Race Report: Transierra Norte 2021

After all the jumps and hurdles this past year has put us through, we are so happy that we could gather again and celebrate such an important matter in every human being's life, celebrate "El Dia de Los Muertos", honor the departed with the enormous joy of life and vibrant energy this great Transierra Norte family generates every year!




With over 80 riders from all over the world that were lucky to sort the obstacles of airline cancelations and travel restrictions, the Transierra Norte multi-day enduro experience got underway and had some epic days ahead.

I am not going to describe every day and every stage... but to put the day's mood into perspective, just with day one you can get a clear picture of what the days ahead were like, in short... Long days, long descents, lots of pump-arm, lots of smiling faces!

Day one started as we left straight from the hotel in Oaxaca city in the official Transierra Norte "party bus", to the heart of the Sierra Norte, to one of the highest points we would reach in the race and warm up with a Oaxaca'n classic stage: Mil Ríos.

To reach the start of the stage, riders would traverse a more or less hour ride that helped get the pistons running and hearts pumping. This stage's best time was just over 13 minutes long, time set by the 17-year-old Myles Morgan, just a few hundreds of a second ahead of DH World Cup Pro Marcelo Gutierrez. For the rest of the day there would be a mix of three more stages ranging from fast flowy to technical descents, and to finish the last stage of the day, just before sundown, with a candlelit singletrack that would lead the riders to what would be our basecamp in Ixtepeji, and get into the Dia de Los Muertos groove.

A total of more than 14 km of stages descending, just for the first day and Marcelo would take the stage win on the rest of them. Myles Morgan, John Richardson, and Adam Morse would battle out the rest of the stages between them. In the woman's department, the battle between Katie Spittlehouse 1st and Ingrid Larouche 2nd was tight all through the 4 days with Sarah Howerter 3rd not far behind! You could see the competitiveness of these girls giving it all!

What a start to the day!

Throughout the 4 days, there was a great mix of riding and shuttling, trails in Oaxaca are long and demanding, believe me, this is not for the faint-hearted, there are no man-made berms or smooth transitions, the trails are raw and technical but very fun! Stages ranging from the 12-minute range set by the fastest rider with almost no climbing can be brutal to the body and bikes! You have to experience this for yourself!

(Complete results can be seen here)























Transierra Norte is more than a race, it is a party, it is an excuse for riders to reunite in this beautiful Oaxaca every year and celebrate life and death. Yes, it is a race, but for most, it is a unique experience, a way to get to know a part of a country that is very special. Oaxaca has so much history, so many traditions, so much culture, it would be a shame just to ride bikes and not appreciate everything else there is in Oaxaca. Transierra Norte is a taste of this, a glimpse into what else there is in this magical part of the world. Transierra Norte has become a gathering of true family members that gets bigger every year, and little by little we try to share with all of you the real Oaxaca, the authentic and not the travel book experience!

We hope to see you next year and help grow this amazing family we have started!


We are happy to announce that registrations for next year's Transierra Norte are open! Stay tuned so you're not left out of the next party!

See you next year Transierra-Norte Family!