Pan American Championship 2015 - Race Report

The Pan American Championship took place in Cota, Colombia: a 1 hour drive away from the well-known city of Bogota, a place where the best riders of North, Center and South American continent challenged each other for the first place.


Though it seemed like every day was about to start with rain (at least the 'Weather Channel was absolutely sure about it) nothing really happened but plenty of cold mornings and sunny days.

The track was a big roller coaster ride: roots, rocks, drops, ramps, loose take-offs and landings, rough as hell tree's ( for the plenty who had the chance to crash against one) and every detail every great Pan American track should have. Big props for 'Tacky Brothers', the creators of the track!




Thursday and Friday were set as the official training days. Plenty of riders didn't get the chance to run the whole training sessions since many crashed against trees but, fortunately, there was more than enough medical assistance in every 'killer-zone' of the track. Many famous riders, such as Bernardo Cruz, Mauricio Gutierrez and Neko Mulally where setting time records since the opening of the training sessions. Whips, bails, speed and great technique were easily spotted the first days: it's great to know Latin American downhill has grown so quickly over the last few years.




The track's highlights were the 'between the trees' drop where more than 10 riders fell off their horses.


The 'loose take-off' ramp in the middle of the downhill course.


The rock-garden risky gap.


The little gaps and drops almost at the end of the track.


And many great natural curves all over the race track.





March 28th: Race day.
Hundreds of people gathered around the track to cheer ( REALLY cheer) their favourite racers. Someone must have given beer at the entrance of the event for people were cheering with euphoric enthusiasm their favourite racers... yeah, mostly the locals! But in foreign eyes it was just as Neko Mulally mentioned in a recent FB post:

'Being in Colombia this past week was an awesome adventure! It was really cool to take the win against some really fast guys on a deep, dusty track. The crowds were awesome, South American fans are the loudest!'





The winners of the race were given their medals 20 mins. after the last rider concluded his ride. The best elite woman and men in track were:

Elite Women:
1st Place: Mariana Salazar from El Salvador with a time of 2:9:915
2nd Place: Diana Marggraff from Ecuador with a time of 2:14:365
3rd Place: Camila Noriega from Argentina with a time of 2:14:531

Elite Men:
1st Place: Neko Mulally from the U.S. with a time of 1:43:851
2nd Place:Marcelo Gutierrez from Colombia with a time of 1:44:400
3rd Place: Bernardo Cruz from Brazil with a time of 1:44:911


There were no big complaints of this race, everything took place as peacefully as it was supposed to. Great biking skills, an amazing crowd, good weather and an awesome organization made this Pan American championship outstanding.


Congrats to everyone who made part of this race, it was such a nice place to photograph and write about.


Good vibes everyone!

Edgar Hurtado - Photos and Review