Video: Impressive Urban Downhill Bike Races

In the town of Valparaiso in Chile,  a downhill mountain bike competition has been taking place for the last 10 years; the Valparaíso Cerro Abajo cup. What makes it different from many other downhill races is the location: this race takes place in the city streets and sidewalks.

Sarajevo Downhill Race by 3dh3m CCBySA


Here is a video showing a competitor doing a trial run before the actual race, zig-zagging through the streets guided by plastic lines and cheered by onlookers:

And it seems that not only dogs are  likely to walk into the cyclists’ path as can be seen in this next video where a person seems more interested in recording the race than in getting out of the way:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiUja3r_EWU

And in this video, riders in quick succession are seen sorting the obstacles, racing down steps in sidewalks, riding onto walls and jumping off ramps:

But not only Chile has downhill races in urban areas: this next race, recorded through  helmet cam shows a course that crisscrosses a town in Sarajevo,  Bosnia and Herzegovina:

Or how about this one in the colonial city of Taxco, Mexico, that even goes through people's homes?

It's not all fun and games: in this race in Cuzco, Peru you can see some of the riders take spills and fall off their bikes:

Start the conversation

Authors, please log in »

Guidelines

  • All comments are reviewed by a moderator. Do not submit your comment more than once or it may be identified as spam.
  • Please treat others with respect. Comments containing hate speech, obscenity, and personal attacks will not be approved.

Receive great stories from around the world directly in your inbox.

Stay up to date about Global Voices and our mission. See our Privacy Policy for details. Newsletter powered by Mailchimp (Privacy Policy and Terms).


* = required field
Email Frequency



No thanks, show me the site