Gran Canaria (sgh) – What started with a vision two years ago, turned into reality today. Gran Canaria hosted its first ever mountain bike marathon. Robin Seymour from Ireland and Lisi Hager from Austria won the inaugural Maratón por Medicina, which is aimed to become a fix date in the international mountain bike schedule. The organisers collected four giant boxes full of medicine for the central hospital Cuba Calixto García in Havanna as well as a Tsunami relief project in Sri Lanka.

The 70 participants from 11 nations experienced a diverse marathon, which led them on their way from the South West to the North East of the miniature continent through several climate zones. After starting with sunshine and blue skies in Puerto Rico, the riders were not only confronted with chilly temperatures around 4 degrees Celsius on the highest point at 1900 metres, but were also surprised with thick fog and a vision of less than five metres in some parts of the course. Heavy rainfalls which complicated the work of the organisers during the past weeks had also turned Gran Canaria’s backcountry into a lush paradise. The competitors saw all shades of green, blooming meadows, jam-packed citrus trees, and romantic waterfalls.

Read More.