Czech Legend Slavík Wins Biggest Urban Mountain Bike Event In Europe Down Genova Streets
First European edition of iconic Red Bull Cerro Abajo race thrills fans as Vélez claims 2024 overall title.
Czech legend Tomáš Slavík held off Colombian Juanfer Vélez to win the first European edition of the iconic urban downhill mountain bike event Red Bull Cerro Abajo at Genova in Italy on Sunday, reaching speeds of up to 80km/h down a 2.2km course.
Thirty-two competitors from the ranks of Red Bull Cerro Abajo’s brilliant urban downhill mountain biking scene took to the streets of Genova, Italy for Europe’s first ever stop on Sunday.
Competitors took on a breathtaking 2.2-kilometre course that wound its way from Monte Peralto down to Largo della Zecca, passing through some of Genova’s most iconic landmarks and totalling a descent of 279 metres at speeds of up to 80km/h.
With a roster of fierce competitors it was Czech rider Slavík, a storied veteran of Red Bull Cerro Abajo, who secured the win in a superb time of 2:42.505 to edge out Vélez by just 0.477 of a second.
Vélez’s fellow Colombian Sebastian Holguin rounded out the podium in third as thousands of fans lined the streets to cheer on riders from 15 nations for the event that also went out live on Red Bull TV.
Slavïk, 37, said: “It still doesn’t seem real to me. The course was difficult and wild, pushing you to the limit at every moment. I gave my soul for this victory and I am happy to be the winner of this first historic European stop. I’ve been racing for many years now and competing with so many new young people gives me a special boost. The thing that inspired me most was to win today in front of this fantastic crowd, who welcomed me as if I were at home.”
Sunday’s win was not enough for Slavïk to be crowned the overall winner of the Red Bull Cerro Abajo 2024 series as Vélez claimed that honour for the second season in a row, adding to his results achieved in Chilean city Valparaíso and Guanajuato, Mexico where he was victorious.
He said: “I am overjoyed to be the champion of Red Bull Cerro Abajo for the second year in a row, the most spectacular and extreme competition in urban downhill. Today’s course was very physical: to get to the end I had to give it my all. It would have been great to win in this extraordinary city, but the joy of reconfirming myself as champion is unparalleled.”
Watch the replay of Red Bull Genova Cerro Abajo HERE.
