Havana, January 26 (JIT) - Cuban Ángel Luis Pupo won the first stage of the III Escambray Mountain Bike Challenger 2024, with a time of 1:43.14 hours in a short and rugged stretch between the city of Sancti Spíritus and the campground of Planta Cantú, in the center of the island.

Runner-up in the previous edition, Pupo arrived with an advantage of two minutes and 19 seconds over the winner of the 2023 edition, the local Brayan Mandín, an outstanding member of the national mountain bike MTB team. Later, Jorge Rojas (master A), from Espiritu, came in with a time of 1:50.30 hours.

"The sensations were very good. A very fast start as usual in these tests. Early on I was given the escape with Mandín until almost three kilometers from the finish line," said the rider from Holguín, who stands out for his mental strength to impose himself against rivals of recognized quality.

He said that "along the way we found a lot of mud, many stones and weeds, but everything was great, super happy to win the first stage. This Friday we are going to fight".

"Mandín is in the U-23 category, he has tremendous quality and is on the rise. For me he is among the best of Cuba", said who next Sunday will celebrate his 29 years on the bicycles disputing the last stop of this important race for the "mountaineers" of Cuba.