A new mountain bike event – Brasil Ride Espinhaço – has been created with an ambitious goal of gaining the spotlight in the cycling world in a ‘very short time’.
The ultramarathon MTB stage race will take place on March 2-6, in the city of Conceição do Mato Dentro, 140 km from Confins International Airport, in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State. The race schedule will also include the Cipó Marathon, which closes the event on March 6th.
Brasil Ride Espinhaço will have five stages with a total of 281 km and more than 9,000m of elevation. The first stag will be the longest, with 84 km and more than 2,500m of climbing. The second and third stages will have 45km and 78 km, with 1,384m and 2,510m of total ascent. The fourth stage will be the Olympic cross country, with 4 laps on a 7.8 km circuit, and more than 1,000 ascent.
The stage race also debuts in 2021 as an official event in the UCI calendar, with over R140,000 up for grabs. This is billed as the largest cash prize in the history of Brazilian cycling. Offering 150 world ranking points to elite winners, it will be ‘a race with quick stages, at a strategically important moment for high performance cyclists.’
“This will certainly be an intense challenge for riders, with five days of competitions in Serra do Espinhaço,” said Mario Roma, founder of the Brasil Ride brand.
“Riders race in teams, enjoying the astonishing landscapes of the state that is the birthplace of mountain biking in Brazil. Skills and intensity are the hallmarks, with short stages and high speeds.”
Aimed at professional and amateur cyclists alike, Brasil Ride Espinhaço will have a total of 12 categories, including: Open, Women, Mixed, Master, Grandmaster and Corporate.
Alongside these categories, there are six special awards up for grabs: ‘American Jersey for Men’, ‘American Jersey for Women’, ‘Nelore’, ‘Iron Rider’, ‘Guarini’, and ‘E-MTB’, in the first assisted mountain biking ultaramarathon in the Americas.
