El Reto del Quetzal is a mountain bike stage race in the heart of Guatemala with the 4 stages spread out between the tourist hotspots of Lago Atitlan and Antigua.
Stage 1 of El Reto del Quetzal kicked off in wild Central American fashion this morning with a 49 km loop around the rim of Lago Atitlan above Panajachel.
The race started with some sweet views of the volcanos surrounding Lago Atitlan. Soon after was a typical Guatemalan 20% climb. Three riders from the Cermicas Castelli team took off with my buddy Cesar Reyes Hernández with me in the chase. Over the top the leader Cristian from Colombia had a 45-second gap, while I chased down his teammate in 2nd, unfortunately going off course with him in the process for 7 minutes.
Eventually backtracking to course, now in the 20s, I hit the first piece of trail, getting stuck behind a train of riders grabbing their brakes way too hard. Finally passing them, the chase was on to get back into the race.
Between 20+ creek crossings, a near miss with both a dog and a truck, dusty rutted-out decent, and another wall of a climb, it was turning into a tough day. Catching up to Cesar, we worked together for a while before I took him off course for another 3-minute out-and-back detour.
I must be getting old and can’t see anymore, or maybe the small blue course markings are hard to see in the shadows on gray concrete, regardless I was having a hell of a time staying on track. Hitting the 3rd Guatemalan wall of the day I’d drop Cesar, hitting the big 800-meter vertical descent back into the crater solo.
This part was a steep overgrown trail on a tight ridge line. Just as I thought, “I hope my pedal doesn’t catch something in the grass” my pedal caught something in the grass, launching the Cory rocket over the bars for a yard sale, bouncing hard off a shoulder down the trail. Back in the day, this would’ve dislocated the shoulder for sure, but apparently, Dr. Heard did a good job repairing it back in 2021!
Searching around for my phone and pump in the jungle, I actually found both, then continued on my journey, now again with Cesar. Cesar dropped his chain, letting me roll across the finish line solo, surprisingly still in 3rd spot, a lofty 11:56 behind the leader, but better than expected given the gong show of a day. Tomorrow is the big one, 95 km from Panajachel to Antigua.
Stage 2
The morning of Stage 2 at El Reto del Quetzal started with volcanic eruptions from my ass at 4am. After 3 runs to the toilet, I was at race weight and ready for the big 98km stage from Panajachel-Antigua.
Breakfast was a couple of grains of oats, the savor was my F2C Nutrition 5:1 liquid nutrition which pumped some calories into my now depleted body for the day ahead. Surprisingly the body still felt pretty good as the stage kicked off with a solid 12 km climb out of the Lago Atitlan crater. The Colombian race leader Cristian pushed the pace, dropping the whole field except for his two skinny Castelli teammates that went with him.
Chasing solo in 4th, it was a yo-yo battle as they were outriding me on the climbs but I’d gain time back on the descents, as the course kicked off with 4 solid climbs in the first 40km. Hitting the 2nd feed, the gap was a minute, with a long flat section ahead. With the 3 teammates working together I knew I had to bridge up or else they’d work me over. Luck was on my side as they had some confusion at an intersection, slowing down enough so I could join them, then immediately I attacked on the next dusty descent to split them apart. The tactic worked, dropping all of them, with Cristian bridging up on the next climb and riding away on an extremely steep bit. One of his teammates would catch me, and sit on my wheel for the next 1.5 hours as I tried to keep Cristian in sight.
The course was great this day with a mix of single-track and dirt roads. The organizers did a great job marking, adding course marshals and pink flagging which we could easily see. Eventually Cristian would pull away, getting the gap up to 5 minutes, while his teammate finally cracked, and I could gap him on a trail section.
Towards the end of the stage, we hit an amazing trail descent into Antigua with Volcanos Agua, Acatenango, and Fuego towering above. It was hard to focus on the trail with the amazing views! Getting a second wind, I’d claw back some time to finish 2.5 minutes down, then ran straight to the toilet as my ass was ready to erupt again.
2 stages left, tomorrow is 20 km in the Antigua bike park. Sitting in 2nd overall, 14 minutes down, 13 minutes ahead of 3rd.
Stage 3 was a short 20 km route up and down the lower slopes of Volcan Agua, full of rugged and steep dirt roads with a few loose trails tied in which we would more less surf our bikes down.
I’m pretty good at showing up at start lines right on time, but I forgot to take in the Guatemalan x factors on my pre-ride and barely made the 8:30 am start. Trying to ride the last bit of the course I ran into a pack of stray dogs and had to re-route. This unfortunately took an extra few km as every where I went were fences and no trespassing signs. Apparently I have spent too much time in Nepal recently where everywhere is basically open to everyone. In North and Central America land can be very closed off and private in comparison.
I still had time to make the start, but soon realized the last 3 km to the race start was all uphill. Sprinting, I made it to the line, 8 seconds before the gun went off, threw my bike over the fence, and away we went.
Unfortunately the body was rather empty this day, not surprising after how deep it went yesterday on a bad stomach. The sprint to the start likely didn’t help much either. The race quickly became a survival mission, drifting in for 5th on the short day.
The stomach started to come around later this afternoon, I was able to down a box of corn flakes so was hopeful I’d have some fuel in the tank for the final stage. With 29km on deck, and apparently some more trails, I knew it could play into my favour if I could keep my shit together.
Antigua itself is a pretty rad place to be based out of for the last days of the race. It is a small city in southern Guatemala which is surrounded by Volcanoes and full of cobblestone streets and some great architectural sights. It will be worth checking out more, but first their was one more stage to focus on as I still had the 2nd in GC to hold onto and another chance for the first win of 2023.
Stage 4
What a battle race leader Cristian from Colombia and I would have at the 4th and final stage of El Reto de Quetzal!
All day he would gap me on the climbs then I’d pull him back on the descents. Showing great sportsmanship he always let me pass at will on the downhills. I also always let him pass at will on the climbs!
The course was pretty rad with tough fire road climbs followed with some great bike park descending on loose trails through the Jungle. I’ve nearly perfected my bike surfing skills after the past 4 days of drifting around these loose corners.
It was a pretty epic back and forth battle all day and a great way to test the early season fitness.
Climbing back up to the finish with a narrow 10 second lead I sprinted for the line thinking we were done, only then realizing we had another 3km loop to go.
Fully gassed, Cristian blew by me, taking a 15-20 second lead on the final climb. It was disheartenting but I did all I could to limit the damage, hoping for a miracle on the last 1km descent to the finish. I had convinced myself earlier in the day I was going to win, so let my new Kona Hei Hei rip on the descent, and finding a late adrenaline surge I’d pass Cristian 300 meters from the finish to take the first win of 2023!
What a wild past 4 days it has been racing in Guatemala. Winding up 2nd overall in GC with a stage win was a great way to kick off the season. I wasn’t sure what to expect this year after spending so much time trekking in the Himalayas, and alot less time on the bike. From this first race I’m very happy with how strong the body feels and am looking to building off this early season success. But first it is time to climb a Volcano tomorrow to celebrate, then head off to Lago Atitlan afterwards to take some rest days with the hippies.
Over and out from Guatemala.