IJ RACING / CHIGÜIRO at Redbull Medellín Cerro Abajo

2nd stop of the RedBull Urban DH Test Series would take place in the 2nd most important city of Colombia, a place that’s leaving his dark past behind transforming day by day with art, music and this time with a huge sporting event. Past few weeks have seen Medellín with rainstorms overshadowing the "City of Eternal Spring”, a not so ideal weather for Urban DH, we were crossing our fingers for a small break.




After Valparaiso Cerro Abajo, our riders Juanfer Vélez (Team Rider) and Camilo Sanchez “Paquito” (Chigüiro Sponsored Athlete) continue their quest to conquer urban DH, now joined by Sebastián Holguín “Mini” (Team Rider) debuting in the Elite category. This trio of riders would be our biggest bet to race and succeed in Medellín.

Friday was scheduled for track walk, our riders were shuttled to the Comuna 13 from the hotel and right before the start we had some video shooting for RedBull live event. Off we went searching for the fastest lines to tackle the next day having a feel for the track leaving our riders confident for what’s to come. Back to the hotel for a bike check up and a short spin with most of the riders that took out Ray Fournier (MEX) out of the race with a badly scraped elbow and a hard blow to the leg. Back to the hotel for Rider’s meeting and dinner.


Rain started to pour Friday night worrying some of the riders but surprisingly enough it was just in the southern part of the city, not a drop had fallen at race site. Morning started with gray skies but slowly cleared into blue skies and full sun. Compared to traditional DH races, urban DH practice time is very short, squeezing about 3 to 4 runs on best case scenario, so all lines have to be made practically on first run. Unfortunately Paquito was the first to try one of the hardest and scariest lines on the last sector of the track connecting a transfer stair gap, right after compressing the front wheel washed out having him roll hard on the ground down the stairs, luckily enough Paquito is strong and it had no major physical consequences. All three riders would look fastest on track with main opponent and Valparaiso Cerro Abajo winner Tomas Slavik (CZE).




Practice went by and it was time for qualifying. Only 15 riders will continue to finals and top 5 from Valparaiso would be protected. First off was Sebastian’s turn because he didn't attend Valpo, having a great run crossing the line with the fastest time. Next would be Paquito, lowering Sebastian’s split time but a red flag had him stop exactly at the same place as his crash, deciding not to have a re-run due to being a protected rider. Last but not least, our last rider Juanfer Vélez would go directly to the 1st place in qualifying with one rider to go. Slavik would have a safe run without threatening Juanfer’s time.

It was time for finals, all or nothing to conquer RedBull Medellín Cerro Abajo and Paquito was first, a fast first split but right after the roof step down and in the roof step up, he went a bit too much to the right border of the wooden ramp, blocking the tires and jumping sideways into the dirt and crashed, tried to recover fast but a mistake was hardly punished by the clock in such short track and a crash would be even worse. Paquito was devastated and his time would hold just for two more riders.


Next up would Sebastian’s turn, urban races aren't his specialty but past seasons on the UCI world cup has made him a very competitive rider, split after split he would lower the fastest time and by the end it would be almost 2 seconds faster and the top spot in the hot seat. The next two riders wouldn't threat Sebastian’s time until top qualifier Juanfer Vélez, with a blistering fast run he would lower only the second split, until the last stairs section time were very close, but Juanfer’s confidence on urban scenarios would make him excel in this last sector, besting Sebastian’s time by almost 2 seconds. The place exploded with happiness as Juanfer is a loved and admired local rider and two Colombians and teammates were at the top spots.

We are ecstatic with 1st and 2nd place at RedBull Medellín Cerro Abajo and even though Paquito’s time wasn't podium worthy we’re confident his speed is there and has a last round in Guanajuato to claim his podium spot.





Next up is the final stop of the RedBull Urban Series in Guanajuato, Mexico on March 25th, see you there!