Maybe by now you have heard a little about the Megavalanche race in Peru. Many riders from Canada, USA, South America and Europe have been there racing and only them knows how hard is this race.
I have been racing downhill since 1998 in all South America and I can tell this is the hardest race! The altitude and the weather plays a big roll in this race. Starting at 4,450 m (14,600 ft.) and snowing it's a challenge for your body and for your mind!
Riding Olleros Descent, a 11,800 ft. DH!
Casta I Trail on the Andes of Lima
Quipan Trail on the Andes of Lima
This is the biggest race in Peru and riders like Steve Peat, Cedric Gracia, Phillip Polk, Rene Wildhaber, Mike Jones, Tomas Misser and many other top-ranked riders have showed us how to race in these type of events. They all went fast as hell since the beginning to the end of the trail!
This March 29-30, 2009 is going to be the fifth edition of this massive event. On the last 4 editions we have seen how the local people improved. By now we have maybe more than 100 local racers that will be attending this race with all type of bikes. From great downhill bikes with full suspension and brakes to hardtails with triple clamp forks and cantilever brakes!
We always start this race 10 days before, preparing our bodies and our minds riding all type of trails in the Andes of Lima and then in Cusco. Trails like Olleros or Marcahuasi with more than 10,000 vertical feet of descend are great for getting in use to the long riding conditions. Then in Cusco we focus on the Megavalanche trail but we also ride other impressive trails like Lares and other shorter trails around the Sacred Valley.
Here we have a nice video we want to share with you:
www.inkasadventures.com/videos/Mega2008Peru.wmv
This year was great. One of the guys that came with us in this training-adventure ride got the third place in the overall results. I went fourth place on the first run and crashed on the second run (it still hurts).
The party is another thing to consider coming to this race. Peruvian people are friendly by nature and the whole event is a party. You can see local people dressing like 500 years ago watching the race on the higher section, near the start (The Megavalanche race is held on an area where people preserves more the Inca culture). Thousands of people are watching the race on the entire trail and that makes you go faster than normal! They give cheers to everybody and at the end of the race starts a big party where everybody drinks beers talking about the race.
Jumping on the Megavalanche trail
Bikes of the PRO's
Rock Garden
We dont know yet who is going to come next year but we are sure its going to be as challenging as the past editions. Now everybody wants to come for this race!
This could be the best opportunity to enjoy the long-lasting downhill trails that are in Peru!
I have been racing downhill since 1998 in all South America and I can tell this is the hardest race! The altitude and the weather plays a big roll in this race. Starting at 4,450 m (14,600 ft.) and snowing it's a challenge for your body and for your mind!
Riding Olleros Descent, a 11,800 ft. DH!
Casta I Trail on the Andes of Lima
Quipan Trail on the Andes of Lima
This is the biggest race in Peru and riders like Steve Peat, Cedric Gracia, Phillip Polk, Rene Wildhaber, Mike Jones, Tomas Misser and many other top-ranked riders have showed us how to race in these type of events. They all went fast as hell since the beginning to the end of the trail!
This March 29-30, 2009 is going to be the fifth edition of this massive event. On the last 4 editions we have seen how the local people improved. By now we have maybe more than 100 local racers that will be attending this race with all type of bikes. From great downhill bikes with full suspension and brakes to hardtails with triple clamp forks and cantilever brakes!
We always start this race 10 days before, preparing our bodies and our minds riding all type of trails in the Andes of Lima and then in Cusco. Trails like Olleros or Marcahuasi with more than 10,000 vertical feet of descend are great for getting in use to the long riding conditions. Then in Cusco we focus on the Megavalanche trail but we also ride other impressive trails like Lares and other shorter trails around the Sacred Valley.
Here we have a nice video we want to share with you:
www.inkasadventures.com/videos/Mega2008Peru.wmv
This year was great. One of the guys that came with us in this training-adventure ride got the third place in the overall results. I went fourth place on the first run and crashed on the second run (it still hurts).
The party is another thing to consider coming to this race. Peruvian people are friendly by nature and the whole event is a party. You can see local people dressing like 500 years ago watching the race on the higher section, near the start (The Megavalanche race is held on an area where people preserves more the Inca culture). Thousands of people are watching the race on the entire trail and that makes you go faster than normal! They give cheers to everybody and at the end of the race starts a big party where everybody drinks beers talking about the race.
Jumping on the Megavalanche trail
Bikes of the PRO's
Rock Garden
We dont know yet who is going to come next year but we are sure its going to be as challenging as the past editions. Now everybody wants to come for this race!
This could be the best opportunity to enjoy the long-lasting downhill trails that are in Peru!
