The Vuelta a Guatemala (Spanish for Tour of Guatemala) is a multi-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually and typically during late October and early November in several locations in Guatemala. The competition carries a UCI rating of 2.2 (having also been rated 2.5 from 2002 to 2004)[1] and is part of the UCI America Tour, which is one of six UCI Continental Circuits sponsored by the Union Cycliste Internationale, the sport's international governing body.[2] The race is organized by the Federacion Nacional de Ciclismo de Guatemala.

Vuelta a Guatemala
Race details
DateOctober–November
RegionGuatemala
English nameTour of Guatemala
DisciplineRoad race
CompetitionUCI America Tour
TypeStage race
OrganiserFed. Nacional de Ciclismo de Guatemala
History
First edition1957 (1957)
Editions62 (as of 2023)
First winnerGuatemala Jorge Surqué
Most wins2 times:
Guatemala Aureliano Cuque López
Colombia José Patrocinio Jiménez
Guatemala Edin Roberto Nova
Guatemala Manuel Rodas
Costa Rica Juan Carlos Rojas
Costa Rica Román Villalobos
Most recent Gerson Toc (GUA)

History

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The Vuelta a Guatemala, which has become the largest sporting event in the country in terms of spectator affluence, was first held in 1957. The winner of the first edition was local racer Jorge Surqué, and during the first four years, the competition was dominated by Guatemalan and Colombian participants. As of 2007, Colombia is the nation with the most wins all-time, with 21 general classification individual wins.

From 1992 to 1996, five different Colombian participants took five consecutive titles, before local racer Luis Rodolfo Muj won in 1997, becoming the first Guatemalan to finish first since Edin Roberto Nova had won his second tour in 1988, and ending the longest drought of titles for his country.

The winner of the 2004 edition of the race, Lizandro Ajcú, was disqualified afterwards for doping in what was the biggest doping case of the race's history – nine riders including the first four on the General classification returned positive A samples.[3]

In 2005, the tour was cancelled after Tropical Storm Stan's heavy rainfalls caused floods and mudslides which damaged infrastructure and caused 1500 deaths weeks before the race was due to begin.[4][5]

The LII edition of the race in 2011 was cancelled by the organizers shortly before the start of the race. Heavy rains during September and October damaged roads and paths, and the Guatemala Government, having concerns for life safety, decreed the cancellation as the infrastructure could not be restored in such a short period and rescheduling of the event was not feasible due to the busy schedules of different participants.[6] The event was then scheduled for May 13–20, 2012.[7]

Past winners

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Year Country Rider Team
1957   Guatemala Jorge Surqué
1958   Colombia Hernán Medina
1959   Guatemala Aureliano Cuque
1960   Colombia Jorge Luque
1961   Guatemala Aureliano Cuque
1962   Spain Esteban Martín
1963   Guatemala Juan José Pontaza
1964   Colombia Rubén Darío Gómez
1965   Spain José Segu
1966   Guatemala Saturnino Rustrián
1967   Guatemala Benigno Rustrián
1968   Spain Manuel Galera
1969   Spain Fulgencio Sánchez
1970   Spain José Abelda
1971   Guatemala Mario Nufio
1972   Guatemala Samuel Herrera
1973   Colombia Luis Leonardo Tobar
1974 No race
1975   Mexico Manuel Ceja
1976   Colombia José Patrocinio Jiménez
1977   Colombia José Patrocinio Jiménez
1978 No race
1979   Mexico Bernardo Cólex
1980   Colombia Samuel Cabrera
1981   Guatemala Héctor Dubón
1982   Colombia Rafael Tolosa
1983   Guatemala Victor Castañeda
1984   Guatemala Edin Nova
1985   Colombia Héctor Patarroyo
1986   Colombia Josué López
1987   Colombia Orlando Castillo
1988   Guatemala Edin Nova
1989   Chile Daniel Vargas
1990   Colombia Adolfo Rico
1991   Costa Rica Andrés Brenes
1992   Colombia José Castelblanco
1993   Colombia José Robles
1994   Cuba Eliecer Valdés
1995   Colombia Jairo Hernández
1996   Colombia Graciano Fonseca
1997   Guatemala Luis Rodolfo Muj Windsor-Guatemala
1998   Colombia Ismael Sarmiento Colombia (national team)
1999   Guatemala Fernando Escobar Bancomet
2000   Guatemala Fermín Méndez Bancomet
2001   Colombia Gregorio Ladino Canel's Turbo-México
2002   Colombia Víctor Hugo González Hino-Radio Punto-E.U.A.
2003   Colombia César Salazar Lotería del Táchira
2004   Costa Rica Paulo Vargas Pizza Hut-Costa Rica
2005 No race
2006   Costa Rica Juan Carlos Rojas Dos Pinos Costa Rica
2007   Mexico Carlos López Gonzalez Canel's Turbo-Mayordomo
2008   Venezuela Manuel Medina Café Quetzal
2009   Costa Rica Juan Carlos Rojas Café Quetzal
2010   Colombia Giovanny Báez EPM–UNE
2011 No race
2012   Colombia Ramiro Rincón EPM–UNE
2013   Colombia Óscar Sánchez GW–Shimano
2014   Colombia Alex Cano Orgullo Antioqueño
2015   Costa Rica Román Villalobos Nestlé–Giant
2016   Costa Rica Román Villalobos Canel's–Specialized
2017   Guatemala Manuel Rodas Decorabaños
2018   Guatemala Alfredo Ajpacajá Decorabaños
2019   Guatemala Manuel Rodas Decorabaños
2020   Guatemala Mardoqueo Vásquez Hino-One-La Red-Tigo-Eurobikes
2021 No race
2022   Guatemala Mardoqueo Vásquez Hino-One-La Red
2023   Guatemala Gerson Toc Decoba–ASO Quetzaltenango

References

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  1. ^ "Vuelta a Guatemala". memoire-du-cyclisme.net. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  2. ^ "UCI Road Calendar". UCI. Archived from the original on 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  3. ^ "Nine positives in Vuelta a Guatemala". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
  4. ^ "Vuelta a Guatemala cancelled". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
  5. ^ "La vuelta a Guatemala se suspende". Prensa Libre. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
  6. ^ (in Spanish) "Gobierno suspende la edición número 52 de la Vuelta ciclística a Guatemala" "Se confirma la cancelación de la 52 Vuelta a Guatemala"
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2012-05-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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