For the third year in a row, the Open Shimano lands in Cuenca for its second round of the season. The beautiful city welcomed a great sample of the best downhill racers in South America, who joined the strong Ecuadorian field. This time, the classic track in Turi got revamped with a new section to make it longer and more fun for the riders that came from Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Peru.
As usual, the weather was a big protagonist with some rain falling during the afternoon and menacing to turn the track into a slippery mess of clay and rocks. In the end, the last rain showers got the track to its best shape, fast hard-packed surfaces with some small wet sections that kept everyone on their toes. The great level of racers made for a really interesting race over the great track and it was payback time for Cuenca's favorite, and last years' top qualifier, Cristian Valdivieso, who finally took the top spot on the podium beating South America's finest.
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Open Shimano