Team Fluidride recently returned from Chile where we were doing some racing, and riding the many trails around the Santiago area.

Our first stop of the trip was the Valparaiso, where Lars Sternberg (pictured) took third place overall behind France’s Cedric Gracia and Chile’s rising star Oscar Yunge in the 4th annual Cerro Abajo Urban DH. 3 time winner and crowd favorite Antonio Leiva finished 5th in what proved to be a very fast field of riders. Fluidride had a very successful day with three riders in the top 20 (Simon 13th, Zeb 19th).

After racing in Valpo, we headed for the high Andes where we stayed for several days of completely insane riding near LaParva. We were joined by Cannondale the Cut rider Chris Van Dine, as well as Amelia Colasurdo (Cannondale) and some more local riders for some first descents down scree lines high in the mountains (almost 12,000′!). The rides started in lunar shale, and descended through high alpine meadows, then into almost desert like single track. Each run provided nearly 8,000 vertical feet of descent. If you haven’t been riding in Chile…start planning your trip!