August 20, 2010

Do you like this?

CMWCGuatemala/www.cmwcguatemala.com

A young Guatemalan bike messenger rides the streets with his delivery.

There are a lot of challenges associated with the location of this year’s Cycling Messenger World Championships. For starters, none of the organizers actually live in Panajachel, Guatemala, or even in the area. And it’s a small town, complete with cobblestones - not the urban setting riders are used to. Throw in the volcanic eruption and mudslides that happened earlier this year, and you get an idea what organizers are up against.

Cycling Messenger World Championshisp 2010 Video Thumb

CMWC Guatemala Video

“I wanted a challenge in life,” Nadir Olivet said of organizing the bid for CMWC 2010, being held Sept. 3 to 13. “It started as a joke - we didn’t think people would support it.”

But support it they did - and why not? After all, Olivet, el presidente of this year’s competition, isn’t a stranger to the area. He may live in Toronto, ON, where he owns La Carrera Cycles, but he grew up in Guatemala, and has been organizing messenger races in Panajachel for the last 10 years.

One of the biggest challenges, he said, is providing security for the hundreds of people coming from all over the world. Luckily, the local police are big fans of Olivet’s other events, and the competition is “being provided with more security than (is often given to) the president.” The event also has the support of the local and national governments.

In addition to the main show - the delivery race - there will be a number of other competitions (sprint, bunny hop, track stand, backward circles, cargo race) and exhibition events (bike polo, foot down).

The greatest feat, however, might just be the resurrection of the infamous La Ocho - a figure-eight track used at the Dunhill Alley Cat Scramble in the late 1990s. Unlike its precursor, which was wooden, the Guatemalan track’s banked turns and raised bridge will be made primarily of dirt and clay.

Olivet is hoping the event will have a positive spinoff for the community. The 600 expected competitors will be staying and eating locally, of course, but Olivet is also planning to donate food and water in some nearby towns, with riders handing the provisions out during group rides.

Latin American cyclists also stand to benefit. One hundred of the 600 spots are being given for free to Guatemalan messengers (they have to win their places through a 24-kilometer uphill time trial), giving them a chance to compete with their international brethren for the first time.

There isn’t really a messenger culture in Guatemela, Olivet said: “They’re kids with other jobs.” But the ability to race has provided them with opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have.

“Their whole lives have changed,” Olivet said of the Guatemalan pros who have been able to compete in the other events he’s organized. “They’re the heroes of the Guatemalan cycling culture, and it’s helped them changed their lives.”