Brasil Ride consolidates as the world's premier premium mountain bike stage race

The historic tenth edition of Brasil Ride, held from October 20th to 26th, in Arraial d'Ajuda, Porto Seguro, and Guaratinga, in the extreme south of Bahia, gathered countless compliments from the stars that made up this sports party. The event, which was considered the premier ultramarathon mountain biking in the Americas, had its status changed in the opinion of athletes as the most premium mountain bike stage races in the world.

Brasil Ride’s structure really stands out as full service. Among the highlights, Shimano Neutral Support service, which provides free mechanical service to all riders during the race, regardless of the brands of their bike components, and the bike wash performed by Squirt, where after each stage the athletes can have their bikes washed, free of work or worries. They just leave their bike at the brand’s tent, and pick it up later, squeaky clean.

At Brasil Ride Village, in Guaratinga, the organization sets up a temporary city for over 1,100 people, with high-quality breakfast and dinner, as well as all the necessary hygiene structure with bathrooms and showers. "This all sounds easy, but it's not. It's ten years of dedication and persistence to hold a global mega event in a country where cycling has no tradition and is starting to take off," said Mario Roma, founder of Brasil Ride.

2018 World Champion and three-time Brasil Ride Champion (2013/17/18), Henrique Avancini shares his assessment of the event. "This year we had a much larger number of elite athletes lined up, and this demonstrates how much the race has been growing and improving with the participation of international competitors. Therefore, I place Brasil Ride as one of the toughest on the planet. I also highlight the Brazilian ultramarathon due to the difficulty of the terrain itself. I often say that for the amateurs, the ones who participate with the goal of finishing, it is the hardest race in the world. An event that tests a person's ability to complete a major challenge," said Avancini.

Two-time Brasil Ride Champion after winning in 2012 and 2019, Portuguese Tiago Ferreira, who holds World and European Marathon (XCM) titles, is one of the riders who validates this condition as MTB's premier premium stage race. "The leap in quality this year was quite noticeable. That's why, in my opinion, Brasil Ride has established as the main mountain bike stage race in the world, and I think it will soon be consolidated as the best among all of MTB, no matter how long it takes, "said Tiago.

One of the most accomplished ultramarathon champions -- alongside Henrique Avancini and Czech Jiri Novak, also with three titles -- Dutchman Hans Becking praises the event. "The big difference is that Brasil Ride is much more familiar. At Cape Epic, for example, after the stage you get in the trailer and see no other people. There is more stress and a restricted organization. At Brasil Ride, I love talking to other cyclists, eating an açaí in the evening, and meeting the opponents who compete against me all week. This makes us breathe MTB, with concepts of family and friendship. See where Mario Roma started and where he got in just ten years is amazing. And if he goes on like this, surely soon Brasil Ride will be the biggest MTB race in the world, "said Becking.

Gold medalist in London 2012, Jaroslav Kulhavy, also gives his oppinion. "It's hard to say if it's the hardest of the world stage events. I mean, it's about more factors, like the quality of the top professional riders. To me, Brasil Ride is on par with Cape Epic. Brazil has probably the hardest climbs. The hot weather also makes things more difficult during the race," said Kulhavy.

Media Return - With record media professionals working at the event -- more than 50 people -- the tenth edition of Brasil Ride will reach impacting numbers regarding media return. To date, more than USD 10 million in returns have been calculated, before accounting for prominent exhibitions, such as Japan's NHK TV channel, which will feature an exclusive 90-minute show on the race, print publications such as Costa Rica's Bike Magazine and Portugal's Bike Magazine , among other returns from online and electronic media. In all, over 9,600,000 people were directly impacted by social networks - Instagram, Facebook and YouTube - by watching live streams and broadcast videos.

Economic impact - The event helped Arraial d'Ajuda, in Porto Seguro, to reach the maximum capacity of the hotel chains, that is, close to 100%. Considering that the event brought together over 6,000 people over this period, an economic impact of more than $ 2.5 million in the region is estimated, with an average ticket of around $ 90 per person, according to the municipality. In addition to occupying Arraial d'Ajuda, Brasil Ride also contributed to the economy of the small town of Guaratinga, 130 km further south of Bahia, the other venue for the competition.

A city is built - The event organizer annually builds a city for 1,100 people on a farm 14 kilometers from Guaratinga. It is a gigantic structure with 80 tons of equipment, mounted on an area of 10 hectares for four days of race. There are 1,100 tents, two 100-meters deep wells, with five pumps that extract and distribute 800,000 liters of water to various areas of the city, tents for restaurants, including one for 700 people, 10 km of underground wires, 48 showers with hot water, nine sponsor tents and a full medical truck.

Five-star menu - Impressive numbers as more than 9,000 meals are served, 4,800 kg of noodles, 1,200 kg of rice and 10 tonnes of protein (beef, chicken and fish), not to mention 45,000 eggs and 4,000 dozen. bananas. All this to support the 570 riders and support teams with over 300 people in the organization.

About Brasil Ride - Considered the Giro d'Italia of Mountain Biking, the ultramarathon scheduled for October 20-26 offers a strong challenge for 570 participating athletes from 24 countries. For seven days, they will face about 600 km and almost 11,000 m of accumulated climbing, between trails and dirt roads that connect Arraial d'Ajuda, in Porto Seguro, to Brasil Ride Village, built annually in Guaratinga. On the last day of the competition, Saturday (26), more than 1,500 cyclists from all over the country join the stars of the international mountain bike, for the Marathon of the Discoveries race. A unique opportunity to ride and see the world's best mountain bikers in action.

The Brasil Ride ultramarathon is sponsored by the Government of Bahia, Land Rover, Shimano, Specialized and Unidas. Coca-Cola, Conect Car, Full Gas, Garmin, LAF Insurance Broker, La Maglia, Oakley, Red Bull, Shop2gether, Squirt, Vittoria and Thule are supporting companies, as are the municipalities of Porto Seguro and Guaratinga, as well as the Pau Brasil National Park are the institutional supporters of the event.

Brasil Ride: More than a race, a stage in your life.

Website: http://www.BRASILRIDE.COM.BR
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BRASILRIDE
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brasil_ride
Instagram: https://instagram.com/brasilride

Gustavo Coelho / Doro Jr. - Mtb 13209
E-mail: gustavo@zdl.com.br / dorojr@zdl.com.br
Phone: +55 11 32855911 / Cell phone: + 55 11 9.8457-9699

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