When the invitation to the RED BULL „CERRO ABAJO“ Race in Valparaiso/Chile sailed into my mailbox I didn’t hesitate an instant. I like this special kind of race … and since I had had to cancel several events like this in 2012 due to my injury I was extremely hot to race.
I already knew from the last Red Bull City Downhill Race in Columbia (2012) that these races are super fun, and, because of all the enthusiastic onlookers along the track, they exude a very special atmosphere.
The thrill of anticipation already started to rise after I had assembled my new GHOST Downhill frame with the brand new Shimano Saint components. This year I’m not only being sponsored by Continental tires, I now also have Suntour suspensions forks as a new sponsor, and so my bike didn’t just feel new, it also felt comfortably different.
Unfortunately the Red Bull Chile crew was only able to book me onto a flight with a 13-hour layover in Sao Paolo (Brazil). In the end 30 hours of travel time was probably a bit too much for my immune system; at some stage, after all the boarding and disembarking from aircrafts, the on-off of air conditioners and olé olé, it gave up and I spent most of my travel time in a trance of chills and fever, a cough and headache. When I finally reached Valparaiso I first didn’t think I was even going to be able to join the race in the condition I was in. I took loads of vitamin C to get somewhere close to fit.
Because the race led through the crooked and narrow lanes and alleys of the city, the training and the race were to take place on the same day … that was an advantage for me, because it gave me a 2 full days to recuperate.
When I checked the course on the days before the race I could only imagine what I was in for. Some of the passages looked unreal. In other places I didn’t think it would work without an oversized ramp. In some places the stairs were built so close to the buildings that I considered cutting off my handle bar. To tell the truth, I admit I had some occurrences of thinking, “Hey, what on earth am I doing here?”
Sunday was the day. The city was packed with people, thousands of spectators crowded the narrow alleys and filled the squares along the track. While I walked the course on foot before the trial run started they cheered me on with “eh gringo” (a well-meant expression for a foreigner), or “Tsuuuuug”. I waited for the “GO” from the official UCI-representative together with 54 other drivers; the track was opened for the training with a two hour delay (seems to be normal in Chile). Every ten seconds one rider after the other hurled himself down hell’s way to the bottom. The spirit was awesome. Some of the onlookers patted my back on extremely narrow turns, and I touched a couple elbows when someone leaned out too far with a camera. I remember that I jumped a drop and stared an alley dog right in the bloodshot eye for an instant before he decided to jump out of the way (alley dogs are as common as city pigeons). And right after that we were stopped by the red flag, because someone had been smashed again and we had to wait for the rescue squad to make room … during the wait people came and took pictures or asked for autographs. It was unbelievable – a crazy maze. Sometimes I was really frightened because you never knew what surprise would pop up around the next corner. The second trial run was a lot more relaxed. I was able to jump over all the obstacles and felt safe and good on my new GHOST bike.
When the actual race started there were only 35 men left at the start – by natural selection ;o) either they were injured or they had decided that the course was too much for them after all. I figured that I could make it into the top 10 with a good run – any higher position would have involved a very high risk. And that’s the way it turned out – in the qualification run I made 12th place and 10th in the final run which satisfied me personally. The spectators cheered us on from the start line to the finish line. I cannot remember ever before having been in a race where people were so enthusiastic and involved.
Marcello Gutierrez made 1st place, right in front of Filip Polc and Antonio Leiva. Cedric Gracia came in 4th. I am truly happy with my result … and as the pictures clearly show, in the end the race was a great experience and I really had extreme fun riding it.
I’m already hyped for the next Red Bull Urban Race. It would be cool if there were a 4x series of this format and such a location soon. In any event, I’m excited and as soon as the opportunity shows up I’m on!.
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