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Find out who came out on top at Red Bull Medellín Cerro Abajo
Colombian athletes come to the fore as urban downhill and the Red Bull Cerro Abajo series takes to the streets of the Colombian city of Medellín.
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On a weekend when Medellín played host to its first ever Red Bull Cerro Abajo urban downhill race it was apt that a Colombian athlete from the city took the honours at Red Bull Medellín Cerro Abajo in the second of three stops in the new racing series.
Juanfer Vélez took the win, posting a time of 1m 25.039s. His time was, incredibly, nearly two seconds faster than second placed athlete and fellow Colombian, Sebastian Holguín. Brazil's Lucas Borba slotted into third place with his time. Vélez was the last man down the course having posted the fastest qualifying time and was the overwhelming favourite going into the finals due to that quali performance.
Watch Vélez's run to victory in the video below and scroll on down to see the runs of Holguín and Borba.
4 min
Winning run
Juan Fernando Vélez takes the win on home soil! This is the 19-year-old's first Red Bull Cerro Abajo win.
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Medellín and Comuna 13 star in a festival of urban downhill
Tomáš Slavík, the winner of the first stop of the Red Bull Cerro Abajo series at Red Bull Valparaíso Cerro Abajo in Chile in mid-February, finished sixth. Slavík was not 100 percent going into this race, having suffered ankle ligament damage in his right leg from the Valparaíso race.
Set in the once notorious Comuna 13 district, a part of Medellín that used to be known for its criminality, but is now a thriving area of transformation, this Medellín course was short and sweet compared to the Chilean race at just 1.6km.
Medellín welcomed a Cerro Abajo race to its city for the first time
© Mathew Valbuena/Red Bull Content Pool
Comuna 13 residents and Medellín locals packed the streets to enjoy finals
© Alfred Jürgen Westermeyer/Red Bull Content Pool
There was little room to manoeuvre in the top section
© Alfred Jürgen Westermeyer/Red Bull Content Pool
This wasn't a course for an enduro bike as Slavík found to his cost
© Kevin Molano/Red Bull Content Pool
Vélez was lifted to his win by the energy of the Comuna 13 crowd
© Kevin Molano/Red Bull Content Pool
The heavily stair-based course was undoubtedly more technical in nature. The top of the route featured tight turns at the top, a long sweeping pedalling section in the middle, then a fast staircase section heading into the finish.
The race would ultimately be decided on those last set of stairs. Time could be made up if they were attacked at the right speed. This proved to be the case. Vélez and Holguín matched each others' times before that section, but then Vélez produced something magical.
10 min
Top 3 runs
Check out the top three runs from Red Bull Medellín Cerro Abajo 2023 to see what it takes to make the podium.
Vélez was understandably emotional in the finishing area, with family and friends sharing his joy of winning in his home city.
"It's incredible to win my home race," he said. "This is what I've been training for. I'm overwhelmed by it all. I don't know where I found the time on the track. I just went as fast as I could and gave everything."
Bedlam in the finish area as the Colombians celebrate Vélez's win
© Kevin Molano/Red Bull Content Pool
The 2023 Medellín podium: Sebastian Holguín, Juanfer Vélez, and Lucas Borba
© Kevin Molano/Red Bull Content Pool
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Watch the replay
If you want to see all the runs from finals or want to relive the live broadcast of Red Bull Medellín Cerro Abajo, then watch below.
Replay
Watch the best urban MTB riders race the scenic streets of Colombia in Red Bull Medellín Cerro Abajo.
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Red Bull Medellín Cerro Abajo results
Rank
Person
Country
Time
1
Juanfer Vélez
Colombia
1m 25.039s
2
Sebastian Holguín
Colombia
1m 26.966s
3
Lucas Borba
Brazil
1m 27.558s
4
Gabriel Giovannini
Brazil
1m 28.076s
5
Pedro Ferreira
Chile
1m 28.905s
7
Pablo Aguilar
Costa Rica
1m 30.058s
9
Mario Jarrín
Ecuador
1m 31.519s
10
Steven Ceballos
Colombia
1m 31.694s
11
Felipe Rodríguez
Colombia
1m 32.062s
12
Camilo Sánchez
Colombia
1m 32.204s
13
Sebastian Posada
Colombia
1m 32.626s
14
Juan Nuñez
Colombia
1m 36.128
15
Daniel Roura
Ecuador
1m 36.790s
16
Adrien Loron
France
2m 26.447s
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The battle for the overall Red Bull Cerro Abajo title
With racing at Red Bull Valparaíso Cerro Abajo and Red Bull Medellín Cerro Abajo now complete all eyes now turns to Red Bull Guanajuato Cerro Abajo in Mexico, the last stop of Red Bull Cerro Abajo urban downhill series.
Vélez heads the running in the race for the Cerro Abajo overall series title on account of his win in Medellín and a second place at Valparaíso. He currently has a points total of 119. Slavík sits in second place on the overall with 77 points. Vélez has a 42 point lead over the Czech rider. The Brazilian Borba is currently third with 70 points.
Going into Guanajuato only these three have a chance of winning the first even Red Bull Cerro Abajo title. That race takes place on March 25. You can watch the title decider, live on Red Bull TV, from 11pm UTC.
Red Bull Cerro Abajo 2023 Overall Standings
Rank
Person
Country
Points
1
Juanfer Vélez
Colombia
119
2
Camilo Sánchez
Colombia
95
3
Tomáš Slavík
Czech Republic
78
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