provando seu valor.
  • 1 0
 I really want to see that blue Phoenix carbon.
  • 1 3
 Am I the only one that thinks this is a sketchy idea? I mean the course looks sketchy, the area looks sketchy, and I'd imagine the medical facilities probably aren't the best especially for a serious crash.
  • 2 0
 Mountain Biking event is sketchy ? . . . . . what a surprise !!!
  • 1 0
 Pics are great and all, but. Must. See. Video.
  • 1 0
 Damn GT keeps killing it, well done Nardo!!
  • 2 1
 Yea Cam!
  • 1 2
 hé zing didn t get robbed this time .. ^^







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