The 8th La Mojaquera/Sierra Cabrera Xtreme cycling race was held last weekend in Mojácar and, was the first round of Almería’s Provincial 2019 BTT Marathon Circuit, which is part of the overall Ranking Andaluz.
400 racers set off at 8 a.m. in a high early morning temperature of 14ºc to start the hardest and most demanding test of the mountain bike circuit. The winding ‘snake’ of multicoloured riders headed towards the challenging Sierra de Cabrera, which participants described as being a part of the circuit full of thrills and danger for those with nerve to enjoy it.
The Director of MojácarBike CCD Club, Gerardo Martínez Cabello, quoted their motto “there is no pain”, but in truth the day demanded an extra effort as the temperatures rose to 25ºc by 2 p.m.
Jesús del Nero, from the Primaflor Mondraker Raci Club was first to cross the finish line after completing the 75 kms in 3 hours and 35 minutes, averaging 20 km per hour. Julieta Escudero, from Club AlboxBike, won the women’s category, with a time of five hours and an average hourly speed of 15 km.
Despite the arduous nature of the route, the race passed without incident, although the refreshment points and the extra water supplies were welcomed with greater frequency by the cyclists, due to the extreme heat on the day.
Mojácar Council, who had organized the event together with MojácarBike Club, sent along their Sport’s Councillor, Ana García, who saw at first hand the efforts of the athletes whilst helping out at the refreshment stations.
Just as in the previous races, all the participants expressed how pleased they were the day’s overall event as well as the new features that had been incorporated, with the La Mena coastal path being particularly praised for its spectacular beauty.
