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Mid April saw Mazatlán hosting a World Cup cross-country mountain bike race
of international caliber. The highly prestigious event was held north of
town near Mazagua in Cerritos. This time of year guarantees gorgeous weather,
but also lots of dust. The track is 8 km long, over flat and hilly land,
with lots of curves and dips, surrounded by dry vegetation, making it an
arduous, challenging evernt. The races can take upwards of two hours to
complete. There were nearly 400 participants from all over México and from
about 20 foreign lands as well. With junior, senior and masters categories,
there were many sub levels, including several for children, with various
degrees of difficulty for men and women. Mazatlán had numerous entrants
and a few stood out as winners, helping to put our city on the map for this
first international bike racing event in Latin America. The big winner was
Ziranda Madrigal, from the state of Michoacan, in the men's top category
and Carisa Munoz, who despite a knee injury took first for the advanced
women's grade, 14 minutes ahead of her rival! To make the course harder,
the more advanced riders must ride three times around the track. All races
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guidelines of the international union of cyclists. The dust and sweat created
cloaks and masks for the bikers. There were many scraped knees, but Sharp
Hospital had a paramedic unit standing by. There were also a few damaged
bicycles carried out of the bush, but all in all it was a fun and exciting
event. This kind of racing has the added draw of being seen as a clean,
healthy activity, where physical fitness, training and stamina pay off.
This is the kind of example we would like to convey to the youths of tomorrow.
Actually mountain biking is a relatively new sport which began in the 70s
north of San Francisco in California. It made it into the Atlanta Olympics
in 1996 for the first time and is slated for the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
Those who placed in this race may go on to other races across the map, including
Europe and North America. There are 16 races scheduled between now and the
next Olympics and on April 1-2, 2000, the second race of the new year will
be back in Mazatlán, which will then become the seat of cross country racing!
Next year's event is expected to draw 1000 athletes, 75% of them from México
as well as numerous journalists, volunteers and up to 15, 000 spectators.
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